[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Before we start, please check out our new podcast, Good Sleep. Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.
[00:00:25] [SPEAKER_00]: So press play on Good Sleep tonight because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily.
[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Living Daily, Strength and the Blender Bottle, A Modern Tale of Intention and Power by Stella Kaufman with MarkFisherFitness.com and I'm Justin Malik.
[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome back to the show where I read an article to you every day, but on Sundays, I share an extra episode from a different podcast in the Optimal Living Daily Network.
[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_00]: And today's comes from my brother's show, Optimal Health Daily. By the way, he answers listener questions on Fridays.
[00:01:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And if you send one in, you'll get a copy of our Optimal Living Daily workbook, digital if you're outside of the U.S., but a physical hard copy shipped to you if you're in the U.S.
[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_00]: You can send a health-related question to health at oldpodcast.com and then listen in to that show on Fridays.
[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Again, that's Optimal Health Daily. But with that, let's get right to the bonus episode as we optimize your life.
[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Strength and the Blender Bottle, A Modern Tale of Intention and Power by Stella Kaufman with MarkFisherFitness.com.
[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_01]: First, a story.
[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Once upon a time, there was a girl. She was a lucky, lucky girl. She was in good health, had a good job, food to eat, and good friends.
[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_01]: There was even a beautiful tree right outside the window of her apartment in New York City.
[00:02:02] [SPEAKER_01]: She lifted heavy bars and swung around heavy cannonballs at a gym.
[00:02:06] [SPEAKER_01]: And as she got stronger at the gym, she found herself wanting to be stronger in the rest of her life.
[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_01]: She knew that lifting heavy bars and swinging around heavy stuff should be making her even stronger both in and outside of the gym.
[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_01]: She ate protein and green vegetables.
[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_01]: She drank water.
[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Yet, she felt the strength she was able to muster at the gym wasn't showing itself outside the gym, physically or mentally.
[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_01]: It was perplexing.
[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_01]: A conundrum.
[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_01]: A mystery indeed.
[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Indeed.
[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_01]: One day, after a particularly stressful day at work, she was feeling a bit grumpy.
[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_01]: While she dutifully made her protein shake, she wondered why that protein powder never fully dissolves.
[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_01]: She hated that clumpy thing that happens.
[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_01]: And after all, we have Google and space travel and Amazon Prime.
[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Why can't we find a way to dissolve the protein powder?
[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_01]: And that's when it happened.
[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_01]: In the middle of her internal first world rant over, embarrassingly, insignificant problems, she had an epiphany.
[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_01]: What if?
[00:03:10] [SPEAKER_01]: What if she shook the blender bottle harder?
[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_01]: In reality, she was maybe using only one tenth or even one one hundredth of her blender bottle shaking strength capabilities.
[00:03:21] [SPEAKER_01]: So what if she just added some power?
[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_01]: This was her moment.
[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_01]: She took a deep breath and shook the blender bottle a little harder.
[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_01]: She put just a tad bit of muscle into it.
[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_01]: And as you may have already guessed, the protein powder dissolved.
[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_01]: That can't be, she thought.
[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Was she not using even the tiniest bit of strength to shake these protein shakes before?
[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_01]: She didn't have to use a lot of strength at all.
[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_01]: It was just enough of an amount to indicate minimal effort.
[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_01]: She drank the shake.
[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_01]: It was so much better without the clumps.
[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Of course, newly energized with this incredible knowledge, she wondered what might happen if she used this strength in other places in her life.
[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_01]: In working out.
[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_01]: In walking her dog.
[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_01]: She was going to do it.
[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_01]: She was reminded each day when she made her protein shakes and shook the blender bottle.
[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_01]: They really are so much better without those powder clumps.
[00:04:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Armed with a new awareness, she carried on in life with a bit more intention and a little bit more strength.
[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_01]: She found herself walking with a bit more energy, springing up the subway stairs, and ironically, bench pressing more at the gym, which is what started her strength journey to begin with.
[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Putting intention to power.
[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Imagine what you could do better with a little more power.
[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_01]: And by a little more, I mean the amount of strength it requires to dissolve the powder in a protein shake.
[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_01]: For the sake of argument, we'll assume you have enough strength to make a clump-free protein shake.
[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Then the question becomes, if you're working out to get strong at the gym, lifting heavy and swinging around cannonballs, why aren't you stronger at everything outside the gym?
[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe, just maybe, it's about accessing the power.
[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Looking back at our fairy tale, the girl had the power, but she needed to unlock her intention to tap into her power.
[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_01]: The same muscles, the same stamina, the same mobility is required for so many things.
[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_01]: So, why should the grocery bag seem heavy when you're doing farmer carries at the gym with 20-kilogram kettlebells?
[00:05:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Keep this in mind.
[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_01]: 1. Your mind and body are connected.
[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Your thoughts and your abilities are magically linked.
[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_01]: 2. While strength often creates limits on what you're able to do, your mind can create limits on your strength.
[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Just like everything else you've probably heard a million times over, your message to yourself holds tremendous power over what you can do.
[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_01]: And 2. How we do one thing is how we do everything.
[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Practicing putting intention to power will put intention to power outside the gym and vice versa.
[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_01]: We humans tend to follow patterns of behavior, and this is another one of those.
[00:06:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Access your power.
[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Some thoughts on how to train yourself to access your power.
[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_01]: 1. Pay attention to the next time you feel annoyed or frustrated about something.
[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe it's something silly, like getting the protein powder to dissolve.
[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Or maybe it's something bigger, like feeling overpowered at your job.
[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Next, close your eyes for one second and remember the time you were going to lift something heavy at the gym.
[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_01]: How you took a deep breath and fueled your strength with intention.
[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_01]: I know this may sound kind of like Pollyanna cheesy mind over matter annoying BS, but it works.
[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Have you ever been to a wine tasting where they have you smell different spices and then when you taste the wine, you taste the spices in the wine?
[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Or have you ever had someone tell you about something that's common, but you never noticed it before?
[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_01]: And now, all of a sudden, you notice it everywhere.
[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_01]: It's kind of like that.
[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_01]: 3. Revisit whatever was giving you trouble in number 1.
[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_01]: 4. Repeat as new challenges present themselves.
[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_01]: And 5. Admire your strength.
[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_01]: 5. You're a bad ass.
[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Ideally, after practicing this, accessing your strength will become automatic.
[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_01]: And that's pretty great.
[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_01]: The moral of the story.
[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Power is power.
[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Tapping into your intention acts like a boost that makes your strength transferable.
[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Kind of like a flow that is present mentally and physically in all you do.
[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_01]: With a little awareness and a lot of practice, you can call on your power for everything, mentally and physically,
[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_01]: without even thinking about it.
[00:07:40] [SPEAKER_01]: What else in your life might improve if you put intent to power?
[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Would you run faster?
[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Walk further?
[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Would you be more confident at work?
[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Would your attitude be better?
[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Would your relationships change?
[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Once you can access that raw power, where can it take you?
[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_01]: You just listened to the post titled, Strength and the Blender Bottle.
[00:08:05] [SPEAKER_01]: A modern tale of intention and power.
[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_01]: By Stella Kaufman.
[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_01]: With markfisherfitness.com.
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[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Dr. Neal here for my commentary.
[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_01]: I know today's author Stella tried to convince you about the importance of mind over matter.
[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Were you really convinced though?
[00:09:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Do me a favor and humor me for a second.
[00:09:30] [SPEAKER_01]: If it's safe to do so right now, close your eyes.
[00:09:33] [SPEAKER_01]: If it's not safe to close your eyes right now, that's fine.
[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to guess this little trick will still work even if your eyes are open.
[00:09:39] [SPEAKER_01]: It's just that closing your eyes tends to make it work even better.
[00:09:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, your eyes are closed.
[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_01]: All you have to do is listen to my cues.
[00:09:46] [SPEAKER_01]: And again, humor me.
[00:09:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Here we go.
[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Imagine, there's a bright yellow lemon sitting on a cutting board in front of you.
[00:09:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Next to it is a knife.
[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_01]: You pick up that bright yellow lemon and hold it close to your nose to make sure it's ready
[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_01]: to slice.
[00:10:03] [SPEAKER_01]: You can immediately smell that strong lemon flavor from the lemon skin.
[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_01]: It's ready to cut.
[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_01]: You take the knife and slice the lemon in half.
[00:10:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Cutting through the lemon skin and the flesh of the fruit releases even more of that amazing
[00:10:17] [SPEAKER_01]: lemon aroma.
[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_01]: It smells so good, you think, nothing that smells that good could taste sour, right?
[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_01]: So you grab a small glass and squeeze half of the lemon you just cut into the glass.
[00:10:29] [SPEAKER_01]: You don't add any water or sugar and take a big gulp of it.
[00:10:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Yikes, that was way more sour than you thought.
[00:10:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, open your eyes.
[00:10:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Did anything happen while I was narrating?
[00:10:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Did you find that as I talked more about the lemon and you imagined that lemon and imagining
[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_01]: how sour that lemon juice was, did you start producing more saliva?
[00:10:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Did the glands under your tongue, what we call salivary glands, start to get activated?
[00:10:57] [SPEAKER_01]: If so, that's very normal.
[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_01]: And here's the thing.
[00:11:00] [SPEAKER_01]: You didn't actually drink pure lemon juice.
[00:11:03] [SPEAKER_01]: But by just me talking about it, your body responded.
[00:11:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Your body believed what your mind was telling it.
[00:11:11] [SPEAKER_01]: This works if you sit there and close your eyes or imagine that you're going to get up
[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_01]: and talk in front of a bunch of people, for example.
[00:11:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Imagine you standing there on a stage having to talk to hundreds of people.
[00:11:24] [SPEAKER_01]: You might find your heart rate automatically goes up.
[00:11:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Your blood pressure goes up.
[00:11:28] [SPEAKER_01]: That's not actually happening.
[00:11:30] [SPEAKER_01]: But you just thinking about it changed your physiology.
[00:11:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Your body responded to something your mind imagined.
[00:11:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, do you believe in mind over matter now?
[00:11:42] [SPEAKER_01]: All right.
[00:11:43] [SPEAKER_01]: I hope you're having a great weekend if you're listening in real time.
[00:11:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for listening.
[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for sharing the show with someone.
[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_01]: In fact, that's one of the best ways to keep this show going.
[00:11:52] [SPEAKER_01]: If you think someone would like what we discuss on this podcast,
[00:11:56] [SPEAKER_01]: share it with them and let them know we exist.
[00:11:58] [SPEAKER_01]: And don't forget, I'll see you back here tomorrow for the Sunday show
[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_01]: and where your optimal life awaits.
[00:12:04] Let's see you back here.