Jocko Podcast - Jocko Underground: Keep Your Insanity In a Frustrating World

Episode Date: July 27, 2026

>Join Jocko Underground Full Episodes< How to Keep Your Insanity In a Frustrating World. Uncontrollable hygiene issues on the Jiu Jitsu mats? Moral-driven altercations in public. What to do. Feeling aimless in life, here's what to do. Rebuilding your life after you messed it up. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/jocko-podcast/exclusive-content

This is the Jocko Underground Podcast number 223, sitting here with Echo Charles. We have some questions from the front lines, from the trenches, and we will provide, well, provide some answers, if possible, if not, some recommendations. And at a minimum,

we will provide some courses of action that you can take to move you in the right direction on the path. Yep. Also, too. It's a, benefit to know that if you have a question specific or general all you get and you want them answered on this outfit send your question email your

question to questions at jocco underground dot com there you go the word has been spoken here's a tip here's actually this is a good tip insider tip don't make it super long if you make it like medium to short that's gonna be beneficial in many ways okay I'm just saying. Okay, fair enough. But you have to provide enough context. Yeah, exactly right.

But sometimes a lot of times when they get long, it's like it's details that are less relevant to the concept of the question, you know? Because a lot of these questions, I mean, I get it. Like these are all personal, like things that happen to us as individual. But the idea and the concept of the question applies to many, many people. Do you see what I'm saying? So in that spirit. Fair enough.

You know, keep it brief. Keep it simple. I learned that one time, you know, this thing. called the Four Laws of Combat Simple. It's one of those deals. All right. First question. I don't want to complain, but some days I feel like I'm losing my sanity and at my breaking point.

Working a job where the customers, coworkers, and a boss that are coming at me all day, every day with their problems. Driving in rush hour traffic where there is certainly going to be two to three accidents that make the commute take forever. Going home to a family. I love dearly, but have a whole list of problems themselves, among other things. I ask because you guys always seem so good to go, as you say. I understand the principles, detach, check your ego, trust, influence, listen, respect, and care, balance, etc.

I apply them every day to my life. I believe I shoulder a lot of the problems because I've always been steady and reliable. Training Jiu-Jitsu is the only thing that seems to keep me sane at the moment. My question comes down to what is the protocol when life just starts to feel exhausting when the problems don't seem to let up. Do you guys ever feel this way? I really appreciate everything you do. Thank you. Well, it sounds like you're getting after it.

And by getting after it, I mean, it sounds like you're getting after it. You know what I'm saying? Sometimes you're getting after it when you don't want to be getting after it. This is the way life is sometimes. and you know obviously there's like hey you know sometimes you just got to suck it up and power through right obviously we know that we get it you get it you're doing that here's the thing you've been it sounds like you've been doing it for a while and after too long of a while you have to recognize that this is not what we're doing this is not what there's not what life is supposed to be right um it's unsaid

look, I would say it's unsustainable, but I'm sure you actually could sustain it if you had to, right? If people can go in a prisoner of war camp for seven years, eating, you know, bugs, you know, we can sustain a lot. But there's a difference between needing to bear a lot because there's no other choice in the world, like you're in a prisoner of war camp and bearing a lot because you're kind of stuck, right? You're stuck and you're not. making a change. So at this juncture, what I would be doing, if I were you, is I would be trying to come up with a long-term strategy to change your situation. I don't know what kind of industry you're in.

I can tell you that every industry is going to have customers, coworkers, and bosses that are coming at you all day with different problems. That's just, that's, that's the, that's, that's, that's, that's, doesn't matter what industry you're in, but maybe you don't particularly like this industry. Maybe you don't particularly like the type of people in this industry because there are different types of people and different types of industries so the problems are a little bit different maybe you don't like these types of problems maybe there's something else that you could do that has less interaction with people or better you're involved engaged with better people that are

that you get along with more so is there an industry or is there a job that you look at you go man I'd really like to do that you know I one day I was building a a wall in my backyard and I told my wife hey when I get out of the Navy I'm gonna become a mason I was gonna I'm gonna brick layer because the bricks don't they don't really like interact with you you know you put the brook there it's going there and when when you put the brick where it's supposed to be the brick is where it's supposed to be people people are every you know they're not like they're not like that you tell a person to go there bro there's a we don't know what they're

doing we don't know what they're thinking there's all kinds of of chaos going on. And so having been in the military and just interacted with people for so long, I was like, oh yeah, when I get out, when I retired from the Navy, I'm going to become a Mason. I'm just going to lay block, carry bricks. Lay block, carry bricks. That's what I'm doing. Now, I ended up, you know, getting involved with even more people when I got out of the Navy. But you need to look around and say, okay, what job can I get into that will get me in a better situation something that I enjoy more so and by the way while you're doing that find something that's gonna mitigate your commute because spending look some people don't

mind driving J.P. to Nell he'll be like oh yeah I got I got events in so and so and I'm like oh cool what times you're flying oh no I'm driving it's a 12-hour drive he just gets on the road and drives he likes driving he likes it dude I get I get kind of frustrated when I got to drive eight minutes to go to a nice restaurant you know what I mean I'm like you know what you know what I mean that's that's where I'm at so if you're getting traffic and you got two to three accidents and you don't know what time you're getting home like that's a problem find some kind of a job or some kind of a location where you don't have to do that so so that's what you need to come up with a plan right now and look this might take a year this might take 18

months of you've got to get some kind of schooling you got to get some kind of training got to put your resume out there but if you're that miserable in your current job you got to make a change and maybe you just got to make go some entry level position somewhere again i don't know your financial situation but there's all kinds of companies you go work for and you can move up through the ranks home depot go kick ass at home depot you can move up the ranks Walmart go kick ass at walmart these are these are companies that high hire from within. I meet people from companies like this,

Costco, in and out, Chick-fil-A, people that started there, you know, as a whatever, a stock boy. And now they're a store manager. Again, entry-level positions, entry-level construction positions,

be a laborer, work 12 hours a day. You know, you've got to figure out what it is you want to do. Look, you know, know go be a laborer for for an electrician or a plumber get go see what that's like Those are skills you can learn and those again these are all just options I don't know sure what you like doing But if you hate what you're doing right now you got to figure out a way to stop doing the thing that you're hating doing

So changing your job over the next 12 to 18 months is a strategic move that you need to look into and again I don't know what you have for you say you you say you love your family dear I don't know what you have for kids I don't know what you have for a mortgage. I don't know what you owe for rent. I don't know if the kids are taking ballet lessons that cost 300 bucks a month like I you know This could be problematic Maybe then you what you got to look is how can you minimize the commute? Is there somewhere you can move is can get a different job in the same industry that's a little bit closer You got to figure something out dude because you're you're you shouldn't be You shouldn't be in this kind of breaking point scenario and part of look you can you can you can make it through a longer time a breaking point as long as you know hey look I got a plan I'm coming up with the plan. I'm gonna get out of this

The other thing I'll mention that since you mention it is that you say you are steady and reliable. And what that means is people can count on you. And what that means if you're not careful, you can be taken advantage of. And you end up being responsible for things that you don't have the capacity for or you're taking away from your own self and family to because other people are counting on you to do things for them. And you end up, you're not able to move forward. You're not able to study for a new job. You're not able to get your resume out there because you're too busy putting out fires around you that all these other people are bringing into your world. Echo Charles is a master of not being involved in other people's stuff.

Yes or no. Echo Charles. Confirmed? Accurate. Like there's some stuff. You go, oh, no, that's not your thing. The Echo Charles does not do this kind of thing. You know what I mean?

Echo Charles is not required for this. Yes. Echo Charles is not required. required for this scenario, you know. No one's no one's got your no one's got your number on speed dial for for, uh, you know, random stuff like I, I, there's some people like, you know. So that is a little excerpt of what we are doing on the Jocko underground podcast. So if you want to continue to listen go to jocco underground.com and subscribe.

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