The Mindset Mentor - How to Deal with the Uncertainty in the World

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to today's episode of the Mindset Mentor Podcast. I'm your host, Rob Dial. If you have not yet done so, hit that subscribe button so you never miss another podcast episode. And if you're out there and you want to receive motivational text messages from me directly to your cell phone, text me right now. 1-512-580-9305. Once again, 1-512-580-9305. It mostly works for just people in the United States and Canada, but send me a text. Let's go ahead and do some chit and some chat. Today, we're going to be talking about all of the crazy shit that's happening in the world today. And we're going to talk about what's going on and how you can find peace with all of the uncertainty. So we're going to talk about what's going on and how you can find peace with all

Starting point is 00:00:45 of the uncertainty. So we're going to talk about uncertainty and what's going on. It's wild. You see, there's a lot of things happening. I won't tell you my opinion because who really gives a damn about another person's opinion? I don't care to share it. I don't think people care to hear it because there's so many opinions and so many people trying to push things, whether it's the left or the right or the middle or the up or the down or whatever all these things are there's vaccines there's people that are against vaccines there's people that want mandates people that don't want mandates mass no masters all kinds of crazy stuff people like the president don't like the president they like what's going on the world they don't like what's going on there's bitcoin there's inflation there's

Starting point is 00:01:20 all kinds of different things that are happening and and i want to help you guys if i can by just giving you a little bit of my perspective of the way that I see the world and just kind of the way that I go through the world. Because all of this stuff that's happening can bring up a lot of emotions for people. And rightfully so. There's a lot of things, if I'm being honest, that need to change in the world. And we should all want to be that change, not just say, hey, you need to change and point fingers about where everyone else is wrong and what they're doing wrong. But look at ourselves and say, how am I a reflection of what I don't like to see in the world? I don't like how there's so much divisiveness and so much judgment. Okay. Am I sometimes divisive? I guess I am sometimes.

Starting point is 00:01:59 Do I judge sometimes? I guess I do sometimes. So maybe instead of looking at other people and telling them what they should do, maybe I should look at myself and start figuring out what I can do, right? There's a lot of things that are happening. There's a lot of things that are changing. There's a lot of things that need to change. But you're not wrong to feel something just so you know. Your feelings are valid. Your feelings are always valid. But at the same time, we need to look at that and go, hey, is there some way that I can find peace in all of this stuff that's happening? Because there's one thing that I know is that the root of a lot of what people feel right now is uncertainty. Uncertainty is not something that humans like.

Starting point is 00:02:37 And the reason why is because we have forward-thinking brains. We like to see into the future. And when the future is uncertain, it makes us have a little bit of our amygdala, that fear-based part of our brain go, if there's uncertainty, then I don't know about my safety. I don't know if I'm going to be safe. And you might not consciously be thinking this, but in the back of your head, you might be thinking like, is there safety in the future? Is the supply chain going to break down and I'm not going to be able to have any food? I'm going to have to eat my grass in my backyard, right? Like, what's going on?

Starting point is 00:03:07 Uncertainty can seem like a threat to the brain. We want to know everything that we could possibly know if possible. But the thing about being a human is even though we want to know everything we could possibly know, we will never know everything that we can know. If you look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs, safety is at the bottom. We want to, as far as it being the most important, the most important thing to a human, to the organism that we are, is to feel safe and secure. And the problem is we don't know everything, like I said, and as you get older, you start to learn.

Starting point is 00:03:42 I don't bet you guys that are getting older like me, right? I'm 35 years old. And the older that I get, the more I realize I don't know shit. Like when I was 18, 19 years old, I was the smartest freaking person on planet in my own head. Now I'm 35 years old. I'm like, I don't know anything. And I'm okay with not knowing anything. You don't know anything. I don't know anything. And so we don't know what's going to happen. And the problem that comes down to uncertainty, if we have a problem with uncertainty, we have a control problem One of my biggest wake-up calls in my entire life was realizing that I had a control problem I realized this through a very intense psychedelic journey if i'm being honest with you very intense journey with ayahuasca Where I realized I had a really really bad control problem and I realized I had that control problem because when I look back over my entire life, growing up with a parent, my father,

Starting point is 00:04:30 who was an alcoholic, there was so much uncertainty in my life. I didn't know if he would come to my baseball games and pick me up. And I didn't know if he did show up, if he would be drunk or if he would be sober. I didn't know if he was going to get a car accident on the way to picking me up. I didn't know if I would get into a car accident on the way back to the house with him. I didn't know if he was going to get a car accident on the way to picking me up. I didn't know if I would get into a car accident on the way back to the house with him. He said he was going to come pick me up for fishing. I didn't know if he would actually show up. There's so much uncertainty that was in my childhood. And so when I was in this psychedelic experience, I realized that I had a control problem to try to control everything that was uncertain in my childhood. Because the only way that you can literally control uncertainty is to try to control everything that was uncertain in my childhood. Because the only way that you

Starting point is 00:05:05 can literally control uncertainty is to try to have control over everything. But we barely have any control over anything. We don't have control over really anything. And my favorite example is you barely have control over your bowels after Taco Tuesday, right? You're like, oh, something's brewing and I got to figure out what's going on, right? You're like, I don't even have control over that. So if I don't even have control of my own bowels, well, I do. I don't want you guys to think that I'm just, you know, shit my pants all over the place. But I want you to realize that I do have control of my bowels. I want you to realize that first off. But I want you to realize that we have very little control over those things where if it's like, oh, it's time to go, sometimes it's time to go. And it all comes down to our control problem. What a ridiculous example I just gave

Starting point is 00:05:47 you. I should have to pause and just tell you how ridiculous I am, but I love it. But the biggest wake-up call that I had was that I had a control problem. And I saw how it was affecting all areas of my life. I saw how it was affecting my internal state. I saw how it was affecting my relationships that everybody that I knew with my girlfriend, with my mom, with my friends, with my business partner, with my people who are my employees. And if I didn't get control over my control problem, I guess you could say, if I didn't become okay with uncertainty, then it was going to ruin a lot of my relationships by trying to control all of the relationships because we can barely control ourselves. We definitely can't control other people. And parents, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Have you ever tried to control your two-year-old? It's a

Starting point is 00:06:33 crapshoot trying to control a child because even a child wants their own freedom. It is something that is born into us. So if you're feeling stressed or anxious about the future, I want to help you try to relieve it as much as possible. And I want to help you take what's going on in your head and put it on a piece of paper. Because this is really, really important. One of the things that I say so often with so many people is that what's going on in your head is so abstract. Like our brains are so abstract when we're thinking. It could go from one place to another. Like if you think about a dream, a dream can go from one place to another and just morph and change. That's a lot of the time how our thoughts actually are as well. And so if you want to get very concrete on what's

Starting point is 00:07:13 going on and what you're feeling and what's happening in your life and what's happening in your mind, the only way to really do it at a really high level is to write everything down and start to process it and start to figure it out. Like if I gave you a very complex math problem, it would be really hard to do it in your head, wouldn't it? But if you write it down on a piece of paper, like if I said, not even really complex, but if I said, hey, what's 74 times 138? And I just said, hey, don't write it down. Some of you might be able to figure that out, but majority of people wouldn't be able to figure that out. But if you put it down on a piece of paper, majority of people would be able to figure that out, but majority of people wouldn't be able to figure that out. But if you put it down on a piece of paper, majority of people would be able to figure it out.

Starting point is 00:07:47 That's how it works in your head. It's like trying to solve a math problem that you can't solve in your head. When you put it on paper, it makes it so much easier. Hey, is there something that's interfering with your happiness or preventing you from achieving your goals? Maybe it's anxiety or stress or worry about how much is going on right now. Well, BetterHelp will assess your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist. And you can start communicating with them in under 48 hours. It's not a crisis line. It's not self-help. It's

Starting point is 00:08:13 professional counseling done securely online. And there's a broad range of expertise available to you depending on what you need. And the service is available to clients worldwide. And you can log into your account at any time and send a message to your counselor. And BetterHelp is committed to facilitating great therapeutic matches so they make it easy and free to change counselors if you need to. It's also more affordable than traditional offline counseling and financial aid is available. And BetterHelp wants to help you start living a happier life today. So visit betterhelp.com slash dial. That's betterhelp.com slash dial and join over 1 million people who have taken charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional and get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com slash dial.

Starting point is 00:08:57 Hey, do you feel drained after a real big workout or run or a long day at work? Well, you need to try out TruNiagen. TruNiagen fuels the body's energy engines and maintains cellular metabolism and even supports your heart health. With 11 published human clinical studies and backed by Nobel Prize winners, TruNiagen is a supplement that's clinically proven to boost NAD levels, which is an essential coenzyme required for cellular energy and repair. It's also a big component to anti-aging, according to Dr. David Sinclair, if you listened to that episode when he was on my podcast. TruNiagen helps your muscles recover after a workout and just all in all give you more zest for life. So add more vitality to your life today with TruNiagen. Right now, new customers save 10%

Starting point is 00:09:39 on their first purchase by going to truniagen.com slash dial and use the code dial. That's T-R-U-N-I-A-G-E-N dot com slash dial, code dial to save 10% off your first purchase. truniagen.com slash dial, code dial. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. So let's talk about it. How can we learn to allow and to be more okay with the uncertainty in life? You grab a pen and paper, and here's what I want you to do. You get everything that is in your head onto a piece of paper. Everything. Your to-do list, the worries that you have, your anxiety, your fear. No matter what side of the

Starting point is 00:10:25 fence you're on or what you believe in or don't believe in, put it down on pen and paper and just ask yourself, what am I so worried about? What is it that is messing with my internal state and making me feel like crap right now? And you write it all down. Write it all down. What do you got? What'd you come up with? You got some crazy stuff. You can pause me if you want to. I'll literally be here forever until you decide to push play again. I'll be here waiting for you. You can pause me. What are you worrying about? What are you stressing about? What is it? Is it really as bad as you think that it is? And then I want you to kind of ask yourself a couple questions. Okay. The question that I want you to ask yourself as you're writing these things down, is it really that bad? Because what happens is we tend to think to the worst case scenario.

Starting point is 00:11:13 The worst case scenario. If you're like, oh my gosh, I'm worried about the inflation that's about to be happening in the United States and it's currently starting to happen. I'm worried about this. Okay, what's the worst that could happen? And we think about all the worst that could happen. And then we go, is it really going to be that bad? And usually we're like, I don't see everything collapsing. Maybe inflation gets bad, maybe it doesn't. But I don't know if I'm going to be eating grass in my backyard because I can't afford to buy a loaf of bread. I personally don't see it getting that bad. Hopefully it doesn't. If it does, I got grass I can go eat, I guess. I got some trees around. We can figure this stuff

Starting point is 00:11:45 out. But then you ask yourself this question. And this is a question that I have found for me when I'm stressed out or when I'm anxious or when I'm thinking too much in my own head. I ask myself this question, right now, am I okay? Right now, am I okay? In this present moment, it's a very exact second in my life. Right now, am I okay? In this present moment, it's a very exact second in my life. Right now, am I okay? And I'll look around in my surroundings and I'm in a house and right now it's 70 degrees. I'm in the air conditioning, even though it's hot outside. I've got clothes.

Starting point is 00:12:17 I've got a full belly. I've got a cup of coffee next to me. I've had a workout today. When I look around, I'm like, everything's pretty damn good at this very second. When I look into the future, if I want to be like, oh my God, doomsday, Armageddon, everything's going to crap. I could make all of those up. I can make up all of those scenarios. But right now, in this very second, as I'm writing down, am I okay? Am I okay? And what you do is you start to reprogram yourself from seeing what is wrong or what could possibly be terrible coming down the line in the future to waking yourself up and saying, hey, I'm ruining this present moment

Starting point is 00:12:58 right now in this very second because of the fact that I'm thinking about what could possibly happen. How crazy is that? To ruin something right now that is beautiful, that is amazing, and ruin it because I'm thinking too much about what could possibly happen. I'm worrying too much. Right now, am I okay? Another question. Right now, is anything wrong?

Starting point is 00:13:23 Not like, could there possibly be something wrong or things starting to go wrong, but right now, is anything wrong? And you look around, you're like, man, you know what? It's really not that bad. I'm making it to be way worse than it is, I guess. And what happens is sometimes our intellectual brain, because we are so smart, we can see so far into the future, we can create this mystical, mythical places into the future that we forget like in this moment, everything's pretty damn good. Like I said, I do have food in my belly. I have clothes. I have shelter. I had water this morning. I had so much water this morning. Some people don't have any water. So looking at myself, right now, is anything wrong with me? Am I okay?

Starting point is 00:14:08 And a lot of times you're like, you know what? I am okay. I'm just not focusing on that. For some reason, I'm looking at what could possibly happen. And then you ask yourself this next question. Right now, is there a threat? Because our brain, you've heard me say before, is designed to do one thing and

Starting point is 00:14:25 one thing only. It's designed to keep you safe. And so it's constantly looking for things that could possibly be threats, which is why when we see stuff that could possibly be threats in the news or in online or people that we follow, we start thinking about these things. We start thinking about all of the possible threats. And our brain wants to focus on those threats so that therefore it can try to come up with some sort of a solution to make sure that we don't get injured or die or whatever it might be. And when things are uncertain, it's really hard for your brain to find the solution to something because we don't know what the solution is. And that can cause a lot of stress and anxiety and worry. But right now, in this very second that I'm in, is there a threat?

Starting point is 00:15:03 Now, in this very second that I'm in, is there a threat? Okay, and the next question, what can I enjoy in this moment right now? What can I enjoy in this moment right now? Another question I love to ask myself, it's what's beautiful in this moment? What's beautiful about this moment? And I'm trying to take my brain out of doom and gloom and focusing on doom and gloom. Because if I focus on doom and gloom, I'll find all of the reasons why things are not where they should be. So instead of focusing on doom and gloom, I think about everything that's beautiful about this moment. And you may have heard me tell this story before, but the way that I started using this is I flew back from Austin.

Starting point is 00:15:36 I was in Florida for a little while where I grew up and it was beautiful and the sunshine. I was on the beach and everything was great. And I flew back to Austin. It was like January. I flew back and it was cold as hell and it was rainy. And I was like, screw this place. And I started going into like a negative state where I was like, I don't want to be here. I don't want to be in Austin. I just came from the beach. It was sunny. Now I got to go in cold rain. You guys know cold rain is like the worst, right? And I was like, okay, what's beautiful about this moment? And I asked myself that question. And I made my brain start to find all of the different things that were beautiful about that moment. And what happened? Within three minutes, I felt amazing because I was focusing on things that are amazing instead of focusing

Starting point is 00:16:21 on things that I didn't want or things that I didn't like. So those are some of the questions that will help you. I got some more for you. What am I uncertain about? Write down all the things that you're uncertain about. Write down all the things that you're worried about, all the things you're uncertain about, all this doom and gloom future that might be coming down the line. Just put it all out there so you can look at it and see if it's as legit as you actually think that it is. Write it all down. Next question, I'll follow up on that. What if it's not as bad as I'm making it out to be in my head? Interesting, huh? What if it's not as bad as I'm making it out to be in my head? Because you've heard me say this possibly if you've been listening long enough,

Starting point is 00:17:01 psychologists have found that about 85% of what you worry about never actually happens. Only 15% of the stuff you worry about actually happens in your life. 85% of it is not ever going to happen. So it's a complete waste of your time. It's a complete waste of your energy, of your physical energy, of your mental energy to spend it worrying. So when you write down all the things that you're uncertain about and you ask yourself, what if it's not as bad as I'm making out to be in my head? And write down the answers, you start to realize, oh yeah, I need to shift my focus because what I'm focusing on right now is ridiculous. And then ask yourself this question. If it happens, whatever it is that you're worrying

Starting point is 00:17:41 about or whatever you're uncertain about, if it happens, how will I respond? So that therefore you now have a plan or at least feel a little bit more prepared for if whatever it is that you're worried about will actually happen. Ask yourself, if it actually happens, how will I respond? Because now, number one, you've been able to flush out all the stuff that's happening in your head and that you're concerned about. Number two, you've been able to figure out if it's not as bad as you actually think it's going to be. And number three, you can decide that if it happens, you're already going to have a plan so that you're good to go. And what you'll realize is that the stress and the worry and the anxiety, when you do this the right way, will literally just melt away

Starting point is 00:18:21 because you now have a plan if it does happen. And you've also realized that about 85% of the stuff that you worry about will never happen. And so that alone should get you out of your head, allow you to relax, and allow you to fall in love with this present moment and see all of the things that are beautiful around you. So that is how you deal with anxiety and the uncertainty that's happening in the world right now.

Starting point is 00:18:45 So that's what I got for you for today's episode. If you love this episode, please do me a favor. Go ahead and actually share it on your Instagram stories and tag me at RobDialJr, R-O-B-D-I-A-L-J-R. And once again, if you guys want to get some positive motivational stuff, I post quotes, I post photos, I post videos, I post some stories. I post all kinds of stuff to try to help you and fill up your newsfeed on Instagram with as much positivity to help you in your life. Follow me on Instagram right now, RobDialJr, R-O-B-D-I-A-L-J-R. And I'm going to leave it the same way I leave you every single episode. Make it your mission to make somebody else's day better. I appreciate you, and I hope that you have an amazing day.

The Mindset Mentor - How to Deal with the Uncertainty in the World

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.