Silence Your Inner Critic | Mindset Barriers Q&A

How can someone recognize when they have fallen into a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset? Why is a growth mindset so important? Do you have any advice for someone struggling with continuous anxious thoughts? Anxious people tend to focus on the problem rather than on the solution. What is the placebo effect and why is it so important to make someone believe they can heal?

How can I have a better mindset at work? How can I know if my dreams are unrealistic are worth going after. Get new friends. There, I said it. Hi, I'm Dr. Josh Axe, and welcome to the Growth Lab Podcast. I'm so excited to be here with you today. Every week on the podcast, we cover how to grow yourself, your health, your wealth, your career, your relationships, your spirituality, and so much more.

Today, we're talking about limiting beliefs, and you submitted your questions. I'm going to answer those. And by the way, I think that, I think that This is a really important topic because our mindset, our beliefs become our reality. There's a proverb that says, and James Allen wrote a famous book on this called As a Man Thinketh, but the whole saying is, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

But what you think literally becomes your reality. So, your mindset about things can really hold you back. I had a friend I was talking to recently who told me that His father growing up told him things like money didn't grow on trees. And one time he spent a little bit too much money on something and his dad made him feel so guilty about it.

So now, even in his 40s, he feels guilty anytime he spends money on almost anything. And so there are things that can happen in our past and that psychologically are still with us today, childhood traumas and limiting beliefs. And so today I'm gonna answer your questions regarding limiting beliefs and how to experience a breakthrough in those areas.

But the focus today is gonna be a lot on mindset as well. So first question that came in from you all, and by the way, in the comment section, if you're watching on YouTube, make sure to ask additional questions or let me know topics you wanna hear me cover in future episodes. I love to make this conversational in the whole YouTube section here as well.

And, and so let me answer this first question. How can someone recognize when they have fallen into a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. Why is a growth mindset so important? Well, there's great research by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, and she wrote a book called Mindset, and also she authored several scientific papers on this. And it's really interesting.

She did a study on success with, with kids, and she found that most parents tend to adopt one of two mindsets. Well, one of three. One is some, some parents tell, tell their kids just they're very negative with them. That's not good. Another one is sort of this fixed mindset where someone might tell their kids, you're perfect. You need to be perfect. Hey, you got an A.

Great job on the final performance. Okay? And we praise them for their talent levels. The idea there of a fixed mindset. A growth mindset is praising kids for their character and their work ethic. They tried hard.

And what they found in this study was, is the kids that had more of the growth mindset who cared more about growing than they did their grade actually got better grades and scored better in the future long-term.

So, for instance, if you have a child who, and they gave this example, they said they would give children puzzles and some kids wanted to just keep doing the same puzzle over and over again because they wanted to impress everyone around them that they did the puzzle perfectly versus a kid that says, well, I want the harder puzzle because I want a challenge.

I want to just keep growing and getting better. They cared about that the most. Those kids were much more successful later on in life. And we see this with adults as well, of course, and Carol covers this so well in her book Mindset. But when you look at fixed mindsets of people, it's sort of this idea of believing, like for instance, intelligence is fixed.

Like I can't increase my IQ, I can't get smarter. People believe that for years. Well, new literature and science is showing, no, you actually can get smarter. And so, if you really devote yourself towards, if you continually read and you're an avid reader, well, you'll end up being much smarter later on than someone else, not only in emotional intelligence, but sometimes Even in IQ.

And so we know somebody can increase their intelligence to a certain level, to a degree, but also gain wisdom in other areas. All that being said, like, here's what a fixed mindset is. As another example, um, a fixed mindset would be saying, um, I just wanna look good in front of people. It's more of a facade.

It's more, I just want to have a good impression rather than, no, I actually want to do good. Um, is the most important thing they said. Like Michael Jordan had a, had really has a growth mindset. When you heard him speak, He would stay after practice. He would do everything he can to grow.

He wasn't— his number one goal of, or at least of a lot of athletes, isn't just winning, it's improving along the way as well. So, it's sort of like, well, hey, I'll lose the battle if I can win the war. So, why is a growth mindset so important? If you have a fixed mindset, you're not gonna grow.

If you're just doing things because you want other people to think you're great, by the way, this is a very narcissistic property. Yeah. And, but a lot of people do this, like, I want other, everyone to think my life is perfect and great, so I'm not gonna, I wouldn't go to counseling, or I'm not gonna get coaching in my business, or I'm not gonna get marriage counseling, something like that.

Because if people find out, they might think less of me. Versus somebody, that's a fixed mindset, versus somebody with a growth mindset would say, well, no, like, like, I just wanna have the best marriage possible. I wanna have the best, uh, business possible, so I'll get business coaching, I'll get, marriage counseling. I'll go to people for advice because I don't care what they think of me.

I care more about growth than people's opinions. So ultimately, a fixed mindset is where somebody is trying to maintain their status quo, their perception of, of other people, uh, where a growth mindset, the people are focused more on just growing and getting better. And so that, that, that's, that's why it's, it's just critically important to success. Next question here.

Do you have any advice for someone struggling with continuous anxious thoughts? I do. The first thing you want to do is you want to— I, I like to write down and speak out loud, this is what I'm anxious about. Okay? So I think being able to recognize where the anxiousness is coming from is key. And so, for instance, I'll give you an example. Um, let's say somebody's having a financial difficulty.

Let's say I'm having financial difficulty. And I'm, and I'm thinking to myself, okay, uh, I, uh, I, I don't, you know, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to pay the bill in 3 months. I, you know, my job is on the rocks. I'm not making as much as I want. I've got the, you know, so, so like you, you can live in this state of anxiousness. Um, what I would do then is say, okay, what am I worried about?

Well, I'm worried that I'm not gonna be able to pay my bill here in 3 months. I'm worried that I might get let go of my job. I'm worrying about my kids. It's, you know, I, I have a kid in private school. So you need to write down all these things you're anxious about. And then what you need to do is you need to write down what's the worst-case scenario. Let's, let's solve this.

Okay, let's play, let's, let's play 2 paths here. Okay, one is, okay, I'm going to keep my job and I don't get let go and, and these things can happen. Another is, hey, I do get let go. Okay, so you want to then play out and write down, if this happened in this scenario, here's what I would do. If this happened, here's what I would do. So that's one thing you can do.

But, but the big thing about anxious thoughts is this, it's all about perception. It's what are you focused on? Most people with anxious thoughts focus on problems rather than solutions. And so if you're in that state saying, I need to make more money, you could focus on, I, I need to make more money. What do I do? What if I do, if I don't make more money?

And you keep going down this rabbit hole of how bad life can be if you don't make more money versus saying, Okay, I need to make more money. Hmm. What are some ways that I could make more money? Who are some people I can talk to? Well, you know what? Here are 5 people that are really successful who I know people know. So I'm gonna go and get their advice on this.

I'm going to, I'm, I'm going to, hey, you know what? There's a skill that I need to start working on. I'm gonna do this. Hey, you know what? I heard that this person online is a real expert. Maybe it's Alex Hormozi or Andrew Huberman or whoever it might be. I'm gonna go and watch a bunch of their videos and start learning.

I'm gonna go and buy a book and, And see what— and I'm gonna research on the internet, this really credible site, and see what they say about this. Do you see the difference there? It's all about what you focus on. Anxious people tend to focus on the problem rather than on the solution. So my biggest advice is change your perspective. What's your solution? Okay?

Even if something doesn't go your way, hey, what, what's the worst that can happen? Like, I also— there, there's a, there's a, there's a Persian proverb I love, and it's this, it's, uh, I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man that had no feet. So you don't have any shoes. That's not, that's not great. That's unfortunate.

But what's even more unfortunate is there's somebody that lost their, both their feet in a war, right?

And, um, and so I think if you can also be in that state to realize, listen, if you're making— I'm not gonna give these stats perfectly, but if you're making something over like $40,000 or $70,000 as a combined family a year, you're in the top 1% of all of the world, or maybe the top, you know, 10 in society.

And so I think sometimes we put ourselves in these positions where it's just sort of the lens we're viewing things through. So I think if you can, you can approach anxiousness with focusing on solutions and good outcomes, and while planning for a bad one, uh, and, and if, if you need to, but generally focus on the positive aspects of something, it will be a lot better.

So one of the things I love to do when I'm personally anxious is change my perspective by meditating on scripture, on Bible verses or positive quotes. And so just to give you an example, one I love is Philippians 4:6-7, and it says, do not be anxious about anything.

With everything, with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And so I'll read through that and I'll think about that. And so just present your request to God. Pray. Prayer reduces anxiousness. Okay. I also love Psalms 91. I love Psalms 92.

Those are really great verses to meditate on. I also love in Matthew 5 and 6, reading right before and around the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus says, hey, you know, don't worry about anything. You know, God clothes the, you know, lilies of the field and the birds of the air. And, you know, aren't you few more important than those, right?

And so, so I think if you, you meditate there on Matthew 5 and 6, on Philippians 4, and specifically 6 through 7, and Psalms 91 and 92 and Psalms 23, those are some verses and things that just— those meditations. This is what ancient monks recommended. If you're anxious and you're worrying, meditate. But don't meditate on nothingness.

Meditate on something on where you understand that, hey, God's your provider. He works all things out for your good. And I If you can maintain that mindset, it will help you overcome anxious thoughts. Now, one other thing from a scientific standpoint, if you start having any sort of anxiety or panic attack, breathing really helps.

And so starting to slow your breath and taking deeper breaths actually helps calm anxiety. So, so what I like to do, and sometimes actually even kind of wrapping your arms around yourself is a way because you feel more kind of, um, uh, Um, that helps reduce anxiousness. Weighted blankets do. Having someone give you a hug.

Um, but also with that, if you have anxious thoughts, just going 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Hold one second. 1, 2. So taking just 5 deep breaths in through your nose, out through your mouth, actually scientifically has shown to help calm anxiety as well. How do I apply God's word to my life to overcome anxiety and fear? Well, I think I answered that question.

And what I would do is I would memorize those verses and repeat them. And then not only repeat them, but think about what do they mean? Okay, what does it mean that, uh, you know, don't be anxious about anything, but with everything, with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving? That's another thing I found that I didn't mention.

I found that gratitude and praise eliminates anxiousness more than anything. It eliminates anxiety. Depression, mental health issues. And so if I'm ever having something where I'm just feeling depression and anxiety, hopelessness, despair, I will go and you can turn on praise and worship music or something really positive and just spend time just in praising God.

That will help you break out of it maybe faster than anything. You could put on your headphones, download some really good praise and worship music, and I think that can really help you overcome that anxiety and fear. I had a point in my life, this wasn't that long ago, where I, I had a spinal infection and didn't walk for a year.

And I had a, had a point about halfway through where I wasn't getting better, and I had no— I already hadn't walked for months. And I had this a few days where I was— I just— I'd, by the way, I'd never felt this emotion before. I felt the emotion of despair and hopelessness. And I thought, I'm doing everything I know how to do. I'm doing all these natural treatments.

I'm doing everything I know possible, and I'm still not getting well. I still haven't improved. And, um, I started— my mind started going down this negative, uh, trail of, well, what if I never get better? What if this doctor who's— I had a doctor tell me this, you might be permanently disabled.

And I thought, well, you know, like, I was just swimming and weightlifting and doing all these things a few months ago, and then I had went in for this procedure that was not supposed to be a big deal and ended up getting injured during it. And, and, and so I, I, and I realized, I said, you know what, going down this One, one is I realized that's not serving me.

And so I said, okay, I need to get outta this state of anxiety. How do I do that? Well, I fix my eyes on Jesus. And so I just spent time just in prayer and worship and saying, God, I can't do this. Please heal me. And, and, uh, that really helped me break through. I think doing that regularly, uh, was really powerful.

I think also getting around positive people that aren't anxious themselves, who aren't fearful, that's also important. You, you become like those you surround yourself with. This is what I love about attending You know, for the Judeo-Christian faith, going to church or mass or synagogue.

If you can go to a place of worship and get around other people that are positive and hopeful and and mentors who have been through hard things in life, that's really powerful. I think a lot of times people with anxiety and fear sometimes try and just go at it alone, and instead they just isolate themselves.

It's okay to have some alone time, especially time to reflect and time with God and some of that time. But I think generally you need to spend time around other positive. Of people.

But I think all of those things, I think meditating on those Bible verses, I think spending time in praise and gratitude, and I think spending time around other people in a place of worship and other wise mentors, that's in community. I believe all of those things will help somebody break free of anxiety and fear. How do I deal with imposter syndrome? That's the next question.

Well, first off, I think that this is helpful. Everyone has imposter syndrome. I have and have had imposter syndrome. I was reading that, I wanna say Michelle Obama had imposter syndrome. Emma Watts had imposter syndrome. Tom Hanks. I was reading about Justin Timberlake. I was reading all, all these people who started sharing that they had felt imposter syndrome in their life.

I think Oprah Winfrey, there's all these people. And by the way, I was listening to a lecture by Jordan Peterson. He was a former Harvard psychologist and Toronto psychologist. And he said, yeah, of course. He said, everyone experiences imposter syndrome, especially when you're new at something.

So he said, the best thing to do is one, is be authentic and open about it and just say, hey, I'm new at this. If you are, and it's okay to let people know of your deficiencies. But I think what people care more about, just to know, this actually relates a little bit to the fixed versus growth mindset, is letting people know, but I'll find out for you.

Showing people you have great work ethic helps a bit. So let me give you an example of this. When I first became a doctor, I was, I think, 26 years old. Maybe even 25. I was pretty young. And, um, I remember I grew this big— I grew a pretty, pretty thick beard because I wanted to look older than I was.

Because I noticed when I first had people come into my office when I was very clean-shaven, I had people ask me my first 1 or 2 years in practice, they said, aren't you a little young to be a doctor? And it really— it got to me a little bit. And I thought, well, I guess I am pretty young. And, um, and so over— so for, for, for— I had for probably a year I had a beard.

And, um, and anyway, so all that being said, I, uh, but what I realized was, you know what, these patients don't care that I'm young. They care that I'm capable and that I'm gonna work hard to serve them. And so, I ended up shaving my beard off. And if somebody asked me a question I didn't know, I'll say, hey, would you give me a moment?

Or, hey, uh, I'm gonna answer every question I could answer, I would. But if I didn't know, I'll say, you know what, I don't know that. Yeah. But I'm gonna find out that for you, and I'm gonna get you that answer tomorrow. Okay? They didn't care if it was then or tomorrow. You know, I didn't have to have every answer in the world.

So if you're new or you're feeling like you have imposter syndrome, no, welcome to the club. Everybody feels imposter syndrome. Everybody, everybody has some sense of that, especially if you're early on in your career or a certain area. And then one, become more authentic. When you become more authentic, knowing like, Like, hey, am I a 26-year-old doctor? I am. But you know what?

Nobody works harder than me, and I'm gonna do my best to serve you and help you get healthy, right? I think when you have that more of that mindset that, hey, I'm a fighter, I'm a go-getter, I'm gonna do everything I can to serve you, over time, the imposter, the fact that you're new or it doesn't matter as much.

Now, if you're actually hiding something and that's why you feel like you're an imposter, it's not a syndrome. You are an imposter. I think the thing that I would say is, is go, like, let me give you an example of this. Like, let's say you're a, Um, you're a leader and you've been lying about something, well, go and get honest, right?

I think honesty and authenticity will also help you not be an imposter. Okay, so those are— that, that's how I would deal with imposter syndrome is one, know that people— I would say this— know people care more about you're going to work hard, you're going to give it your all, than they do you already have all the answers. Okay, next question here.

What is the placebo effect and why is it so important to make someone believe they can heal. Well, it's a really big deal. So the placebo effect, that term, uh, was coined many years ago. I want to believe it was World War— it was World War I or II.

And what was happening is they were running out of medications on the front line, and there was a physician there who just started telling patients, giving them, uh, like a saline solution instead of actually injecting them with something that would numb the pain. And many of them started noticing, well, Well, I have a, I have a lot less pain.

And so this doctor discovered that, wow, these people, I'm just telling them I, I numb them and I never even numb them. And so it really started there. And then they started looking into the science. And what the science shows is, is that your body will start moving towards making something happen if you believe, oh no, my leg is numb. Some of those nerve endings will shut off.

It's actually a process called neuroplasticity where your brain and your nervous tissue will change. Your brain will start sending certain signals one place and not turning and, and, and not sending them another. Let me give you an example of this. If I tell my brain, or like, like for, like if I tell my, like my hand right now, I make a fist. My brain is telling my hand to make a fist right now.

Okay. Now what if your brain tells your body to, let me give you an example of a condition like this, like, like a medication, like reduce inflammation. Okay, reduce inflammation, reduce inflammation, less joint pain, less joint pain. Your body will start to do it to a degree no matter what.

Like, it will start to do it versus if you start thinking, I'm so inflamed, I'm so inflamed, oh, my joints, every— I have— like, your body will start creating more inflammation. Your body, your body does— your body does what your brain tells it to do. Okay. And so, yeah, the placebo is important.

Now, by the way, the studies have shown that the placebo, in terms to make it more effective, There's 3 things that have to happen. Number 1, you've got to think positively about something. Okay? So, for instance, I want to be pain-free, okay, in this area. Number 2, you need to visualize what it's going to be like in the future when you get to that state when it is healed.

So, let's say, for instance, you've injured your low back, you have a herniated disc. Okay? So, one, you need to realize, okay, I'm imagining that my disc being absorbed back in and not having a disc issue. Okay? So, I imagine that. And then, I'm imagining also, Just the joy and happiness and just the movement. I see myself being completely pain-free.

So you want to experience emotion with it, okay? And then you want to start doing things to help your back actually get better. So seeing a chiropractor, doing spinal decompression, eating an anti-inflammatory diet, seeing an acupuncturist, or whatever it might be, seeing a personal trainer or physical therapist, right? All those things, right?

So if you start doing those things, But what, what the science shows is if you have a clear picture of the placebo, of, oh, you know what the benefit is. Number 2, you have strong emotions positively around that benefit. And number 3, you do things, you actually do some things for yourself, whether it be take a pill or do an exercise that makes that come into reality.

And, and that those amplify the placebo effect, but the placebo effect is really the sort of your, your, the way your brain tells your organs to do things. But it is real. If you tell your body to heal an area, over time it will help heal it more, or at least faster, to a greater degree.

I'm not saying perfectly, but better than if you tell your body over and over again, this won't heal, this won't heal, this won't heal. Your body will actually send less signals and do less in the area to help it heal. That's what— there's science, science that shows that. Next question. I'm not passionate about what I do and I'm not in the career field that I want to be in.

So, I'm working a job just to pay the bills. How can I have a better mindset at work? That's such a good question. You know, I think there are so many people today that are in jobs that they either hate or they're just so-so about. They just, they just don't like, love. And I would say this. I think it's important that you tie meaning to your career and your job. Okay.

I wanna give you an example of this. There's a story about John F. Kennedy, and he's walking through NASA, the Space Center, and he's walking through there and he sees a man and he said, uh, and it was actually ends up being the janitor. And, but John F. Kennedy's walking through the hallway and he said, hi, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm John. And he said, said, what do you do?

And the man said, I'm working to put a man on the moon. You know, for that janitor, he, he could say, you know, I'm clean, I'm, I'm cleaning floors, or hey, I'm making a living, or, or whatever it was. But no, he knew that, listen, he, in order for them to put a man on the moon, the place couldn't be a wreck. It couldn't be a mess. It had to be clean.

I mean, you gotta, you know, so, so he, he saw his identity and his mindset were tied to, I'm a janitor, but I'm, I'm here to put a man on the moon. There's another story I love about Actually, this is another real-life example of a man named Brother Lawrence. He was a monk and he, in the book was, the book that writes about him, it's called Practicing the Presence with Brother Lawrence.

And this book, Practicing the Presence, is all about this man who was a monk, but he practiced prayer 20, like all day long in everything he did. So when he was washing dishes or when he was, you know, doing laundry or cleaning up a spill, anything, he was just living in a state of prayer.

And so he believed that everything he did, and he was right in this, everything he, he did, and there's a Bible verse around this, whether you, you know, eat, drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. So no matter what you do, eating, drinking, work, whatever it is, do it to the best of your ability and that will glorify God.

And so I think part of my mindset is if I'm doing something like the dishes at home, I don't like doing the dishes. But I know that this is gonna make Chelsea's day better. It's gonna make it easier. I'm glorifying God. I'm gonna do this to the best of my ability.

So I think when you can have a mindset around knowing that you're not doing stuff for, for just for, for, for necessarily where everyone else is most important, you care, you know that God is watching and everything you're doing. I think that's a helpful mindset.

But also, I do wanna say this, if you're in a career that you don't like, I truly believe that God wants you to eventually be doing something that you love. You know, I, I think back to early on in my life, my dad always liked to put me in jobs I didn't like. I remember my first job was at Skyline— well, was as a lifeguard. I actually did like that.

But, uh, but outside of that, then I worked as a waiter in a restaurant, uh, Skyline Chili in Cincinnati, in Dayton, Ohio. I then, uh, I then in college worked as a personal trainer, and then I, I did construction for a couple summers, and that was really hard work. I did roofing, I did concrete, I did excavation. And so, and we, I dug out like the sewage pipes for a while.

That definitely was not my favorite, but, but my dad put me in these jobs to instill character and work ethic, and I'm glad he did. And so I've definitely had jobs that I didn't, I, I didn't like, but I tried to have the best attitude I could and know, and also knew that, hey, I'm gonna do my best. I'm gonna act with character. I'm gonna try try and influence people positively around me.

It wasn't just working to do the work, it was working to my interactions with co-workers, knowing that I, I could, I could brighten their day, or I could help, you know, inspire them or give them more purpose, right? So, so I tried to have those in a lot of my, in my, my careers. Um, but I also know sometimes it's, it's part of my path to get to where I want to go.

And so, you know, even when I was a full-time clinician And I had a functional medicine practice. I liked my practice, but I knew I was called to do something else. And so I started this website called draxe.com where, where I loved writing and I loved communicating and recording videos and podcasts. And so I started doing that and I did that 4 hours a week.

So I did a half a day of that and 4 and a half days of, um, my other career. Okay. Now, actually at the start I worked 5, 6 days a week. So Saturday, uh, Friday afternoons I would work on this, but I even worked Saturdays in my clinic. So, so I, I did a side hustle and eventually got to the point where I could then do what I love.

But what— here's what I would say for you is your mindset should be you're here to influence people for good. Your mindset should be God is watching. Your mindset should be no matter what I do, I should give it my best effort and do it with excellence. But also know that God has given you a specific talent and gift that you're meant to use.

And so start working on that talent and pray and be honest with God about it and say, God, I have this passion. Would you create— would you give me opportunities to grow in this area and eventually do this in a new career field?

And so I think when you know that, hey, maybe this career you have is also temporary and, and there are greener pastures on the other side, you're maybe in the valley now, but you're eventually gonna get up on top of the mountain, that can encourage you and help you get get, get, get, get through a job that you're just, just not passionate about. Next question.

I don't have a lot of support from my friends or family in my dreams and goals for my future. I feel stuck between listening to them and settling, or risking it all and believing in myself. How can I know if my dreams are unrealistic or worth going after? You know, this is tough. And, and I want to say, I, I'm compassionate for your position. And I think a lot of people feel like this.

But here's what I would say. I think the number one thing you need to do is you need to upgrade. You need to get new friends. There, I said it. You need to upgrade your friends. Okay? I was in this place in life 3 times in my life, and I had to change the people I spent my time with. And so I started getting around, and I'll give you an example of this.

When I was in college, I was around a lot of people that were kind of fraternity people and whatever, and I realized I'm not living like the most moral life I can live. Like, I want to live a life that matters, that's good for God, and in, in, in, in, in, in that direction. And so I completely changed my friend group, started hanging out with different people, and it upgraded my life.

I was in chiropractic school and studying nutrition as well, and, and I realized that I'm hanging out around with just whoever I'm running into at school. No, I'm going to go after hanging around who are the, who are the other people that want to be the most successful. And then I went and got and found mentors. And then anyways, and I continue to do that in my life.

And so what I would say is pursue relationships with people who are ambitious, who are successful, who are purpose-driven. Spend as much time around them as you possibly can. Whether it be, you know, going to a church and joining a growth group or an entrepreneur's group or a mastermind, whatever it is, go and try and get around some sort of group that can help you grow.

And by the way, you know, I doubt that your dreams are unrealistic. There are so— I mean, there are so many people who, who, who thought, you know, like I'm thinking about J.K. Rowling, like her book was turned down so many times and so many people thought that she wasn't going to be a success. And now she's one of the best-selling authors of all time. This happens constantly.

Elon Musk was picked on and bullied and bad-mouthed as a kid. And look at where he's at now. You know, they said, you know, people for many years said he had, and he might still, he does probably have Asperger's syndrome, right? And so, but even despite these roadblocks or challenges or whatever it might be, people rise up and succeed. So, I believe your dreams probably are worth it.

Worth going after. Now listen, some things are unrealistic, but you know, you need to get around people that have done it before or in that field more than your family or your current friend group. But my biggest piece of advice to you is go and pursue relationships with purpose-driven friends. Create a new friend group or join one that can help you go after your dreams.

All right, question here: the pandemic really triggered my doubts about whether I'm cut out to be an entrepreneur. How do I regain confidence I used to have? I'm gonna answer this question in a very similar way. You gotta get around the right people.

If you're an entrepreneur that has self-doubt right now about this, I would say fill yourself with positivity, fill yourself with hopefulness, fill yourself with people that, that, that, that maybe were your, that were in your exact same position and that are now thriving.

So, you know, get online and watch videos by, by, again, like someone like, watch my videos, watch Alex Hormozi, watch Ed Mylett. Watch Rob Dial, you know, watch Jamie Kern Lima, you know, Jasmine Star. Watch these people that have done and become successful entrepreneurs.

So, expose yourself to them constantly and then go find an entrepreneurial friend group of people that really are going after in a similar way. Learn from them, grow with them. You'll grow together. Dave Ramsey, when I interviewed him recently, had this great piece of advice. He said, or this this great, uh, study.

He said, you know, he said there's a study that shows that the 10 people that you spend the most time with tends to become your average income in the future. So let's say you're making $30,000 a year now, but you eventually want to make $100,000 a year.

Well, then go hang around with people that make an average of $100,000 a year, and according to the study, that's what will likely— that will be you in 5 years. So your friend group, the people you spend time with, matters. Tremendously. Another question here. Every time I achieve a goal, I struggle to set the next one because part of me believes I've already made it.

How do I celebrate my win but not get caught up in the complacency trap? Well, you know, I, I, what I would say about this is, is that I think when you are, um, when your goals are tied to maybe monetary value, That, that's— that, that might cause this to happen more often versus if your goals are tied to something that's really transformational.

You know, I was interviewing the, the author of the book Essentialism, Greg McKeown, and he said, you know, I truly believe that the end of life should be the crescendo. And so that's when the best things happen. I was having the same conversation with Michael Hyatt recently, and he said, you know, I believe that my most productive years of my life will be in my 60s, 70s, and 80s.

And so, you know, you should believe that and know that. I mean, I look at someone like John Maxwell, I mean, and, you know, he has been so successful even in his 60s, 70s, and beyond. I mean, he's, he's done, uh, added value to so many people. He's mentored so many people. And so sometimes it's life stages.

I think as you get later on in life, um, sometimes you need to go from being the doer to the, the hero to the guide. You need to go from being the The worker or the apprentice to the mentor. And so, you may take on a different role, but sometimes that can be more meaningful and actually be more multiplying being in that position. But all that being said, how to not get in the complacency trap?

By the way, I'm going to become a broken record on this Q&A. Spend time around people that are highly motivated, that want to go change the world. If you get around those type of people, it will become infectious. It's viral. You'll want to go and do the same. So maybe you're around now a lot of people that are complacent.

Get around people that aren't complacent, people that get outta their comfort zone, people that are go-getters. Maybe it's a younger group of people that are in that stage of their career. I think that would help you tremendously. And also knowing that you have so much value to still add, I think is an important realization as well. Another question here. What are some positive daily habits?

Or rituals someone could adopt to chip away at limiting beliefs? So here's what I would do. One is you do wanna identify your limiting belief. Okay? Let me give you an example. Um, I had a, for a point, a, a brief point in time, I had a limiting belief. It was, um, that it's hard for people to change. Okay? And so what I did was I then said, you know what?

That's not a good limiting belief and that's not true. People change dramatically and they can.

And so I started reading stories about people that transformed, you know, reading books about somebody who, you know, who went from being a, you know, somebody who, who went to prison to somebody who was like— I think about the Bible, reading about King David, you know, he transformed for good and for bad at points in his life. It was like he was this incredible shepherd with great faith.

And then he, you know, murder, essentially murdered somebody by sending them to the front lines. And was an adulterer, and then later on, you know, he redeemed a lot of it. So all that being said, people change in their life and they're redeemable even though they make mistakes. But let me go. Let me go to another example.

When I was, I had this belief when I was younger that I wasn't smart because I was diagnosed with ADHD, and I thought, well, I just can't focus. I just can't focus. And so I started saying, you know what? Actually, I wanted to instill the new belief of that I am smart. I just need to work harder and, and, and, and have better work ethic and be more disciplined.

And so I started then saying, okay, what are all the things like, like what can help strengthen that belief that I'm smart? And so what I would do is, is like if I got an A on a paper, I would tape it up on my bathroom mirror and I would write down a quote. Like my, I had a teacher say, Josh, you got the highest grade in the class. You'd be a great writer one day. Put that up on my mirror.

Remember those things to reinforce that belief. The other thing is I would just continue to do things to create the new belief. So, let me give you an example on generosity. I think maybe at some point in my life, I think I've always been fairly generous, but I wanted to become more generous. And so, I read a book. It was by Robert Morris. It was— I'm not going to remember the book name.

It may come to my mind here in a minute. It. But it was a great book and it was all about generosity. And, and, and so I read this book and I said, you know what? Like, like it's a false belief that there, I only have so much money. If I give it away, it's never coming back. And so I started reading Bible verses like, you reap what you sow. And I started meditating on, I reap what I sow.

I reap what I sow. I reap what I sow. And I started making sure I just, I'm giving more generously to people in need. And I started then believing that, you know what? It's gonna come back to me. And I started looking out for, hey, that money that came in, oh, that was coming back to me for my generosity and thinking in that way. And so, all that being said, some daily habits and rituals.

One is reading books that reinforce your positive belief, listening to podcasts and YouTube videos that reinforce your positive belief, putting up quotes and affirmations that reinforce your new positive belief.

And so, I think that those are some of the things I would do in terms of habits is reading the people you follow on social media, all of those things to reinforce this new belief about who you can become in the future. These are all things that I think would, would help you.

I'm going to continue to do a Q&A every single week on different topics, everything from health to building wealth to growing personally to spirituality. Make sure to submit your questions here. Be looking out on Instagram. I post questions there.

We also, you You can comment in the YouTube section if you have questions or you want to hear me answer questions about other things specifically in the future. Also, hey, if you're not subscribed here, make sure to subscribe here to the Growth Lab Podcast. I'm so grateful for your questions, your interactions. I hope that you're growing as much as I do every week.

The focus of this podcast is to help you grow. You know, if you want to grow yourself, grow your health, grow your wealth, grow spiritually in your career and relationships, I'm here to help you do that. Thanks to everybody who's, who's been subscribing, liking these videos, commenting, and sharing. Thanks so much to everybody being on mission with me who's been sharing these videos.

I'll see you on the next episode.