Ep267. Unleash Yourself, Part 1: Stop Playing Defense With Your Life and Move Beyond What's Familiar.

Send me a some feedback! In Part One of this two-part series, Mike shares the opening training from his recent two-day workshop, Unleash Yourself, and explores what it means to play defense in life. Your nervous system tries to keep you alive by keeping you within circumstances that feel familiar—even when you consciously want something more. Expansion requires moving beyond the familiar, and that means discomfort is inevitable. Mike explores why new circumstances can cause us to retreat or sabotage what we want, and why learning to work with your nervous system is essential if you want to stop playing not to lose and begin experiencing more of life. Key Takeaways 1. Playing Defense Is About Trying Not to Lose Defense organizes your life around maintaining what you already have and preventing negative circumstances and consequences. 2. Your Nervous System Prefers What’s Familiar Your nervous system attempts to keep you safe by pulling you toward circumstances it already recognizes and knows how to navigate. 3. Expansion Will Create Discomfort Moving into new and unfamiliar circumstances can create discomfort even when those circumstances are exactly what you consciously want. 4. Retreat Can Look Like Self-Sabotage When unfamiliar circumstances create enough discomfort, you may unconsciously retreat, sabotage progress, or return to circumstances that feel more familiar. 5. Learning to Work With Your Nervous System Changes the Game Growth requires developing the ability to move into and through the discomfort that naturally accompanies expansion instead of allowing that discomfort to continually send you back into defense. Notable Quotes “Your nervous system tries to keep you alive by keeping you in familiar circumstances. So it’s going to create discomfort so that you back up and ultimately retreat in life when something new and unfamiliar starts to show up.” “Your nervous system is actually trying to serve you, but it doesn’t care if we’re wealthy or successful or happy or fulfilled. All it cares about is keeping us alive.” “We’ve got to learn how to work with the nervous system and go into and through the discomfort that is eventual and constant in the expansion of our lives.” “Most people are playing defense, and defense is all about trying to keep everything that you have together, trying not to lose, and trying to prevent negative circumstances and consequences.” “Going on offense is the fun part of life. Playing defense is trying to keep everything you have together and not lose, where going on offense is about expanding and experiencing more of life.” Take the Next Step If you recognize that you’ve been playing defense in your life and you’re ready to understand what’s keeping you there and learn how to move forward, reach out to me directly. Visit https://www.innerwealthglobal.com/ or email me at [email protected]. Mike's Media: Website: https://www.innerwealthglobal.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikekitko Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mike_kitko Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mikekitko Subscribe to my YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mikekitko Music Credit: "What's Left of Me" by Wes Hoffman & Friends