Praxis Podcast with Rhett Smith

This was a fun and deep and meaningful conversation with my good friend Jennifer McDaniel. Jennifer is a nutritionist and author, and is the founder and director of McDaniel Nutrition Therapy. I first met Jennifer in early 2022 when I was preparing to run the 106 mile UTMB trail race and she was my assigned nutritionist.  In this conversation we explore a trend that we have been noticing in our culture for many people to move away from social media as well as figuring out other avenues to quiet all the technological noise. We have noticed this move in our work with clients, as well as experiencing a personal shift within us. Ultimately, the conversation gets down to the concept of self-worth and how much of it is often built upon notions of one's producitivty and ability to perform tasks. And how it can be difficult to move out of arenas (such as social media, email, hustle culture/work, etc.) when one's self-worth is often maintained by engagement and productivity in those areas.  Below is a list of authors and books and resources mentioned in the podcast.  Jennifer McDaniel Substack  Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May 4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport Just a Thought: A No-Willpower Approach to Overcome Self-Doubt and Make Peace with Your Mind by Amy Johnson In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by Henri Nouwen  Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr    

About a week and a half ago I spoke at Preston Trail's Marriage Conference on Mental Health and Marriage. As I thought about this topic I kept coming back to a few essential things that I feel are at the core of this topic. we are wired relationally we are wired relationally around love and trust optimum mental health in a marriage is incumbent about the promotion of love and trust  So in this episode I reflect on this topic, and I hope you find it helpful. 

In this episode I talk with my good friend, Will Perry, who is the Lead Student Pastor at Hope Fellowship Church in Frisco, TX, which is a multi-site campus.  I have known Will for almost 10 years and have loved watching him serve in youth ministry. He is one of the best youth pastors I have known, and I admire the way he engages not only youth, but his leadership and volunteers.  In this episode we cover a lot of topics from being a student of your kid, to navigating social media, the challenges around sex in this culture, and how to create an ongoing, emotionally safe environment to engage your kids.  I hope that you enjoy this episode and find it's content helpful.  Check out more of my work at my website www.rhettsmith.com

In this episode I talk with my good friend and colleague, Michael Cox, who is a Licensed Professional Counselor, and contributor and instructor in the Restoration Therapy community that I am a part of.  I appreciate Michael so much as a friend and colleague, and I admire the work he does with so many people, especially couples.  In this episode we dig deep into marital work, and what typically brings couples into therapy, what helps them thrive, and where do they often get stuck.  I hope that you enjoy this episode and find it's content helpful.  Check out more of my work at my website www.rhettsmith.com

In this episode I talk with my good friend Nicole Zasowski, who is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and the author of several books: What if it's Wonderful, From Lost to Found, and Families and Forgiveness which she co-authored with Terry Hargrave. I so much respect the professional and personal work that Nicole does in her life, and she is a lifelong learner which I love. In this episode we dig deep into anxiety and looking at it through the framework of the Restoration Therapy model. I hope that you enjoy this episode and find it's content helpful.  To check out more about Nicole and her work, head over to her website https://www.nicolezasowski.com/

In this episode I talk with my good friend Broc Jahnke, who is the Lead Care and Support Pastor at Hope Fellowship Church in Frisco, TX. I wanted to have Broc in to talk about one of the ministries he specifically oversees -- ReGeneration -- which is a 12 step recovery ministry. I finished going through ReGeneration near the end of 2023 after 48 weeks, and it's something I wanted to unpack more with him. Whether you know anything, or nothing about ReGeneration, or are just even curious about a recovery ministry, I encourage you to tune in. I have been referring clients to ReGen for 10-12 years, and I finally figured it was time I went through it myself after needing to work through some painful issues in my own life, but in the context of community. Check out more of my work at my website www.rhettsmith.com

It has been a little over 8.5 years since I first launched my podcast, but I've taken long breaks, and have not recorded a new episode in over a year and a half.  It's been a season of working on my own personal and relational life with others, and diving deep into some new things. In this episode I talk about my vision for this new relaunch of my podcast and the importance of the word praxis. It is my desire to bridge theory and learning to practice, but praxis is more than that. Praxis is about the importance of our theory and practice, but with the end goal in mind. How we are doing something, and who we are becoming in the process, is of utmost importance.  I hope you will join me in this new season of my podcast, and I hope you will find not only valuable insight for your life, but new practices that are transformative. I am looking forward to this journey as well and from learning from new guests along the way, as well as from listeners like yourself. 

Earlier this year I was really impacted by Michael Easter's book The Comfort Crisis. And I think what stood out to me the most was really the idea that in order to grow, one must work on becoming more comfortable with the uncomfortable -- and I liked how he connected it with the idea of progressive overload that we often find in the exercise/strength literature. When I came across that it really resonated with my work on anxiety. Mainly -- that for people to really transform their anxiety it is a process of taking their insight and putting it into practice -- but that transition is really uncomfortable and anxiety inducing. But it is in many ways a progressive overload of anxiety that one intentionally puts upon themselves to grow and heal. Lots of people have insight about their anxiety, but often they are missing some deeper truths about it that can bring healing, or they become paralyzed with insight. Too much info that keeps them from moving into practice. And sometimes people will try all kinds of new things to attack their anxiety, or will spend a life managing it, but don't have the insight to get at the healing they need. Navigating our anxiety requires that we gain deep insight about it, and then we put that insight into intentional consistent practice. That is what transforms it. But the process can create anxiety, and so learning to get comfortable with the uncomfortable is the journey we must all be on.

In this episode I share with you some lessons I've recently learned in hiring an endurance running coach to help me train and complete the UTMB trail race this year in the Alps.  I talk about the importance of hiring a coach (therapist, executive coach, etc) to help with: coming up with a flexible plan to create change and accomplish your goals. the importance of accountability that comes with hiring a coach and how it increases discipline, provides correction and creates an environment for practice. the benefit of receiving encouragement in a coaching relationship/therapeutic relationship. connecting to the resources and tools and networks that will help you to continue to grow. Check out the episode. 

This podcast episode is a further exploration of the blog post, Anxious Progression One Day at a Time.  In this episode I explore the concept of progressive overload in physical fitness, and how that same concept can be applied to working through anxiety -- mainly, progressively adding anxiety to our lives that we have to sit with, face, overcome, etc. It's through the progressive overload of anxiety that we are ultimately transformed. In this episode I share my own journey of doing this, as well as share some ideas and stories how others have used this concept -- all set against the backdrop of my 100 mile run (which was a progressive overload for me physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually -- over the course of many years).

I recently wrote about this on my blog -- because I've realized the last few months that I have been depressed and anxious for a while. Spurred on by the continual navigation of COVID, and how that has impacted things culturally, as well as some of the way things are currently done on a day to day basis -- I've realized that there has been a latent affect to what has been going on for 18 months, and finally some of that was starting to emerge in my mental health. In this episode I talk about three important things that can really help you if you find yourself struggling with your mental health -- particularly, depression and anxiety. I will take a look at what it means to acknowledge, identify and reframe your depression and anxiety -- and how these things could be really crucial to navigating your mental health in a positive way.  

I have always been a fan of breath work, especially in the way that it has not only been so helpful for my own life and the anxiety that I have struggled with -- but I have literally seen it change the people's lives that I work with. Breath work is integral to our ability to emotionally regulate -- to stay calm and connected, not only with ourselves, but with others. In this episode I explore: the book that really shifted my belief in breath work some tools that I recommend for breath work my 110 day experiment with taping my mouth shut at bedtime helpful apps to practice breath work why breath work is so critical. how my anxiety levels decreased drastically and my sleep increased drastically. varying breath work methods I used in my running and weight lifting training.   Here are some of the Things/People that I mention in this episode: Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor Art of Manliness Interview with James Nestor Headspace app Calm app Don't Panic app Breathwrk app

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.  Pierre Teilhard de Chardin I'm definitely no expert on the topic of fasting, but I have been experimenting with it for a few years, and finally decided to do my longest fast since I first tried it back on Maunday Thursday in 1999. In early February I did my first ever 5 day water only fast. And it was a very difficult and amazing experience. I want  to share with you my ongoing experiment with fasting -- but as I do -- I always recommend that you consult with your doctor, health coach, etc, before you decide to do your own. Though I grew up in a rich faith tradition where fasting was an important spiritual practice, I know that fasting is really an integrative discipline that interconnect our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual lives. In this episode I will discuss: the basic details of my fast what I added to my water (lemon juice, salt, LMNT) my experience of losing 13lbs in 5 days. defining your purpose for fasting the double standard when it comes to fasting how fasting brings your emotional, mental and spiritual life to the surface in a very raw form.   Links to Things/People Mentioned in the Episode Valter Longo The Longevity Diet Zach Bush Ion Gut Health Prolon -- 5 Day Fasting/Mimicking Diet

At the beginning of each new year we tend to think about turning the page on the current year, setting some goals, and moving with energy and momentum towards the new year that awaits us. Though there is no magic with the turning of the calendar year, it does offer us a chance to think about resetting. But this was a different kind of year. 2020 threw all kinds at challenges at us, and as we move into 2021, I don't think any of us are under the illusion that a new year will automatically change things. But it still does offer us what the New Year transition has always offered us -- a change to pause for a minute and reflect upon what we have been through, and to think about where we are going. What I have found helpful in this transitional period is to identify some specific goals that I can work on for the year -- ones that I can track and measure -- ones that involve a certain element of risk and the potential for failure. So in this episode I want to come alongside of you and share what I have been doing that is helpful for me. You probably have your own methods, but I hope you learn something new and beneficial from how I do things. In this episode I discuss --the importance of thinking about goals over the long term -- not just in short frames of time. I talk about the quotes by Frederick Nietzsche, Eugene Peterson and Rich Roll that sent the context for this "long obedience in the same direction". --Categorizing goals in the areas of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. --Importance of habits to goal setting and achieving goals, with specific attention to cornerstone/keystone habits. --Writing down and reviewing and re-evaluating your goals / perhaps in a journal you write with hand -- like the Leuchtterm 1917 linked below. --The concept of drift and learning to "defy drift" (something my executive coaching mentor discusses)   --Hindrances that often get in the way of achieving goals. Link Rich Roll on overestimating what can be accomplished in a year, and underestimating what can be accomplished over the course of a decade. Friedrich Nietzsche on a "long obedience in the same direction". Eugene Peterson -- A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society Charles Duhigg -- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business James Clear -- Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones Drew Sams Instagram post on his word of "outside" Leuchtterm 1917 journal (I use the lined one / sometimes I use the dotted matrix one as well)  

It's hard to know where to begin when describing my friend Marc Payan. Just Google his name and see what comes up. Marc is a leader everywhere he goes, and like few people I have seen before, he inspires and encourages those around him to life a transformed life. That's the best way I can put it -- though it doesn't even really capture accurately what I want to say about Marc. So you are going to have to take a listen. And check out his Instagram where he posts a lot of great content and daily stories. Oh, and did I mention all the amazing work he has done in communities with his Payan X "movement". Or that he is a Lululemon ambassador who has garnered global attention with his virtual running community during COVID-19. As you can see, Marc is hard to describe in a few sentences, so I hope you enjoy our conversation covering a lot of topics from leadership, to his quad core principles, to his love of endurance running. Check out our video interview on YouTube

Part of being human is that we get anxious. And no human can opt out of experiencing anxiety. It visits all of us at varying times in our lives, and to varying degrees. But what if you can reframe anxiety in a way that you see it as a friend, rather than a foe. What if your anxiety could help you grow? I explore this and what it means to be anxious. And how we often misinterpret critical passages and understandings on this topic.

Todd Sandel (CEO and Founder of The SouthCity Group) and I discuss the importance of play and rest at home and in organizations. One of the most important things leaders can do is model from top down the importance of play and rest to their teams.

Todd Sandel (CEO and founder of The SouthCity Group) and I continue our conversation around leadership during this time of uncertainty due to COVID-19. In this episode we address leadership drift due to overworking and trying to prove ourselves worthy of adding value.

In my ongoing conversations with Todd Sandel (CEO and founder of The SouthCity Group), we discuss the difference between personal wellness and productivity. One leads to burnout, while the other can lead to a thriving home and organization.

Todd Sandel (CEO and founder of The SouthCity Group) and I continue our conversation about leadership during this time of uncertainty. In today's episode we focus on the habits and routines that help leaders and their organizations thrive during this time. As well as talking about what that looks like in the home. Specifically the importance of tuning in with one another.