Welcome back to the Sweet Spot, beautiful souls. Yesterday on The Sweet Spot, we started our journey and we had a great time with the grounding question: where am I now? That was the first question we're asking in a series we're doing this week called The Seven Questions That Can Change Your Life. I'm Dr. Derek Sweet. I'm a board certified psychiatrist. I work in high performance, but more than that, I am your partner. I am your fellow traveler, a sojourner on the road, the mysterious road, the mystery we call life. We're doing this together. And this week we're not talking about answers, we're talking about questions because we realize that the world is giving us all kinds of answers. But to really get the kind of solution and outcome we want, we've got to ask the right question. Yesterday on Making Moves Monday, we asked the signal question, the very important question: where are you? Because at the table, you have to be honest. And where am I? Is the central question. We said it was the first question God asked Adam. Today is Take Action Tuesday. And before we take any action, any meaningful step, there's another question that clears the path for us every time. And that question is what's really holding me back? What's really holding me back? And I don't mean the surface things. I don't mean the polished up answer that we're gonna give. Not the story we tell everybody else. I'm talking about a deep, honest, quiet searching for what's really holding you back. The thing you don't always say out loud, the thing we never say out loud. And it's important that we ask ourselves that question this take action Tuesday before we do anything. What's really holding me back? What is it? The scriptures say the ancient wisdom tells us what to do with it. Let us lay aside every weight. This is in the book of Hebrews. Let us lay aside every weight, every obstacle, every heavy thing, so we can run with endurance. You see right there, you've got to ask yourself the question: what is the weight? What's holding me back before you can take the action to run with endurance? It's very clear. Love the ancient wisdom. You can't run if you don't first admit what's weighing you down. Alright, maybe the ancient wisdom doesn't do it for you. Everybody's not into ancient wisdom. How about some music? Jay-Z. Jay-Z said something that also fits perfectly here. He said, and I'm quoting Jay-Z right now, I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of not trying. That's a man telling you straight that the real danger isn't the obstacle, it's the hesitation. It's the fear underneath the fear. It's the thing inside you that keeps you from stepping forward, from taking the action you know you should take. And you know, here on the sweet spot we talk about science, soul, and success. So we always drop a little neuroscience in. Yesterday we talked about the insula, that dashboard in your brain that's always looking inside of you to answer the help you answer the question where am I? Today I'm gonna remind you of our two favorite brain structures, the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. As you know, on the sweet spot, we've determined this. We live between courage and fear. And the amygdala is all about fear and the threats that are in our life. It's there as an alarm bell. The prefrontal cortex, that's our thinking CEO. It helps us make rational decisions, and we're somewhere between being anxious and afraid and making good decisions, being balanced, and being a mature human being. One or the other, or sometimes somewhere in the middle. Well, here's the thing: when you ask the question, you ask this second question that we're asking, what's really holding me back? You're bringing the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala into focus. Why? Because what's really holding you back, especially if it's a fear, the amygdala, the threat detector, is running the show. When you decide, oh, this is what's holding me back, and this is how I'm gonna handle it, the prefrontal cortex, your CEO, your thinking brain, takes over. When we avoid things, my friends, a conversation, a truth, whatever it is, the amygdala, the internal alarm system goes into overdrive. That's why hesitation can feel so heavy and so weird. But the moment we say, okay, that's what's actually holding me back, something powerful is happening. The alarm, the amygdala, it goes down, it dims. The prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain that makes the good decisions, it lights up. And when you name the thing that's bothering you, you name the thing that's holding you back, you restore power to your action, whatever action you're gonna take. And that's what take action 2 says about not grinding more, not forcing more. We've done a few of those messages, but clearing the internal block today by asking the right question so you can finally step into the thing you've been called or that you know you should do. So here's your practice for today: a gentle, honest, brave practice. I want you to finish this sentence. If I'm honest, what's really holding me back is, and you finish it, only you know what it is. And here's my thing: you don't have to fix this today, my friend. You just have to face it. Because facing it is the first act of freedom for you. And let me leave you with this thought: whatever is holding you back is not stronger than the God who goes before you, the God who lives inside of you, the God who walks beside you, you and God, that's enough to begin this journey. Your courage to name what's holding you back is a sign that you're ready to rise above it. And once you see the weight clearly, you can finally sort of set it down, put it aside. An action starts on the inside before it becomes something we see on the outside. I believe in you. I know you can take this action, I know you know what's holding you back, and I know you have the power, the courage, the faith, the ability to get on it. This is Dr. Derek Sweet. You're listening to The Sweet Spot. Wow, we did it tomorrow, wouldn't it? All Wednesday. And we'll ask another question that shapes everything. What do I really want? What do I really want? That's coming tomorrow. All right, that one's gonna bring us direction, clarity, and alignment. So if today lifted you up, if this message about the burden, about the obstacle, what the weight that's holding, if we if that hits you today and you know someone who's ready to get free enough to move again, to take action again, share this. And I'll see you tomorrow. Love and blessings.