Welcome And Slow Down Sunday

SPEAKER_02 0:07

Blessings, love and blessings, everyone. Blessings, love and blessings. This is the sweet spot. You're back. It's slow down Sunday here on The Sweet Spot. And I'm Dr. Derek Sweet. I'm your host on The Sweet Spot. For those of you who don't know me, I am a board certified psychiatrist. I work in sports, mostly in sports psychiatry, but more than that. More than that, Sweet Spot, as you know, I'm your partner. I'm your fellow sojourner on this journey that we call life: unlocking the mysteries of life, as we have been all week with my great guest, my great friend, a great man, Cam Clark. Hey Cam, what's up, boss? How are you, Dr. Sweet? I'm doing just fine, man. I've been really blessed this week to have spent so much time with you. We don't get to do this uh that often. And I really thank you for for making the time, making the time to join us here on the sweet spot for this week of just uh chewing the fat and kicking it with each other, chilling, uh just trying to figure it out. I love every minute of it, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

No doubt, man. It's been a treat to me as well.

Why Stillness Resets Performance

Awe, Astrophysics And Connection

SPEAKER_02 1:24

Yeah, 100%. So, Pam, yesterday we we tackled self-care, and it was really cool. We really got into that. And today we follow up self-care with what we call slow down Sunday. The reason we're calling it Slow Down Sunday is that we wanted to even prepare ourselves more, not just by self-care, but by also a sense of stillness, a sense of surrender, even getting into a little bit of silence and slowing down enough so that we can reset, be fully reset for what's coming tomorrow. Making who's Monday. The week is already here, and Monday we all hit it. You as a football player, it's a little bit different for you, I know, in the NFL because Sunday is game day, too. So it's really not a slow down Sunday, typically. But what I'm talking about here is more of a reset. Even if you slow down for five minutes just to reset, even if you take uh uh two minutes of silence just to reset, this sets up great performance. This sets up great recovery, this sets up the kind of week that you feel a sense of balance, a sense of control. This is the kind of thing you can control. You talked about controlling the controllables all week. And part of what happens on Slowdown Sunday is that we we take control. We take control of our surrender, our silence, our solitude, and slowing down. That's what we do. In the ancient wisdom camp, it says this be still and know. Stillness has a knowing. There's something about getting still that brings knowledge and not just any kind of knowledge. The ancient wisdom goes further. Be still and know that I'm God. So divine connection comes out of stillness and slowing down. Revelation comes out of slowing down. Yesterday we talked about noticing things in your orbit, in your surroundings, as if it was for the very first time. When you slow down, you're able to do that. When the car is moving so fast, when we're driving so fast, we we we can't see everything. We we can't even appreciate what's around us. And in the spirit of being right here, right now, slow down Sunday anchors us. And Cam, fair warning. In Slow Down Sunday, we we get a little spooky. We we talk about astrophysics. And the reason we talk about astrophysics is not that we're astrophysicists by any stretch. We don't know anything about astrophysics. That's for like people like Carl Sagan and Neil Tyson deGrasse and these other amazing uh thinkers. But we we draw from the universe, we draw from the laws, uh, the observations of astrophysics, and we recognize the value of connecting to the universe. We connect to so many things, our cell phones, we connect to our television, we connect to our loved ones, but there is this universe outside, this universe in which we're existing, and it has laws, and it has all these energies and these lessons that it wants to teach us. And and and and and spending time in astrophysics helps us because the connections are important. We are connected to each other biologically, we're connected to this world um chemically, through all the chemicals, the carbons, hydrogens, and the at some ways, and we're also connected to the universe anatomically, right? So you have biological connections with each other, we have chemical connections with the with the world, and with the universe, we have anatomical connections. And so just drawing from that level of understanding, we recognize that we're just a speck in a vast universe. It's amazing. We are nothing, we're infinitesimally small in this universe. Nothing. If we could zoom out a gazillion feet above us, we'd be blown away of how tiny our existence is compared to what's in this universe. And that should give us awe. And the last thing I'll say, Cam, is the part that bugs me out the most about this whole universe astrophysics thing is according to their theories, we're made up of carbon, we're made up of hydrogen, we have other elements in us, oxygen, other kinds of elements that are in us, copper. And the stars in the universe are made up of the same thing. The universe is made up of the same elements that we are made up of. When we decompose, when we die not to be morbid, we go back to these elements. The ancient wisdom says ashes to ashes, dust to dust, however you want to call it. But the notion that the carbons and the and the elements that we're breathing in are the very elements that we are. When you think about it, we are inside the universe, but the universe is also inside of us. Wow. Yeah. So that's us on Slowdown Sunday. This is why we got we call ourselves spooky because we're like, all right, so what do we do with this? What do we do with this? You know? I say what we do with it is that we we we we get still and we we we have awe. You know, we we forget, like when you go on vacation and you go, wow, you know, and you see a beautiful place. That's a moment that's important to the whole body-mind spirit thing. You slow down to appreciate the the space, the environment, the universe, the crashing waves of the ocean, the swaying trees, the sun, the birds chirping, all the stuff that's on vacation. And the people who live there, they're just going to work every other day. It means nothing to them. Yes. So the theory of relativity comes in too. So, Pam, what do you make of all of this? How do you surrender? How do you slow down? When do you slow down?

From Cosmos To Daily Presence

The Power Of Timeouts In Sport

SPEAKER_01 8:34

Yeah, I think it's important that the entire time I've heard you go over your thoughts on the subject, you always said slow down, but you never said stop. You said slow down. I think it's imperative that we preface this with it's slowing down if not stopping. Because once you stop, all the momentum that you gain from starting, you're back at square one. Right. So I love the fact, like when I when I heard you, you know, we talked about self-care Saturday yesterday, and you also go listen to that episode. We talked about self-care Saturday and we talked about Rick NASCAR. We talked about the pit stops, and but also at the beginning at the end of the race, sometimes they just they just lap, they drive around, right? And they they drive around slowly, but they don't stop, right? So I think it's important to preface with that. But I'm a football player and I can't help myself. And I know more about football than I do about astrophysics or anything like that. But just hearing you speak, it couldn't help me but think about timeouts, right? In competition, the significance of timeouts and what happens during timeouts, right? I think is more important the point that I'm looking to drive home, right? This could be first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, right? Even the fourth quarter. What happens during a timeout, right? Who calls the timeout, right? It's it's usually the leader of the team, the person that can sit back and say, hold on, things aren't going the way they should be. Or I might, there might be a note that I might need to add in. Let me gather the troops. I'm gonna be the one to tell everyone, look, we're gonna pause, come to the sideline, we're gonna re root. And after this timeout, you're gonna re-enter the field of play at a better spot with a better understanding and a better action plan than what you came to the sideline with. So if we look at just timeouts, right? When you get to the sideline, I'll fill all the non-athletes in, right? Coaches, what are you seeing out there, right? He might not be asking you what you're seeing. He also might say, Well, this is what I'm seeing. These are the adjustments that need to be made. Or you're doing this right. This is how we're going to take advantage of what you already do well. We're going to create a whole game plan. We're going to go in where you're strong, we're going to attack them where they're weak, pretty much, right? So I love that. And then after we take that break, you return to the field of play with a better understanding, better game plan, but you're right back at it with that same sense of tenacity, right? Because we didn't stop. We didn't stop. We took a short break, we kept going, we planned, which is important. And then now we're in a better position than we were. So for me, when I was just listening to you, I just started to think about timeouts and what happens, whether it's basketball, football, basketball, they come to the sideline, they're on the whiteboard and they're drawing up. Okay, this is how we're going to execute moving forward. Because if maybe if we didn't take this timeout, we might not have that favorable result that we want on making lose Monday or finish finish strong Friday. So to me, Sundays or it's a lot like a timeout. Where can we pause, right? Not not stop. Where can we pause and reevaluate, reassess, and then go back out with a with a renewed sense of purpose and why and a plan for action. Right? So just sitting down and not doing anything, if you do nothing, you're gonna get nothing. So I think it's about being, and whether that's you just whether you're you're planning, whether you're whatever it is that you need to do, and you know better than I do, take that time out, be your own coach, and send yourself back into this next week with a better game plan, with a better strategy than what you had the week before.

SPEAKER_02 12:52

Hmm.

unknown 12:54

Wow.

Rest Versus Strategy Timeouts

SPEAKER_02 12:55

Well, ladies and gentlemen, you see why uh Cam Clark was the very first guest we have here. Uh the Cam, you are, yeah, that was just brilliantly said. I uh yeah, here I am talking about astrophysics and surrender and all this. And you as an athlete, as a just timeout. Take a timeout. And it's brilliant because yes, if we take the time out as you were speaking, I'm thinking in my mind, yeah, that makes sense. Because if I take a timeout, that gives me a chance to recalibrate, to grasp what's going on, to maybe hear another perspective, and to come back out of the timeout ready to fight, renewed, with a renewed sense of purpose, with a game plan. Because sometimes we need to retool the game plan, and the timeout, slow down Sunday, gives us the chance to come out with a renewed sense of what it is that we're going to do and accomplish. And in a game, yeah, that happens all the time. Sometimes you need two or three timeouts. I've seen coaches do that. They'll call them back to back if necessary. I've also seen them guard their timeouts, be strategic about their timeouts. But you know what? There's always a timeout. And when you don't take a timeout, what you risk is just running the game and not having perspective. And you're at greater risk, I think, of losing. Greater risk of not accomplishing what you want to because you didn't take a timeout. Or you're not using your timeouts constructively. Yes. And that's the beauty of it, you know. And I love how you brought us into something very, very clear here that this is a timeout. And a lot of times in basketball, anyway, and hockey too, some it's out of a timeout, you know, you really you can see a difference, a very quick difference in how a team approaches the game. And if you're listening to this, if you're listening to this, what uh when was the last time you took a timeout? When was the last time you took a timeout and allowed yourself to get the wisdom? Be still and know. Sometimes God speaks to you in the timeout. Maybe nobody's there. Maybe it's just you and God. Maybe that's where the knowledge comes from. Because you took the timeout. You can't get the message if you don't slow down enough.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Yes. And there's two types of timeouts, in my experience, at least. There's the timeout when it's it's time for rest. Like my guy, I'm the coach, my guys are tired. They're you're noticing the fatigue. Let's get these guys to the sideline as soon as possible. Let's run the trainers onto the field, let's get them full of electrolytes, sugar, salts, all those kind of type things. Let's refuel, let's refuel them and then send them back out to compete, right? And then there's timeouts for strategy. There's times out, there's timeout to, okay, now it's time to, all right, the troops may be fresh. I may be fresh, but what I'm doing might not be working. Or there may be a more efficient way to do so, right? Now, two things can be true. There can be a rest, there can be rest and strategy at the same time. But it's it's good to be, I would encourage you to be clear on what the purpose of your timeout is, right? Coaches, we look at sports, coaches just don't call timeouts just to call them. How many times do we watch a professional sporting event and uh the commentator is critiquing the timing of the timeout? Why would he call a timeout at this point of the game? Well, he should have called a timeout. Look at his team, you know? So why are we taking this rest? Right? Let's assign a role to the rest that we're taking. Okay. And it may fit it, it may, and it could be both, but I I think it would help, it would it would help me when I take my rest, I'd say, to understand why I'm resting, the goal of this rest, because it's not always time to sometimes it is you just can't rest. Right? You you you can't rest. And sometimes it's time to strategize.

SPEAKER_02 17:30

In either case, just be still. Yes. Take a moment of stillness, take a moment of surrender, take a moment of silence, and that can come in different ways. Slow down. Yep. Slow down. You can't even get gas in the car if it's moving too fast. You know, even at the gas station, you gotta slow down enough to get it in, to refuel, as you said. The different kinds of timeouts. The strategizing timeout, the refueling timeout. Sometimes it's a time must do nothing and accomplish everything. Do nothing and accomplish everything.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

Maybe the other team or life, whatever your situation is, is just beating you. It's beating you to a pulp. And this timeout, I've had plenty of those. Well, this timeout is strictly just to end the beating. Let's just stop the beating. Let's just put a pause on the beating. Or I'll use the saying that Dr. Sweet told me several years ago. Sometimes you just have to be the umbrella in the storm. You know, it's raining outside. It's we can't control the elements. It's going to continue to rain, right? But let that let your time out be the umbrella in the storm. Yeah.

Honor Recovery And Universal Rhythms

SPEAKER_02 18:54

That's that's deep. That's just deep. From yours truly. Wow. I I did not, yeah, wow. Okay, I'm with you on that. I'm so with you on that. Be the umbrella. Let your time out be the umbrella in the storm. And if you're listening, yeah, something else you have to do. You have to put up the umbrella. You can't stop the storm. But that doesn't mean you have to get wet 100%. Doesn't mean that you have to be drenched. Put up the umbrella, take a time out. Breathe. Just breathe. Sometimes that's all it takes. Go to your prayer closet, say your prayer. Chant if that's what you do. Whatever it is. But respect the process. Respect the universe. The universe is about recovery, it's about restoration. The universe is that the sun sets and it rises, but it doesn't fail on that. It doesn't fail. There's light and there's dark. And everything has a time in the ancient wisdom under the sun. There's a time for this and a time for that. So recognizing that when you don't make the time to slow down, you're in violation of universal law. You may even be in violation of divine law. And let's be concrete, you're definitely in violation of physical laws because everything needs rest and recovery. Look, even your cell phone is teaching you a lesson because it too needs to recover. It too needs to be recharged. I love that. It's true. It's facts. There's a quote, I don't know who said it, I don't know if it was Anne Lamar. Somebody said a quote, like, everything will work again if you unplug it and plug it back in. Like if you give it a few minutes, you know, to reset. And that's that includes us. That includes us. We our our batteries need recharging.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

And uh times our best plays come after timeouts.

Practical Reset And Recalibration

SPEAKER_02 20:59

Absolutely. My mom, my mom is has a thing where she tells me sometimes that she'll sleep on something, and in the morning she'll give me the answer. And dog God, that woman, she had brilliant solutions. Brilliant solutions in the morning after the rest. Again, something about the wisdom, something about the wisdom of that is what slowdown Sunday is about. And so that's what we're inviting people into. We're not saying stop, to your point, Ken. We're not saying stop what you're doing. We're not saying give it up. But there's a value to slowing down. There's a value to allowing yourself to recharge, to reset, to recalibrate, to refresh, to renew. How many R's can I get in there, dude? But it's important. Because it is, it's important. And so as we prepare for making moves. Monday, we should honor the Sabbath, honor the the rest, honor the time that we need to recalibrate, to refresh, to renew, to recharge. And what, if you're listening, is your plan? We can't tell you what to do, but we can certainly invite you into the conversation. We can invite you in. So today, maybe it's not about analyzing anything, it's not about evaluating anything. Today I will not analyze, I will not evaluate, I will not determine what's right and wrong. I'll just accept where I am and I'll breathe. I'll slow down and I'll recalibrate. I'll allow myself to be refreshed. I'm going to be still. And in the stillness, I'll find I'll find my truest self. That's where I'll find me. That's where I'll find me. That's where I'll find my higher power. That's where I'll find my higher purpose. Yes. Absolutely. Thank you so much, Cam. Thank you. Thank you for a great week, man. I really appreciate this. We've been trying to do this for how long have we been trying to make this happen?

SPEAKER_01 23:17

It's been some time. Yes. But the time was the time was now, and I'll I'll be honored to be able to join you and your audience this past week as we uh as we cover these these various topics.

SPEAKER_02 23:28

Absolutely. Well, uh you are so good at this and so fluid and just such a blessing and alike that I would be honored if at some point in the future you would consider hosting the sweet spot. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 23:46

I I'd be honored to.

SPEAKER_02 23:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

You're honored to ask. I'm honored to accept. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 23:52

Maybe when I go on vacation in the summer, I go, you know, when I go away for the summer or something like that, we could think about that and we could come back and discuss that. I don't know if I can afford your fees though. You might be too expensive. So we'll have to see. Maybe I'll have to talk to your attorneys.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

No attorneys on this, and uh, I'm sure we'll be able to work something out.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

All right, my guy. All right, love and blessings. Cam Clark, everyone. Uh, thank you again, Cam. This is the sweet spot. We've enjoyed our time with uh Cam Clark here, who has been nothing short of extraordinary and amazing. And uh Cam, if somebody wants to make contact with you, or uh are you on any of any social media platforms that they might be able to follow you or make contact? Or are you so rich that and so are you so rich and and so famous that we there's no avenue to you?

Gratitude, Future Plans, And Connect

SPEAKER_01 24:49

As you see, the audience doctors give me a hard time, but I'm on LinkedIn, Cameron Clark, C-A-M-E-R-O-N, Clark C L A R K. Um, you can find me on Twitter, Instagram. My at name is made man71, M-A-D-E-M-A-N-7-1. Um, and that's that's me. All right.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

Well, Cam, thanks again. This will not be your last time on the Sweet Spot. You've already been invited to host the Sweet Spot, and we will probably have you come back to talk about some other topics that we're gonna cover in the future. Thanks again, brother. Thank you. All right, bye bye.