ecap Of The Energy Bus Rules

urpose As The Antidote To Burnout

hat Science Says About Purpose

rankl Aurelius Faith And The Why

hare Subscribe And Finish Strong

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Greetings and welcome. You did it. You got to Friday. Well, you didn't just get to Friday. Here's what you did. You got to finish Strong Friday here on the Sweet Spot. Because around these parts, we don't just say TGIF. We say Finish Strong Friday. Yes, my friends, I'm Dr. Derek Sweet. And yes, you're in the Sweet Spot. And yes, you're gonna have the best Friday ever. Because we are in an amazing series here where we're unpacking a wonderful book, an amazing book, an extraordinary book, a book that we've been calling the Energy Bus. Yes, written by John Gordon. And we've been unpacking it here where science, soul, and success come together. Here on the sweet spot, we say science fuels the finish. Soul finds the purpose, and success belongs to those who don't stop. I made that up. I made that up for this particular episode because this episode, sweet spotters, is the day five of our series on the energy bus. We've been unpacking John Gordon's classic book, One Rule at a Time, One Day at a Time here, and we've been saying that seven days, in seven days, we're gonna change how we drive because we have been on the energy bus. Oh yes, we have. And today, Friday, we arrive at the rule because we've been looking at rules now. Remember, this whole thing started on Monday with this dude George that gets on this bus because his life is a mess, his car breaks down, he gets on this bus, he meets this woman, her name just happens to be guess what? Joy, even though he's having a horrible time, and she gives him these rules, these 10 rules that are gonna change how he looks at life. And we have been co-drivers on this bus, really taking in the rules to help ourselves. And we're at rule nine today. Can you believe it? We are at rule nine, sweet builders. Rule nine is drive with purpose. On Monday, you took the wheel, you realized that hey, hey, get out of that wheel. I'm the driver of my bus. You are the driver, choice. On Tuesday, you fill the tank. Remember? Desire, vision, focus, direction. On Wednesday, went all Wednesday, you packed the bus. Enthusiasm, we said, was contagious. We talked about attraction. On Thursday, you protected the bus. Not everybody gets a ticket. Not everybody gets a seat. Not everybody gets a ride. Protection. So that was choice on Monday. Direction on Tuesday. Attraction. Who's coming on? On Wednesday? Protection. Who's getting off on Thursday? Yeah, four days. Four core words. Eight rules covered. We have done work this week, sweet builder. And now Friday. Friday asks the deepest question of the entire week. Why are you driving? Why? Why are you driving? That's right. Look, if this is your first time on the bus, welcome. Here's where we are. You're the driver. Monday. Desire, vision, focus, fill the tank. Tuesday. Pack the bus. Enthusiasm is contagious. Wednesday. Not everybody gets a seat Thursday. Why am I repeating that? Because those are your rules. Rule one, you're the driver. Rules two and three, desire, vision, focus, fill the tank. Rules four and seven, pack the bus. Enthusiasm is contagious. Rules five and six, not everybody gets a seat. Why are you driving though? Those eight rules covered everything. But why are you driving? Rule 9 says this: the purpose. Purpose is the ultimate fuel for our journey through life. When we drive with purpose, we don't get tired or bored, and our engines don't burn out. This is a great message for Finish Strong Friday, isn't it? Purpose is the ultimate fuel for our journey through life. When we drive with purpose, we don't get tired or bored, and our engines don't burn out. When we drive with purpose, sweet builder, we don't get tired. We don't get bored. Our engines don't burn out. You see, the author here is talking about motivation. He's talking about motivation that is anchored in something that is so powerful that you can just kick the motivation out of the room because it's the engine. And that engine under the motivation is purpose. Oh yes, indeed. Purpose is the engine underneath motivation. And the author makes a really powerful distinction that every performer, every one of us needs to hear. You don't get burned out from what you're doing. You get burned out because you forgot why you're doing it. Yeah, you don't burn out from the work, you burn out from losing the why. That is rule nine here. And on finish strong Friday, when the week has been long and the tank feels low, rule nine is not optional. It is the only thing that gets you across the finish line, is that purpose. And in the in sports psychiatry, in the literature, in the clinical literature, I want you to know that the journals I read, such as the Psychological Science Journal or the Journal of Research and Personality, you know what they say about people with purpose? I read them, so you don't have to read them. These journals say that people with purpose have a strong sense of finishing. They have lower cortisol reactivity to stress, they have better sleep quality, faster cognitive recovery after a setback, and they have significantly lower rates of depression and anxiety. Sweet spotter. Purpose activates the brain's reward circuitry. The same dopamine pathways we've talked about before, the same dopaminergic, the dopaminergic pathways that have been engaged by like things like an achievement, but it has one critical difference. Achievement can spike and fade. Purpose, it sustains. Purpose lasts. Purpose lasts. Absolutely. Victor Frankel wrote a book called Man's Search for Meaning. A book we're gonna cover eventually here on the uh sweet spot because I love that book. Uh Victor Frankel is a psychiatrist like myself, but he's the big difference is he's huge and famous, right? Victor Frankel is a psychiatrist, he's a Holocaust survivor. And he wrote this incredible book called Man's Search for Meaning. And this is what he documented in this book. Under the most extreme conditions available or imaginable, he observed that prisoners, the ones most likely to survive the Nazi concentration camps, were not the strongest or the youngest. They were the ones who had a reason. A reason to survive. He wrote from the Man Search to Meaning, one of the most verified texts in the history of psychology. Those who have a why to live can bear almost anyhow. Those who have a why can bear almost anyhow. He was describing concentration camps. Our author from The Energy Bus is describing a Friday afternoon. But you know what? The biology has some similarities. Purpose is the fuel, that's the message. They're not the same, clearly not the same circumstances. Clearly. But the purpose in there can be distilled out, and we can learn from those who endured even more than we could ever dream of bearing. Purpose is the fuel that outlasts everything else. Make sure you have your purpose intact. Make sure you know your purpose. How becomes easier. That's the thing. Yeah, yeah, that's the thing. Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius. You know I love him, I always keep quoting him. He wrote, confine yourself to the present. He ruled an empire, he fought wars, he buried children, he governed through a play, and every morning he returned to the same question: What is the purpose of this day? What am I here to do right now? He didn't wait for the perfect moment to drive with purpose. He drove with purpose through imperfect days. Because that is the only kind of day that exists. What did they say in the army, whatever, in the military, the only good day was yesterday? Yeah, yeah, 100%. So definitely know your purpose. What is your purpose? How are you making it work for you today? How is it going to help you finish strong? Where do you need to realign with your purpose? Absolutely. How does purpose keep your bus moving today? You're running on fumes? You're not lazy. It's not that you don't care. No, you didn't even choose the wrong destination. No, no, no. The work is there, the schedule's there, everything is still there. Fuel is what you need, and that fuel is purpose. I'm not gonna tell you to try harder, I'm not gonna tell you to go deeper, I'm not gonna tell you that this is an effort issue. The effort that's not it. You need to know your why again. Find your why again, not someone else's why, not the why you inherited, or nothing you're gonna perform for anybody else. This is your why. Why do you do it? Once you get back into that, that becomes your fuel, that becomes your purpose, and that is rule number nine. Not love portion number nine, rule number nine, okay? Yeah, and it's enough for you to finish the week. Hey, maybe love potion number nine is important, but this is finished strong Friday. Alright? And so you're gonna use rule number nine, and maybe you throw a little love potion number nine in there, but it's rule number nine. Know your purpose. Know your why. You don't burn out from the work, you burn out from losing the why. The problem is not your effort. Effort without without purpose is just motion. And you were not built just for motion, you were built for direction. Find your why again. That is your fuel, that is your energy, that's what's gonna get you re-energized. It's gonna clarify things. Maybe it'll tell you you're not in the right bus. So, yeah, maybe it'll tell you grab the wheel, whatever it's gonna do, know your purpose. Know your purpose. Because listen, the ancient wisdom was very clear on what the divine purpose for us is. For I know the plans I have for you, says God. Declares God, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and to not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Hey, that's purpose. Yeah, God does not put a bus driver behind the wheel without a destination in mind. Your purpose is not something you manufacture, it is something you discover and you drive towards it with everything you have. Yeah, in my view, Rule 9 of the ancient wisdom, Jeremiah 29.11, they're saying the same thing from different directions. The road is never random. The why is not yours to invent, it is yours to find, beloved, it is yours to trust, and you've got to drive. This is Finish Strong Friday. That is the fuel. If this registered with you, share it with someone who might benefit from it today. And if you haven't subscribed yet, make it your purpose to do so right now. It is completely free. Absolutely. Love and blessings to you. Your plans have already been chosen. Know your purpose and go forward. I'll see you tomorrow. Tomorrow's self-care Saturday. We're gonna take it down a notch. We're gonna look at uh another one or two of these rules and see where we go. Love and blessings to you. I'll see you tomorrow.