Damian Hughes

I might send a carrier pigeon round.

Yes, Jake, it's called the ironic process theory.

And in fact, when we sat down with Vex King, Vex spoke about this.

He gave the example.

He said, don't think of a pink elephant.

Now, as soon as you tell somebody not to think of that, what's the first thing that comes into your mind?

Yeah, because your brain can't process a negative.

So the idea of telling somebody not to do something, you put the idea of that thought in their head.

So for Tom to say, don't think about fear, I don't think about fear, that's all your brain will attach to it.

It will keep throwing images of fear and things that are designed to spike your cortisol levels to get your attention.

So by acknowledging it and being willing to talk about it so freely...

you almost remove the power of fear to inhibit your ability.

And that's why I thought Tom's interview with us was so powerful because, again, you look from the outside in and you assume that these guys have mastered it.

They know something that the rest of us don't.

They've somehow managed to subvert their own natural psychological impulses.

And the reality is they're not.

They're just willing to make themselves vulnerable and talk about it.

I mean, does that ring a bell with your own experiences, Jay?

Yeah, it did.

And like when you sort of share some of the stories from your own background, I'm interested, like, how do you articulate fear now?