The True Meaning of Strength | Chris Duffin

Chris Duffin (0:00)

I'm not downplaying any trauma or things that have happened to people, but at the same time understanding, these are things that you don't have control of, and they're not what define you. You're defined by your actions and responses to those things.

And even if it's been significantly horrible, there's no reason why let it be that, why let that be the defining thing, and that you can still use and leverage what you can from that to become more resilient, to withstand the things that you don't anticipate that are coming next.

Michael Gervais (0:36)

Okay, welcome back, or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. My name is Dr. Michael Gervais, and by trade and training, I'm a sport and performance psychologist.

Now, the whole idea behind these conversations, behind this podcast is to learn from people, to learn from the extraordinaries, to better understand how they organize their internal life, to be able to challenge the edges and the reaches of the human experience. And that comes in the forms of business and sport and science and life in general. And what we're doing is working to pull back the curtain, to explore how they have committed to mastering both their craft and their minds in an effort to understand and express their potential.

I want to take a minute here to announce a really exciting event that we have coming up. As you continue to navigate the challenges and opportunities of 2024, I want to pose a question. What are you doing right now to be great with stress? How are you working with stress on your pursuit towards your most important ambitions and goals? And I just want to get right to the heart of the key elements, one in particular, for what it takes to excel in today's high heat, high stakes world. Because stress is not the problem that we think it is. Stress is a synonym for change. And our ability to be agile with change, that is the real opportunity at hand. So if you're wanting to unlock extraordinary results and sustainable performance in your life, it's not about avoiding or reducing stress. And as simple as that sounds, it's very tricky to do. But it is about fundamentally changing your relationship with it. And that's why I'm so thrilled to invite you to a special event. It's a free virtual event that we're offering. And it's called The Power of Embracing Stress. It's on Wednesday, March 6th at 2 p.m. Pacific. So to sign up, just head over to findingmastery.com/training. Whether it's advancing in your career, or improving your health, or cultivating stronger relationships, I think a new approach to stress can be one of the most powerful unlocks for you in your life. So join us for this free virtual training, The Power of Embracing Stress, on Wednesday, March 6th at 2 p.m. Pacific. Go to findingmastery.com/training to sign up. Once again, that's findingmastery.com/training. And I'm really excited to see you there.

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Chris is arguably one of the strongest pound for pound humans in the world. He is the only person to squat and deadlift over 1,000 pounds for reps.

He has a Guinness World Record for the sumo deadlift and was ranked the number one power lifter in the world for eight years straight. Now, anybody that is best in the world eight years straight is different in the way that they've organized their inner life and structured how they live. That being said, Chris wrote a best-selling memoir. It's titled The Eagle and the Dragon.