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Is Your Nervous System Sabotaging Your Success? How to Regulate Stress, Stop Self-Sabotage & Perform at Your Best

In this Dream Nation Breakfast Club episode of The Journey Podcast, host Josh Valentin explains how common entrepreneurial struggles like procrastination, perfectionism, burnout, overthinking, fear of rejection, and even fear of success may be driven by nervous system survival responses rather than character flaws. He breaks down how the brain prioritizes safety over success, how the amygdala and neuroception can interpret visibility and risk as threats, and why the body can override logic even when you know what to do. Josh shares regulation and healing approaches including box breathing, EMDR, tapping, vagal toning, and somatic experiencing, along with practical “life hacks” like posture shifts, humming/singing to stimulate the vagus nerve, movement and walking to discharge stress, and avoiding checking your phone first thing in the morning to prevent cortisol spikes. He connects chronic stress to reduced focus and performance, emphasizes holistic wellbeing for entrepreneurship, and encourages viewers to teach their nervous system that growth is safe. Josh also offers complimentary coaching sessions via a Calendly link (or DM “coach”) and invites questions about his five-day one-on-one challenge (DM “challenge”), then closes with a community challenge to protect emotional wellbeing and manage stress intentionally.

00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup
01:10 Mindset vs Nervous System
01:55 Survival Brain Explained
03:31 Trauma and Amygdala Alarms
05:48 Safety Questions and Rejection
08:55 Logic vs Instinct Responses
10:26 Perfectionism and Justifications
12:52 Somatics and Healing Tools
13:34 Coaching Offer and Resources
15:17 Breathwork and EMDR Basics
18:47 Vagus Nerve and Stress Health
24:39 Somatic Experiencing and Triad
28:49 Stop Self Fulfilling Labels
29:16 Posture Shifts Your State
30:33 Stress Brain and Gut Link
33:20 Trauma and Stuck Energy
35:09 Teach Safety for Growth
39:49 Humming and Vagus Calm
41:46 Regulation Beats Hustle
47:40 Move to Discharge Stress
49:47 Phone Free Mornings
51:48 Protect Your Emotional Home
56:40 Final Blessing and Coaching

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Your Life Isn’t Stuck—Your Standards Are | Raise Your Baseline, Raise Your Life (Breakfast Club)

This Breakfast Club personal development session focuses on the idea that people don’t get what they want in life—they get what they tolerate—and that feeling stuck is often the result of low standards tied to identity. The speaker explains the difference between goals (outcomes) and standards (minimum conditions you accept), showing how finances, health, relationships, and emotional peace reflect underlying standards. They outline how low standards create hidden resentment, quiet regret, identity erosion, and internal conflict, and emphasize that standards operate subconsciously and are identity-driven. Practical frameworks include identifying what you consistently allow, excuse, and postpone; understanding Parkinson’s Effect and the importance of reframing language from “have to” to “get to”; and adopting non-negotiables that remove options rather than relying on motivation. Three “life hacks” to raise standards are presented: the no-negotiation rule, environmental elevation (upgrading who you spend time with and what you consume), and raising the floor rather than the ceiling by setting minimums you can maintain on your worst days. The speaker shares personal examples involving workplace respect, personal presentation, valuing time, fitness routines, travel as a yearly standard, and how exposure to different environments and cultures can upgrade standards. The episode closes by distinguishing high standards from ego, framing them as self-respect and dignity, and invites viewers to choose one standard to raise today. The speaker also offers complimentary coaching sessions via DM with the word “coach,” and a five-day one-on-one challenge via DM with the word “challenge,” and asks viewers to like, share, and comment.

00:00 Your Life Isn’t Stuck—Your Standards Are (Intro + What to Expect)
01:47 Standards vs. Goals: The Minimum You Accept
03:56 Your Real Standards: What You Allow, Excuse & Postpone
05:09 Stop Procrastinating: Parkinson’s Law + “Have To” vs “Get To”
08:37 The Hidden Cost of Low Standards (Resentment, Regret, Identity Erosion)
09:45 Raising Standards at Home: Parenting, Health, Faith & Daily Habits
13:55 Standards Carry You: Non‑Negotiables, Boundaries & Personal Examples
18:49 Shoulds vs Musts: Why People Change Only at the Last Minute
20:52 Quick Pit Stop: Free Coaching Sessions + 5‑Day Challenge Invite
23:46 Standards = Identity (Not Effort): Remove Options, Eliminate Negotiation
26:57 You Don’t Rise to Goals—You Fall to Standards (Remember Your Worth)
29:12 Find Your Joy: Values, Alignment, and Clarity
29:42 The Core Principle: You Fall to Your Standards (Worst-Day You)
30:20 Life Hack #1: The No-Negotiation Rule (Consistency = New Software)
31:44 Life Hack #2: Environmental Elevation (People, Food, Media, Workspace)
37:46 Life Hack #3: Raise the Floor, Not the Ceiling (Standards for Worst Days)
42:30 High Standards Aren’t Perfection: Refusing to Collapse + Personal Story
43:55 Identity-Based Habits & Financial Self-Image (What You Believe You Deserve)
47:11 Exposure Upgrades Standards: High Performers, Culture, Travel, Manners
52:26 High Standards Without Ego: Self-Respect, Boundaries, Quiet Elevation
53:29 Final Baseline Reset: Raise Your Standards, Raise Your Life (Call to Action)

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