MJP-011B: Breaking Free from Mental Loops: Action Meets Awareness

Lisa

Welcome to Mind Jedi B-Sides. I’m Lisa. This is the pull-it-apart edition of the Mind Jedi Podcast—the after-party where the theories get stress-tested and sometimes torn to shreds. We don’t just nod along; we see if the big ideas actually survive in daylight. Denice?

Denice

Hey y’all, I’m Denice. I’m here for the messy middle—the metaphors, the neuroscience, the parts of your brain you swear you’re in charge of… but aren’t.

Max

And I’m Max. I’m the one that says the quiet part out loud. If something’s soft, I’ll slice it open. If it’s fluff, I’ll pop it. With love. Mostly.

Lisa

Perfect. Today we’re dissecting Episode 011 of the Mind Jedi Podcast: Why Problems Linger—and How to Break Free, with Jaxon Steele and Dr. Nolan Bishop. The big tension? Action versus awareness. Do you need to move before you understand—or understand before you move? That’s where we’re headed. Let’s dig in.

Lisa

Let’s open with the obvious question: why do problems linger even when we know better?

Denice

That’s the trickster brain. It convinces you that not changing is safer. It sells protection, but really—it’s just fear wearing a lab coat.

Max

Lab coat? That’s generous. Half the time it’s laziness in a hoodie. Let’s not glorify it—it’s just your brain saying, “Netflix over growth, thanks.”

Denice

Sure, but calling it “lazy” makes people feel defective. It’s not laziness—it’s strategy, just outdated.

Max

Strategy? That’s spin. If the “strategy” is keeping you broke, stuck, or bitter, maybe it’s just a bad excuse with a bow on it.

Lisa

Okay—here’s my take. The problem usually isn’t the situation. It’s how your mind interprets it. That interpretation is fueled by subconscious beliefs—sometimes old traumas you don’t even remember. Like one middle school humiliation writing a lifetime law: stay quiet, stay safe.

Denice

Exactly. “Don’t stand out.” “If you fail, they’ll never forget.” These subconscious scripts become policy. And that policy runs your adult life.

Max

I get that. But let’s be real—sometimes it’s not trauma, it’s just comfort addiction. People baby themselves with “safety” until the so-called safety feels like a coffin.

Lisa

Safe? More like bubble wrap you can’t breathe through. You think you’re dodging pain, but really you’re recycling it.

Denice

Right—the comfort coffin. Looks cozy, but it’s really a lid.

Max

Lid or not, people keep pulling it shut themselves. That’s the crazy part.

Lisa

And that’s why we pry it up here.

Lisa

So how do we actually break free? This is where Jaxon Steele and Dr. Nolan Bishop split. Two paths.

Max

Let’s start with Jaxon—he’s not pulling punches.

Denice

No—he’s swinging sledgehammers. His core argument is almost a slap: people think their way into suffering instead of acting their way out of it.

Max

“Momentum beats meditation,” right? That’s his war cry.

Denice

Exactly. He’s adamant life doesn’t change until you change your behavior. Period. For Jaxon, overthinking is a trap. He calls it “loop logic”—smart-sounding paralysis. His fix? Action. Any action. Do the thing, then let the insights catch up.

Max

See, that lands. Truth through traction. The belief doesn’t lead the step—the step builds the belief.

Lisa

But then there’s Dr. B. His philosophy? Slower, but deeper. He says if you act without understanding the fear underneath, you’ll just keep rerunning the same program. Change the costume, same play.

Denice

His metaphor is perfect: breadcrumbs. Fear, anxiety, frustration—those emotions aren’t enemies, they’re clues. Follow them and you’ll uncover the outdated belief or buried wound causing the loop.

Max

Breadcrumbs? That sounds like Hansel and Gretel therapy. Who has time to chase every crumb when you need to get moving?

Denice

It’s not wandering through the woods—it’s targeted. Ask: “What belief is this feeling protecting?” If you don’t interrogate it, you’ll just run the same lap forever.

Max

Or you just get out of your own head and move. Action starves the voice. Don’t give it oxygen with endless detective work.

Lisa

And that’s the collision point. Jaxon says: “Move now, understand later.” Dr. B says: “Understand or you’ll just move in circles.”

Denice

Not “understand everything.” Just notice. Investigate enough to unmask the script running the show.

Max

Or skip the script and stack the reps. Thoughts aren’t contracts—they’re noise. Put weight on the bar. Send the email. Walk five minutes.

Lisa

Here’s the synthesis: take the step, then watch what happens inside. Do the thing—then watch what your mind does when you do the thing.

Denice

And write it down: “They’ll think I’m annoying.” “I’ll fail again.” Once it’s on paper, it loses its grip.

Max

And then? Do the next rep. Awareness doesn’t replace action—it conditions it.

Lisa

Let’s talk discomfort. It’s the tripwire. Most of us treat it like a stop sign—but really, it’s just a smoke alarm. Loud, not lethal.

Denice

Exactly. And those alarms? They’re wired to ancient threats that don’t even exist anymore. We’re not fighting wolves—we’re fighting shadows.

Max

Shadows? Tell that to my old boss in Detroit. Every Monday was a firing squad in that office. My brain screamed, “Keep your head down or you’re next.” That wasn’t prehistoric—it was paycheck-to-paycheck survival. And it locked me up. Discomfort felt like death.

Denice

Right—and that’s the point. A middle school shame, a harsh parent, a brutal job—they set rules: “Don’t risk that again.” Now your brain treats a tense meeting like a bear attack.

Lisa

Except it’s not a bear—it’s Brenda from HR. And she’s annoying, not lethal.

Max

Totally! But when your nervous system hits panic mode, logic doesn’t get a vote.

Denice

Which is why you need a reset. Discomfort isn’t danger—it’s data. That’s the reframe.

Lisa

So where do Jaxon and Dr. B land on this?

Denice

Jaxon? He says, “Get used to the heat. Act anyway.” Don’t wait for peace—move with the noise.

Max

Which I love. Because if you wait until you’re comfortable, you’ll wait forever. Comfort’s the con.

Denice

And Dr. B adds nuance. He says: “Listen to the heat. Learn its language.” The goal isn’t to be fearless—it’s to be fluent. Decode the fear, rewrite the code.

Max

“Fluent in fear”? That sounds like a seminar no one signs up for.

Denice

Call it what you want Max, but it works. If you don’t learn the signals, you’ll keep running the same scared script on autopilot.

Lisa

So one says burn through it, the other says decode it—but they agree: don’t run. Lean in.

Denice

And Dr. Bishop pushes further. He links leaning into discomfort with freedom. Not woo-woo freedom—practical. He calls it “waking up.”

Max

Waking up to what?

Denice

Waking up to the thought patterns and beliefs that keep you stuck. For him, awareness is freedom—emotional freedom. And that means letting go of the fantasy that reality has to match the script in your head.

Lisa

Translation: you’re not the director of the universe. Stop screaming at the actors to read your lines.

Denice

Yes! His path is to uncover the subconscious roots, challenge the ridiculous mental rules, and—crucially—stop fighting reality as it is. That’s the deep internal shift.

Max

Meanwhile, Jaxon says freedom is action. Change the behavior, change the outcome. Simple.

Lisa

One is mastery over action. The other is mastery over interpretation. And if you’re serious about breaking loops—you probably need both.

Lisa

Okay—this is where it clicks together. They start differently, but they land on something combined: Action plus Awareness. But what’s the actual takeaway, beyond the TED Talk soundbites?

Denice

Start small. Take one tiny action toward a problem you’ve been avoiding. That’s the Jaxon move.

Max

Yeah—but let’s not sugarcoat it. Most people won’t even take the small step. They’ll binge another podcast, buy another book, and call it progress. Action’s not sexy, but it’s the only way out.

Denice

And when you do act, the backlash comes. Your brain throws a tantrum. “If I try, I’ll fail.” “No one cares.” “This won’t work.” That’s the Dr. B move—watching the tantrum.

Max

Tantrum? More like a courtroom. My brain doesn’t whine, it prosecutes. “Exhibit A: Remember when you bombed that job interview? Case closed.” And honestly? If you’re not careful, you buy the verdict.

Denice

Which is why you write it down. Don’t let the inner prosecutor argue in the shadows. Pin it on paper. Once you see the exact sentence—word-for-word—it loses its grip.

Lisa

Outdated files, not eternal truths. Think of it like dragging an old virus into quarantine—exposed, neutralized.

Denice

Exactly. Then reframe. Ask: “Even if this fear is true, what can I still do?”

Max

That’s the loophole. “Even if I fail, I can still learn.” “Even if they laugh, I’ll still wake up tomorrow.” That’s freedom—not waiting for courage to show up first.

Lisa

And then? Rep two. Do the next small thing. Doesn’t have to be heroic—just enough to keep the inertia from calcifying.

Denice

That’s the loop: Act → Observe → Adjust. It’s the mental fitness cycle. You don’t build biceps by thinking about push-ups; you build them by repping, observing form, and adjusting. Same for mindset.

Max

And when you screw it up—and you will—don’t spiritualize the failure. Just log it, learn, and swing again.

Lisa

So let’s cut the guru glow: it’s not about instant transformation. It’s bricklaying. One rep at a time.

Lisa

Time for the B-Sides Challenge. One sticky problem. Just one. This week, you don’t need a breakthrough—you need a brick.

Denice

Start with a micro-step. Five minutes or less. Write the email. Ask the question. Open the damn spreadsheet. Tiny, but real. Then pause. Watch what your mind spits out.

Max

And it WILL spit. “They’ll judge you.” “You’ll mess it up.” “This is pointless.” Congrats—that’s your trickster transcript. That’s not wisdom, that’s sabotage dressed in a business suit.

Denice

Write it down, word-for-word. Don’t pretty it up. Don’t soften it. This is cross-examination, not journaling for Instagram.

Lisa

Then reframe once. “Even if X, I can still Y.” It’s not toxic positivity—it’s survival math.

Max

Example: “Even if I bomb this presentation, I can still get back up tomorrow.” That’s leverage. You strip the thought of its power and you act anyway.

Denice

And tomorrow? Do it again. Or dial it up by ten percent. Brick by brick. Loop by loop.

Lisa

So here it is, no excuses: B-Sides Loop Breaker — five minutes. Name one sticky problem. Take one step. Write the trickster sentence word-for-word. Reframe once. Then repeat tomorrow, or add 10%.

Max

Don’t overthink it. Don’t romanticize it. Just punch the rep.

Lisa

Act → Observe → Adjust. That’s the whole game. No guru glow. No excuses. Just grit—and a little self-compassion to keep you moving.

Denice

If this sparked something in you, don’t keep it to yourself—share it with someone who might be stuck in their own loop. That’s how we rise—together.

Max

Don’t chase perfection. Just lay one good brick today. That’s how momentum builds.

Lisa

Your mindset is your Jedi power. Stay curious. Stay intentional. And remember—real freedom starts inside We’ll see you next time on Mind Jedi B-Sides.