62. David Nurse: How to Rewire Your Brain for Success (Without Hustling Harder)

Most people know mindset matters, but almost no one knows how to actually train it for better health, performance, and longevity. In today's episode of Extend, I'm joined by David Nurse, NBA mindset coach and best-selling author. We dive deep into why mindset is the real missing piece in most health optimization plans, and how flow states, identity shifts, and daily systems can radically change your outcomes. We also break down why your mindset is the ignition switch for success, how to tap into flow states more consistently (and why it matters), the truth about goals vs. systems, and why goals alone fail, how identity shapes your health, your results, and your future, and actionable tools you can start using today to rewire your brain for growth. David Nurse is a top NBA mindset coach, best-selling author, and motivational speaker specializing in high-performance habits. David is the author of Pivot & Go, Breakthrough, Do It, and the upcoming book The Flow Code. Tune in! We Also Discuss: • How the Health Optimization Summit Changes Your Mindset Game • Why Flow States Are the Missing Link to Peak Performance • Focus vs. Flow: Why Most People Get It Wrong • Simple Tools to Build Unshakable Confidence and Reset Fast • The 4-Step Formula to Trigger Flow on Command • Why Chasing Goals Alone Kills Your Momentum • The Morning Routine that Rewires Your Brain for Success • Encouragement, Habits, and the Real Secret to Sustainable Growth Thank You for Our Sponsors: Deliverance: Give your liver the care it deserves! Deliverance is a powerful plant-based formula designed to support and restore liver health. Get 10% off your first order with code DRSHAH at loveyourliver.com https://loveyourliver.com Timeline: Upgrade your energy from within! MitoPure by Timeline helps power up your cells, supporting muscle strength, mental clarity, and overall vitality. Stay active, sharp, and strong at any age! Claim 10% off your first order now at timeline.com/DrShah Learn more about Dr. Shah: Website: https://www.drshah.com/ Clinic: https://www.next-health.com/ Instagram:@darshanshahmd https://www.instagram.com/darshanshahmd/ Learn more about David Nurse Instagram: @davidnursenba https://www.instagram.com/davidnursenbaTwitter: @DavidNurseNBA https://twitter.com/davidnursenba YouTube: David Nurse https://www.youtube.com/c/davidnursenba

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:03Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Welcome to Extend with me, Dr. Darshan Shah, a podcast dedicated to cutting-edge science, research, tools, and protocols designed to help you extend your health span. Having become one of the youngest doctors in the country at the age of 21, and trained and board-certified at the Mayo Clinic, I've accumulated three decades of practice as a board-certified surgeon and longevity expert. Over that time, I've discovered that a mere 20% of health knowledge yields 80% of the results when it comes to your health span. We're living in a new era where we are creating a new healthcare system, no longer focused on disease management, but achieving optimal health and vitality. Join me as I interview world-renowned experts, offering you a step-by-step guide to proactively avoid disease, and most importantly, extend your health span.

• 0:49Dr. Darshan Shah?

  What if the biggest thing holding you back from your peak performance, your peak creativity, and your peak joy, isn't your habits, but it's actually the way you think about them? In this episode of Extend, I'm going to be joined by a good friend of mine, David Nurse. I've known him for years, but he's an NBA mindset coach, he's a bestselling author, and he's a peak-performance strategist. And what I love about David is he's so passionate about the work he does. We're going to be doing a deep dive into the real science behind what's called the flow state. These are those elusive moments that you find yourself in when you're hyper-focused and your actions are effortless. We all know that we would love to be in these flow states more often, and if you ever seek advice on how to get into flow state,

• 1:33Dr. Darshan Shah?

  you'll find that it's really hard to do this effectively and consistently. So, we're going to unpack with David how distraction, identity, goal obsession, and even morning routines might be blocking your full potential of flow state, and how you can solve for this. From game-changing daily tools to cutting-edge flow protocols being tested with top athletes, this conversation is going to reshape how you approach mindset, habit, success, and getting to that elusive flow state. David Nurse is a top-performing NBA mindset coach. He's a bestselling author. He's a motivational speaker specializing in high-performance habits. I'm really excited to talk about David and his books, Pivot and Go, Breakthrough Do It,

• 2:17Dr. Darshan Shah?

  and also his upcoming book, The Flow Code. This is going to be a game-changer book. I can't wait for it to come out. So, let's dive into the science of flow states with my friend, David Nurse.

• 2:31Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah, let's do a weekly podcast. But I want to talk to you about flow states. And you know, I think about flow states as my own personal life. Last I even thought about them was when I read Kotler's book like, like a decade ago. I think it's been a long time. And he kind of introduced me to the concept of it. And I'd like to hear from you what you think most people get wrong when they think about flow states, just in general.

• 3:00Speaker 01

  Oh, I love that question. And we're going to go on a journey today. We'll unpack it together. There'll be some things that you know, that maybe you haven't heard before and some things we're trying to figure out currently. So flow is this, just this interesting concept that everybody aspires to have. It's like this effortless effort. It's just, you know, you had that feeling, the in the zone. You just feel really good, whether you're performing in athletics or giving a talk or writing a book or just cooking a meal. Everybody aspires to have flow. So it was introduced in the eighties by Mihaly Nussenski-Hai. And he's kind of like the godfather of flow. And he had nine main flow areas that, you know, you'd be able to understand when somebody is in flow.

• 3:44Speaker 01

  Kotler, who you alluded to, he took it a step further. He has 22 cues or triggers to get into flow. And I think they're all great. But what I have come up against in training athletes, NBA players primarily, but different athletes through the years is they never know how to get in it. They don't necessarily know when they're in it. It's one of those retroactive things that I ask them and I've interviewed. So just for example, Alison Felix, she's one of the most decorated US Olympian female athletes of all time. I was like, hey, like, have you been in flow? She's like, yeah, I've been there three times. And she had a very specific number to it. I was like, okay, well, tell me about them. Like, how did you get into it? And she's like, I have no idea.

• 4:29Speaker 01

  I can't, I just don't know. And I was talking to a friend, Mike Chandler, UFC fighter. And I was asking him the same thing, like, when were you in flow? He's like, well, I remember this time I was fighting, I can't remember who the fighter was. He's like, I was fighting this guy and I could see his feet moving before he actually moved. I knew exactly where he was going and then I knocked him out because I already knew that. I was like, it's amazing. How'd you get in there? He's like, I have no idea. So it's it's it's one of these things that people like to use this word and talk about and like, yeah, it's a great feeling and getting there, but right now where the the sciences add on it is basically Kotler's 22 and some of these are

• 5:13Speaker 01

  focus intensely, go for a walk, be creative, like, challenge yourself a little bit out of your comfort zone. And I'm like, you know, it's very basic. I agree. It's great. But I want to figure out how to actually get into flow more regularly and stay in it longer. And that's the mission in the journey I'm currently on.

• 5:32Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I love that. So do you think it's more of an intangible now, this flow state because of our current level of distraction that we have in society?

• 5:42Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, I think totally. I think distraction is it's one of those catch 22 things. I think distraction can be used in a positive way, but primarily it's used in a way of, you know, we're we're working on something, we get a notification, even if you look at it, I mean, there's the what's the stat from the University of San Diego? If you get thrown out of your focus, it takes you 22 minutes and 57 seconds or something to get back into it. I think distraction can be good in a way of it's, you know, and you have so much energy and intentionality and focus and locking in on something. You can't do it hyper focus. So it's hyper focus. You only have a certain amount of time you can do that.

• 6:23Speaker 01

  Scatter focus being more distracted, not necessarily a scrolling doom scrolling type for no reason, but you know, letting your mind wander, letting it go to where it is, maybe a meditative practice. So you need to have the balance of scatter focus and hyper focus. But I think the key is with this, this, you know, era we're in where there's you're constantly on all the time is you have to figure out where your flow zones and flow spots are at. So for example, I'll give you a very basic example and then we'll go a little bit deeper here. Like if I'm working and writing a book and I'm at my house and I'm at the table, you know, the sun's coming. I love it, but then my wife's right next to me, who I adore and I love, but she's gonna be talking to me.

• 7:07Speaker 01

  I'm not gonna be able to get into flow state while having a conversation with my wife. I don't care what anybody says, multitasking, you cannot multitask your way into flow. Nobody's a phenomenal multitasker at all. And I think it's crazy too with like the Zoom age that we're in. Like I, I don't even like doing Zooms because I know you're checking your phone on the other side. Absolutely. I'm doing the same thing. I know you're doing it. Yeah. So I have to go into a zone where I know that there's gonna be no distractions. I'll close out of messages, I'll close out of any notifications, I'll close out of everything. So I can just be present with the work that I'm doing right then and there. But even to that point, like I don't know if I'm gonna be able to get into flow because there is no formulaic way yet currently to do it.

• 7:53Speaker 01

  So she says increase alpha, you want an increase in alpha. Uh, beta, which is the active, you know, can potentially be anxious if used in the wrong way. A low active beta and a splash of gamma, which is a high level concentration. So all of those, these are different brain, brain waves, brain frequencies, which nobody talks about, like can you upregulate them? Can you downregulate them? And you definitely can in different ways. Sure, neurofeedback is kind of the way that it's done right now. But we were putting together this plan and I was like, hey, well, can somebody do it just, you know, they're about to go on the basketball court, because I was trying to use it for my athletes. He's like, yeah, well, you have to get your, you know, know whether you're a fast brain,

• 8:35Speaker 01

  know whether you're a slow brain, kinda know yourself and where you need to either upregulate or downregulate. So I'm here thinking of like, this is fascinating. We have got to do a study on this. So we are currently in, in the stages of doing the study on this formula of how to get in it more regularly, flow state and stay in it longer. I don't think it's ever gonna be a thing where you just like snap your fingers like. I'm in flow, but I do think you can get there much more often.

• 9:05Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Because it just makes you feel so much more effective and that your actions are having an effect. And you are hyper focused and it feels good to be in that hyper focused state too. But you know, one of the things that I found was even though I want to be in flow states and really never had any tools on how to get myself there, right? It was just kind of like, you could tell someone, just focus, but that doesn't really, that doesn't really do much.

• 9:28Speaker 01

  So counterintuitive, right? I'm glad you said that because focus and flow are complete opposites. Like focus, you have to be narrowly locked in on one thing. Flow is you're letting it come to you. But it is, the flow state is kind of this intermix of those two together. So yeah, sorry, you hit a.

• 9:46Dr. Darshan Shah?

  No, that's great. Yeah. Well, and let's talk about that too. Like, how is flow different than meditation, for example?

• 9:51Speaker 01

  Yes, yes, great. So meditation, the, I mean, the basics of meditation, and I know there's people that know way more than I do on this, but it's, it's training your mind to be in one spot and focusing, literally focusing, focusing might be the wrong word there, on one thing. So if you're going to meditate, some people will call it, like I call it prayer. I'm praying. It's some connection too with a higher power usually that you're meditating with, but you want it to bring you into a peaceful state. And I know some, you know, yogi or meditation guru is going to be like, he's terrible. It's totally wrong. But it is being present, keeping present with your thoughts.

• 10:29Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Jay Shetty, who I had on this podcast a few weeks ago, would agree with you. That's exactly the definition he gave. And so him being the expert, I think you're on the right path there.

• 10:37Speaker 01

  Good. So meditation and, and the question was how is it related to flow?

• 10:43Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Different to flow, yeah.

• 10:44Speaker 01

  Great. So I, I think meditation is the, the focus of being present in the moment, but flow is, is, takes it a step further in being at your highest level of performance while being in a meditative state. I take meditation, it's one of the, one of the steps in the formula is, I call it meta-visualization. So it is being in the meditative state, just like Jay is talking about and we're talking about, but also with a visualization aspect to it. Putting these two together and visualization. For me, I found the most powerful thing in working with these athletes is a self-efficacy picture. So a self-efficacy is acting today as if you are the person you want to be and aspire to be tomorrow.

• 11:26Speaker 01

  I learned a lot of this from George Mumfries, Kobe and MJ's mental coach. He said they would always watch the game before they went out there. They'd watch it visually in their mind and they'd see every movement that they did. They'd also watch it from a perspective, a different lens that something happens in the game where they're down by 10. They missed five shots. How do you react? Because this this self-efficacy also is never going to go exactly like you want it to be. But I think at the most basic level, this meta-visualization is visualizing what you want that moment to look like. Visualizing what you want your life to look like. Because if you don't have a vision, you essentially don't have a plan. You're kind of just winging it and you're just hoping things happen, which they might, but they won't consistently.

• 12:11Speaker 01

  So I think meditation is the basic of, you know, you're putting yourself into this state where you're able to be present. You're not having destructive thoughts, but then you're also visualizing on how do you want that moment, that day, your life to go. So I think that that is one part of the formulaic way to get into flow, which is the overall encompassing.

• 12:33Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Uh, look, okay, so that's a powerful tool as well is to realize that meditation is one aspect of flow, but it's taking it a step further.

• 12:41Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 12:41Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Great.

• 12:42Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 12:47Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So I'm 52 right now, but I'm still pushing all of my limits. I'm running long distances. I travel across many time zones to support my work and I just want to live my life to the fullest. Staying active as I age isn't just about willpower. It's about supporting my mitochondria, the powerhouses of my cells with the energy that they need to recharge my muscles and recharge my brain. Mitopure is a supplement that I take. It's backed by solid research showing that it can boost cellular energy, increase muscle strength and support overall healthy aging. Personally, I take Mitopure every single day. This helped me continue my active lifestyle, whether it's a high intensity workout or keeping up with my kids.

• 13:29Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So if you are looking to support your body and want to feel younger from the inside out, my friends at Timeline are offering you a 10% discount on your first order. Go to timeline.com/DrShah to get started. That's timeline.com/DrShah. Your future self will thank you. At my practice at Nex Health, I'm often amazed by how many of my patients have liver health issues. It turns out that 38% of Americans have fatty liver disease, and most people have no idea. You wouldn't really know until you do something like a liver scan using ultrasound shear wave technology, which we offer to all of our patients at Nex Health to get a good

• 14:11Dr. Darshan Shah?

  idea of how much damage has been done from metabolic disease and alcohol consumption. This is where a new product called Deliverance comes in. Invented by Siggi Clavien, it uses natural plant extracts that you drink as a liquid shot, which have been shown in studies to prevent and reverse fatty liver disease. I personally have a history of metabolic disease, which I work really hard to keep at bay. I use Deliverance myself three times a day to profl actively make sure that my liver stays healthy. It's super easy to use and actually tastes good, too. You can save 10% on your first order when you use the code DRSHAH, that's D R S H A H, at the website loveyourliver.com.

• 14:58Dr. Darshan Shah?

  All right, so give us some of these tools that you've researched. Tell us.

• 15:02Speaker 01

  So here's what, here's what we have right now, and this is through a lot of the, you know, talking about neuroscientists and a lot of studies. So there's two different types of brains when we're jumping into this and we're kind of going back to the tracking the waves, the brainwaves. You have a fast brain, and this is where you're, you know, you're always on, you can't shut that thing off, or you have a slower brain. Sometimes you can be different, but for the most part, you're one or the other where, you know, you just, you know, you gotta up it a little bit, you gotta get that spark. So we'll start with the fast. So this is downshifting, the adrenaline downshifting the brain. The first step is diaphragmatic breathing. So diaphragmatic breathing, this is the five breaths, and we're also putting in meta-visualization with this.

• 15:46Speaker 01

  So you're breathing, you're doing the diaphragmatic breathing, we're going five breaths, you can go less, but. That's the formula we're putting in that. So I think that's kind of the number, and correct me if I'm wrong, where it's the most effective, maybe?

• 15:59Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Yeah, I mean, on diaphragmatic breathing, I had Dr. Navaz on here and he talks about, do you know who he is? He talks about the vagus nerve, and one of the most effective ways of stimulating the vagus nerve is diaphragmatic breathing. And the effect of stimulating the vagus nerve is having more of a parasympathetic. And so if you're like me, like you described, where your brain is always on, you're always doing something.

• 16:23Speaker 01

  Totally me.

• 16:24Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Getting into parasympathetic is important, is what you're saying then.

• 16:28Speaker 01

  Did he say five breaths? Did he give you a number of how many?

• 16:31Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I think he did say five. I think he did say five was kind of like the minimum number. But, you know, if you're really trying to look to improve HRV, which is, as you know what HRV is, you can even do more, of course. It says getting into a routine and a habit of doing more diaphragmatic breathing, stimulating your parasympathetic state more.

• 16:54Speaker 01

  Do you know how good this is? We'll go through this and you'll probably be able to give me like the expert of each area and take it to another level. So that's the first one with the meta-visualization. So while you're breathing, you're visualizing, just like we talked about. The second part is bilateral tapping. So if you want to slow down this adrenaline, it's bilateral tapping slower, closer to the heart. There's studies of this neurological disruption through tapping of your heart. I don't know exactly all the details of those studies. Have you had a tapping expert on that you can tell me those yet?

• 17:26Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Not yet, but it is something I'm looking into, is trying to find a tapping expert, because I do think that tapping can be very powerful.

• 17:33Speaker 01

  Yes. And all of this as it continues to go, like we'll have every single detail of, which there's, that's what all the smart neuroscientists are for, they have all that.

• 17:43Dr. Darshan Shah?

  When you say bilateral tapping, so you take your two fingers, because if someone's not watching, you put it over your heart, right? And how fast are you just tapping your chest over there?

• 17:52Speaker 01

  So just a smooth, slow pace, slow, and there's probably a number to this that we need to get back to everybody on, like how, what the rhythm exactly is. But to downshift, it's much more of a slow than it is a fast.

• 18:07Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Got it. And so you do this after the five breaths of

• 18:10Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 18:10Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I'm just trying to get down to the exact

• 18:12Speaker 01

  You're doing it, you're doing it. The diaphragmatic breathing with the meta-visualization, then you're going right into the tapping.

• 18:19Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Got it.

• 18:19Speaker 01

  And then the third part is cross-crawl disorganization. This is for the nervous system. So to slow your nervous system down, cross-crawl being both sides and in different aspects of it. This is a, we're putting in a Jefferson curl. So a Jefferson curl, imagine you're standing straight. You're going down to touch your toes, but you're curling your vertebrae in your back and you're touching an opposite hand with an opposite foot. This is where the cross-crawl of the mind and the nervous system comes into play. And you're just going so slow and you let, you're feeling every vertebrae as you stand back up. You're feeling it, you know, one, two, three, all the way up till you're up at the top. And then you're doing it the opposite way. Same thing, doing five of these, the Jefferson curls for cross-crawl disorganization.

• 19:04Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Got it. And so five reps of doing each side, so a total of 10.

• 19:09Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 19:09Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So you touch one toe, you get back up.

• 19:11Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 19:12Dr. Darshan Shah?

  You go back down, touch the opposite toe with the opposite arm.

• 19:15Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 19:16Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Left arm, right toe, right arm, left toe.

• 19:19Speaker 01

  Yep, and really, and just search this Jefferson curl. You're really just focusing on feeling every part of the vertebrae as you go. It's a relaxing type of a movement.

• 19:28Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And that's to relax you further, right? Okay, so you're really just, all of these things are getting into a more of a relaxed, parasympathetic state.

• 19:36Speaker 01

  Totally, yeah, that's where we're going, yep. And then the fourth piece, which is a very key area that really needs to be dialed in too. And this, this is the part where it gets like, okay, well, you, you're gonna have to make some decisions for yourself here. This is what I call neurosculpting. And neurosculpting is connecting to a higher power. So where is your gratitude state? You're not gonna get into flow state if you're pissed off. You're not gonna do it if you're mad or holding a grudge against somebody. What is this? For, for me, it is my relationship with God. And that's gonna be prayer, that I'm working on some kind of grateful moment for the moment that I'm in, for being in this opportunity, for my wife, for something. I'm connecting this neurosculpting of gratitude towards getting into flow state.

• 20:23Speaker 01

  And this can be like, that's where you have to make your decision of what you want it to be. And how many you want to do, this, this formula is meant to be between three to five minutes. So it's not quite an entire gratitude practice of you saying you're thankful for everything, but just that last part of, you know, before you step out there on the court, I'm just thankful to be in the NBA. I'm thankful to be able to have this opportunity. And a lot of people will talk about that too of like, well, I mean, it's, you know, you got so much pressure on you as an athlete and stuff, but that's what you chose, like you're thankful that you're able to have that type of pressure. So, long story short, neuro sculpting is the fourth piece of this formula.

• 21:02Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Got it. Okay. And so you do these four things in a row?

• 21:06Speaker 01

  Uh huh.

• 21:06Dr. Darshan Shah?

  And then what?

• 21:08Speaker 01

  So this is now you're ready to go into action.

• 21:10Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Okay.

• 21:10Speaker 01

  So if you're talking like, hey, it's before you start writing, you're doing this before you start writing. Now you're going into action. You go to sports performance, you go into action. You're going to step on stage, you go into action. Now, the caveat here is you got to understand is it's not something that is going to happen every single time. The whole key we're looking for is to give people a way to tap into flow state more regularly, on a more consistent basis, and able to train their brain to stay in it longer. So all of this has to do with, when we talked about at the start, what the ideal flow state looks like in the brain? And how do we continue to get our brain closer to that with the different five waves that we have? That's what we're training for. And as we do this study, it is training, people will go through this study, we'll have,

• 21:55Speaker 01

  we'll have one group, which is the downshifting, the fast brain, we're going to downshift. The other group's going to be the slower brain that we're going to up shift. And it's pretty similar, the breathing's box breathing, it's a little bit faster. The bilateral tapping is closer to the temples and it's faster. The cross crawl disorganization is fast high knees, so everything is to speed it up.

• 22:14Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Fast high knees you do, okay.

• 22:16Speaker 01

  Yes, fast high knee action for a minute. And then it's the same thing with the neuro sculpting. So we'll have 20 in that, 20 in the slow, 20 in the fast, and then 20 in the, just the control group, which is we're gonna say, hey, here's, here's Kotler's 22 Qs, because that is the generally accepted term of the highest level to get into flow state of what people have right now. Dude, yes, to the, to the nth degree, yes. Okay. It's, it's such a counterintuitive thing to focus on results. And I'm glad you went down this, because I think this is so important for people to hear. Results are the byproduct of your system and your process. So with an athlete, their system is what is their elite strength?

• 23:00Speaker 01

  System is who, who are they essentially at the core? Who are you? That's your system. System plus process, process of the daily habits that you focus on to get these results. But these processes cannot be results focused. So I'll give you this example. I brought up this player, Norm Powell, at the start of it. He was struggling with this aspect years ago, and we took away any looking at stats. Points per game, we weren't gonna look at. Field goal percentage, we weren't gonna look at. And you're like, well, why? Aren't you supposed to track these type of things? Yes, but no, when it becomes what you're solely focused on, you're never gonna get the results if you only focus on the results.

• 23:41Speaker 01

  So we said, we looked at the, the analytics, and his best shots were catch and shoot three, and attacking the hoop downhill, trying to get to the room. So I was like, all right, Norm, all we're going to focus, all we're gonna count is how many times you get to those shots. I don't care if you make them, I just want you to get to them. And he went through a time, he went 30 games without taking any other shots than those two shots. This is back when he was playing with Toronto. And he was coming off the bench, started to become a starter, the Western Conference Player of the Month that month. Was LeBron James. Eastern Conference was Norm Powell, which was absurd for Norm thinking where he was to where he had gotten. But he became so focused on this process that he had.

• 24:24Speaker 01

  So his system was he knew what type of player he was, who he was. He didn't put his identity into basketball. That's a whole nother topic of itself of what your identity is. Determines how successful you can be in something because. Well, we can go down that path. But then the process was exactly what we talked about, which led to the results. So wrapping it back to the start of the question of can you get into flow if you're focused on results? No, you can't because you have to be lost in the process. To be lost in the moment, but that's the trust that the results will come based on that.

• 25:00Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Man, everything you just said, like I'm just thinking about when I meet with patients. All right, we, we meet with people that they have this goal in mind that either like A, they want to be healthy. Or B, they want to lose 50 pounds, you know, or C, they want to get rid of their immune disease. Right. And so that's their goal. And I almost try to defocus them away from the goal because to me, a goal indicates that you're going to get to something and then you're going to stop doing what you're doing.

• 25:30Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 25:30Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right. We have to go past the goal. You're going to achieve that goal and you're going to do even better and you can do even better. You're going to do even better. The way that's going to happen is with systems and process. Systems, you know, in my speak is things like you're going to get seven, eight hours of sleep a night. You are going to start every day with protein. You're going to make sure you get on a walking treadmill when you're working for the first two hours of the day. Those are all the systems. The process is you're going to do these with habits every single day, right? There's non-negotiable things you're going to do every single day. That's the habit, that's the process. When you combine the systems and the process, like you were just saying, you can't help but achieve the goal.

• 26:13Dr. Darshan Shah?

  It's just part of what's going to happen, right? And you have to trust in that. Um, and then you're going to do better and you can do better and you can do better. So I, we're saying the same things. You're talking to elite athletes. I'm talking to patients trying to get healthy or maintain optimal health or achieve longevity. But it's all about the systems and the process.

• 26:31Speaker 01

  I'm so glad you said goals too. I think goals are just mile markers for a much bigger picture.

• 26:36Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Right.

• 26:36Speaker 01

  And that's one of the, you know, the catch 22s of goals. If you hit a goal. And you're gonna be empty about it. It's not going to fulfill you. And I always tell the story of my good friend is a Miami Heat coach, Eric Spoelstra, and the Rams coach, L.A. Rams, Sean McVay. And we were at a dinner that a friend of mine, John Gordon, who'd put it on. And they're both talking about their lowest moment. And their lowest moment was when they won the championship. That was their goal they set out. Let's win the NFL Super Bowl. Let's win the NBA championship. And they both said they hit their lowest moment because they thought that was going to fill them, which it absolutely did not. They want realize that it's all about the journey, the process,

• 27:21Speaker 01

  doing it together in community as a team, building up these young men instead of just a trophy or a stat or a result. And that's where goals can catch you. Goals are great if you look at them as mile markers, but it's a much bigger picture and a lifestyle.

• 27:35Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Exactly, because your goal, the actual goal is to live beyond your goals. And that's just a mile marker.

• 27:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:43Dr. Darshan Shah?

  But time keeps going after that and you. And so either you're setting multiple goals or you're just, you just keep doing the systems and the process. You mentioned something and I want to make sure we don't forget about this is identity. Identity is another big part of mindset. And so I'd love for you to talk about the definition and how you talk to your clients about it.

• 28:03Speaker 01

  A hundred percent. So identity is so important. And one of the first things I do when I work with somebody is I ask them who they are. And the three most powerful words that you can say are I am, and then you fill in the blank. So when I work with that, a lot of them will say, you know, I am a basketball player. Like, no, you're not. That's what you do. Who are you? And they'll be really stuck on it because their identity has always been tied in basketball. And that means if your identity is tied in what you do, it can totally be a part of you and makes you who you are. But if it is what you do, then you will rise and fall on how your results are. So if you say, I am a basketball player, your, your added pressure to the situation will increase because that's all you're known for.

• 28:48Speaker 01

  And then, once you're done, which it will go fast, you will have a very difficult time transitioning into your actual life. Who you are, I am. A great husband. I am a great father. I am a great leader. I am a fill in the blank with what you are as a person, not what you do. It's not, I'm not saying I am a speaker. I am an author, but then that's going to become what I tie the results of that into whether I have joy during the day, or whether I'm just completely miserable because that has become my identity. And it's, one of the practices, a tool that I do is literally the I am statements. Write down five I am statements every morning. The votes for yourself.

• 29:32Speaker 01

  I am confident. I am brave. I am, and when I'm saying this, you're probably like, that sounds really elementary and really dumb, but it really, really works. I have this, this Olympic sprinter that I worked with in the Paris Olympics, and I had her do it every single day. And she was like writing like 20 of them, ends up winning two medals over in Paris and her best performance that she's had. And it's that powerful of these, because it comes back to, once again, at the start of mindset is our mind believes the stories we ultimately tell ourselves up to a level of like 90% or more, which is really cool and also really dangerous if you're a pathological liar. That's why you're a pathological liar.

• 30:16Speaker 01

  But point being, your identity is not what you do. It is the person who you are, who God created you to be.

• 30:27Dr. Darshan Shah?

  I really enjoyed that conversation with David. I learned a lot. Here are my top five takeaways from my talk with David Nurse. Number one, flow state isn't a random state that just comes out of nowhere. It's actually trainable. So you can actually build routines that increase your chances of dropping into peak performance states consistently by using things like breathing techniques, bilateral tapping, movement patterns, and even gratitude practices. These can prime your brain for getting into a flow state. Number two, distraction is a flow state's biggest enemy. Every time you check your phone, it can take 22 minutes to refocus, and most people never really get it fully back.

• 31:09Dr. Darshan Shah?

  So put your phone on silent, or even better, put it in another room. Use focus mode on your computer as well. This will help you stay in that flow state. And if you schedule check messages breaks into your calendar, maybe once every hour or two, then you know that there's going to be a time for you to check your messages. You don't need to constantly keep doing it throughout your workday. Number three, most people sabotage their flow state by chasing an actual result. So focusing on the outcome, getting into a flow state pulls you out of the moment. Mastering the process will give you better results and the results will come more naturally. So you're going to find that a consistent flow training regimen, combined with consistently eliminating distractions, will help you get into the flow state more easily.

• 31:52Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Number four, flow states are for everyone, not just athletes or artists. So whether you're writing emails at work, or you're building a business, or even just being a parent, tapping into flow makes you a sharper, faster and more creative human. Humans used to always be in flow states at almost all times. And this kind of fell out of our lives unwittingly about 30 years ago, when the ability to multitask came around, maybe using a computer with multiple windows. And then that became a constant state of being for all of us when we had a phone in our pocket that is consistently and constantly giving us reminders and messages. This is what's taking us out of flow and we need to remember how to get back into flow,

• 32:36Dr. Darshan Shah?

  which is how humans were really built to be in the first place. And number five, most interestingly, our brainwaves tell us the real story about what's going on with our brains. So training our brain to get into the right frequencies, I'm talking alpha, beta and gamma frequencies. Understanding these brainwaves and how to control them is going to be the future of peak performance. So all the things we talked about, talked about how to manipulate these brainwaves. And there's other devices and techniques coming out that's going to help us achieve specific brainwaves more easily. So keep a lookout for these devices. And if you know someone who's struggling with getting into a flow state, or just needs more focus in their life, send them this episode. I think they'll really be happy that you did. And if this was something that was really useful for you,

• 33:20Dr. Darshan Shah?

  please give us a good rating and follow us on Apple and Spotify and whatever other platform you might be listening to us on. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of Extend. I look forward to talking with you again.

• 33:36Dr. Darshan Shah?

  Thank you so much for listening to the podcast today. Please remember to subscribe if you liked this episode and give us a good review and share a link with your friends. It really helps to support all of our efforts. I also want to remind you that the information shared on this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your healthcare provider or physician before making any decisions or taking any action based on what you hear today, especially if you have any underlying health conditions or on any medications. Your doctor knows your personal health situation the best, and it's always important to seek their guidance.