What if strength and flexibility weren't opposing forces, but instead the perfect blend to face life's challenges? Imagine a concept that allows you to maintain your tenacity while also giving you the space to grow and adapt. Join us as we unravel the power of 'rugged flexibility', a term eloquently explained by Brad Stahlberg, author of 'The Master of Change.'
In today's Walk with Wingman (#44), we delve into the nitty-gritty of rugged flexibility, an intriguing concept that fuses resilience and adaptability. This episode explores how possessing this quality can enable us to face challenges head-on, while empowering us to learn, adapt, and grow. We decipher homeostasis and allostatic load, and how they help us strike the right balance in life. The conversation offers fresh perspectives on managing change and facing adversity - lessons essential in today's uncertain times.
Greetings and welcome to another Walk with Wingman. Yes, I'm back and I'm walking in a different location. I am on the treadmill desk in my home office and this is where we're going to walk. Today. I'm in Virginia and we're experiencing some of the after effects of the hurricane that's off the coast and it was just a hot mess out this morning. So, although I went out and I did my normal walk, I decided not to bring you along and to spare you the wet and the cold and the wind that would be in the microphone. So welcome, and I hope you're doing well and I hope you're getting ready for another wonderful week. It's great to be back.
Daphne Bascom:
It's been a busy few weeks. I know it's been a while since we've had a walk. In that time, I have had the pleasure of going to the Vegan Superhero Retreat. For those of you listening who attended, it was an amazing event. For those of you who were not able to join us. I hope you're able to join us next year because it's going to be even better. We've had the retreat along with doing some recording for the Academy, and then it was able to accompany Leif and Robert Cheeke to the 2023 International Plant-Based Nutrition and Healthcare Conference, which was also amazing. So it's been a busy August and September and I am back home for a while, glad to be back in my regular routine and glad to have this opportunity to walk with you again. I hope that you have been well, that you've been striving to meet your goals and that you've been thinking about many of the different topics that we've been discussing on our walks over the past several months.
Daphne Bascom:
Today, what I wanted to do was to recap my blog post from this week, and it grew out of a podcast I was listening to and as soon as I finished the podcast, I knew I had to write about it. So on Friday morning, I was listening to the Ready State podcast and they were doing an interview with Brad Stulberg. Now, if you haven't read the book the Master of Change I will put a link in the show notes so that you can link out to the book and so you can link out to the Ready State podcast. And what was the topic of the conversation? Rugged flexibility, and as soon as I finished listening, I just thought yes, this is something that I need to write about and I hope you enjoy the rest of the conversation while we continue to walk and talk.
Daphne Bascom:
So rugged flexibility it sounds like an oxymoron and it's an interesting one, and Let me break it down a little bit and I'll do it in the context of what Brad Stulberg discusses in his book. So ruggedness refers to strength and the ability to endure and to face challenges head on, and I think that's a lot of us, that we are strong, you know, kind of the never let them see you cry mentality, and we just feel that we can do it all. And then you have flexibility, and flexibility you consider to be adaptability, letting go of resistance, avoiding being so rigid that you can't change, and also refraining from being overly controlling, which I know I can be. But together these two characteristics can create a holistic approach to life, to health, to fitness and to your mindset. And what it suggested to me is that to truly thrive, you need to have the tenacity to stand firm when necessary and the wisdom to be flexible when the situation demands it. And I just go back to a phrase that I keep using and I know you probably get tired of hearing me say it, but weeble and wobble, but we don't fall down, and it means that you know you need to have that resilience to take the punches and pop back up again and you have to be flexible.
Daphne Bascom:
One of the things that also fascinated me in listening to Brad's interview and he's been interviewed on several podcasts I listened to him yesterday interview on the Marathon Training Academy. I know that Rich Roll has interviewed him recently and I would encourage you to go listen to all of those. The themes are the same but some of the nuances of the conversations are slightly different. But the other thing that really fascinated me was some of the terms that Brad uses. It reminded me of what I learned and what I taught when I was a teaching assistant in evolutionary biology, and he talks about the terms homeostasis and allostasis.
Daphne Bascom:
Now, homeostasis refers to the ability of an organism or a system to maintain equilibrium or stability within its internal environment, even when the external conditions are changing. So you know, from a biologist's perspective, you think of homeostasis as, for example, maintaining a thermal set point. So our body temperature is 98.6 normally and we strive to maintain that normal temperature regardless of the external temperature. And yes, I have a jacket on as I am trying to maintain my normal temperature. But while homeostasis is about maintaining stability. Allostasis is about achieving stability through change, and it's a process that we all have to undergo when we are responding to external stresses. Now, the difference is that, when you think about allostasis, you may not be returning to that same baseline that you were before, and which is why it's different than homeostasis and why it's important to consider this concept in the context of rugged flexibility, because you may not go back to what you consider to be normal, or you may not go back to exactly where you were before, and I think that was one of the things that really caught my ear when I was listening to what prompted Brad to author this book, which is listening to people when we were in the pandemic in early 2020, where they just wanted to go back to normal.
Daphne Bascom:
We are always going to be changing. We are always going to be evolving. There's going to be some parts of us, some parts of our being, some parts of what we are, that are going to be homeostatic, but there's also this need to tolerate an allostatic load and be able to be flexible and adapt to change. How does that all that fit together? So you need to have ruggedness along with homeostasis. So when you're faced with challenges you need, a rugged individual will have the endurance and the resilience to keep going, but you'll also ensure that that internal balance isn't drastically disturbed. Then there has to be flexibility in allostasis, and flexibility is all about adaptability, and it represents our ability to adapt to external changes. So when there's a need to adapt, when there's a need to be flexible, it ensures that you can do so without causing harm or lasting stress to your body or mind. What that means is that when you're faced with unexpected situations which we all are all the time it means you can pivot, you can adjust your approach and you can find a new equilibrium.
Daphne Bascom:
So I hope you're enjoying today's Walk from the Treadmill. It's giving me a chance to look at my notes while I'm talking with you, but it also allows me to be present and not to be distracted as I wrap up the conversation. I really enjoy listening to Brad Stulberg talk about rugged flexibility, and I enjoyed putting my pen to paper around why it's important.
Daphne Bascom:
I just want to wrap up today's walk by saying that the concept of rugged flexibility is a powerful reminder that on this journey, on our life's journey, we need both strength and adaptability. Just as our bodies naturally balance the homeostasis and different allostatic loads, we have to find a balance between ruggedness and flexibility, and our actions and our decisions and our philosophies and mindset. By embracing rugged flexibility, we empower ourselves to face challenges with tenacity, but also giving ourselves grace to learn, to adapt and to grow. So just some food for thought as you head into this week. I would encourage you to listen to the full interview, to listen to or read a copy of Brad's book and to think about how this concept of rugged flexibility applies in your life. Thanks again for joining me on this walk. I hope you have a wonderful week and I look forward to talking with you again on a future Walk with Wingman. Be well.