Uncomfortable is OK Podcast

This is episode 6 and today I’m chatting with Matt Cameron, New Zealand BMX representative who has just competed in the World Champs in Colombia. I had an awesome time chatting through things with Matt. I found out a bit more about the sport of BMX and How important the mental side is to try and get an edge

Using visualisation to help performance

Embracing the uncertainty and going after his dreams

Sometimes its hard to be objective about your situation when you are in it. Sometimes you need to change your perspective about the things that are happening.

Talking about significant injuries, Matt’s significant might vary from a lot of our ideas of significance

I also want to thank my mate Russ for putting me and Matt in touch. If you know of people that I should talk to then reach out to me and introduce us, I’m loving having these conversations.

https://www.facebook.com/mattcameron949

https://www.instagram.com/mattcameron949/

http://www.mattcameron949.com/

https://www.facebook.com/jeremydesmondmusic

Today I’m speaking with an author who goes by the pen name of Nonen Titi. We initially met at an event in Wellington called the shameless soapbox which is a great event where a whole lot of interesting people get up and give a short pitch about all the cool stuff they are doing. Nônen Títi was born and raised in The Netherlands, has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, the USA and Australia, and currently lives with her family in New Zealand. 

With an original background in mental and physical healthcare, tropical nursing and midwifery, she have since trained and worked as a Montessori teacher, home-educated her two (now adult) children, and trained as a hypnotherapist. When her children went to university, she decided to join them to do a degree in philosophy.

All those experiences contribute to the content of her books, but her true inspiration is derived from the study of human psychology (not neurology), especially that of Carl Jung and the personality type theories assiociated with him, which she has devoted herself to for almost twenty years now.

We had this conversation sitting in the hallways of Te Papa museum so you’ll hear a bit of background noise and kids having fun too.

If you’re liking what you hear make sure that you head over to iTunes to subscribe, and make sure that you share these episodes out with someone who might find it interesting.

http://www.nonentiti.com/

https://www.facebook.com/NonenTiti

http://www.connectwellington.nz/

And Check out Jeremy Desmond Music

https://www.facebook.com/jeremydesmondmusic

Today I have a conversation with Quentin Rew. I’ve known Q since university and have worked him a few times as physiotherapists. As well as being a physiotherapist Quentin is also a racewalker. He competed in the London Olympics in the 50k racewalk, and is building up to the Rio Olympics. He holds the New Zealand Records for the 3k track racewalk, the 20k racewalk and is only seconds off the 15 year old 50k record.

Today we delve into a few things

We talk through some of the intricacies of racewalking

Have a look at his build up to the Olympics and what the vibe is like in the Olympic village

Preparing mentally for a challenge – starting out fast is not the best idea – start at a pace you can sustain.

His secrets of nutrition and the main supplements that he takes.

The things that aren’t going well are usually changeable if we review them

It’s an ongoing process looking at what is going well and what isn’t and consistently course correcting

The importance of finding people who will provide you with honest feedback.

I had a great time chatting with Q and can't wait to watch him compete. You can follow him here as he builds up to the Olympics.

https://www.facebook.com/qwalksfast

http://morethanracewalking.blogspot.co.nz/

And check out Jeremy Desmond music

https://www.facebook.com/jeremydesmondmusic

Today I’m talking to Rachael Desmond from Girls got Curves a healthy living and lifestyle blog. Now if you think that the name is familiar you would be right, as Rach is my cousin. But more than that Rachael is a working single mother, research consultant, self-proclaimed geek, healthy living and lifestyle writer, and recipe developer. She’s passionate about inspiring others to lead a healthy life by eating simple, delicious food without the big price tag or the gourmet cooking skills. Her passion stems from her ex-husband’s cancer diagnoses and her own health issues making her realise that she had to put more effort into her own, and her families health. She is a relatable, everyday women just trying to do her best in life. Rachael is very open, truthful and straight to the point about her life, her values and her flaws. She does not sugar coat her food, herself or her opinions.

We talk about changing our lifestyles through making small changes. We also have a chat about failure, and dusting yourself off to keep going afterwards. Thanks very much for listening and enjoy our chat.

http://www.girlsgotcurves.com/

https://www.facebook.com/girlsgotcurves

https://www.instagram.com/girlsgotcurves/

Music by Jeremy Desmond

https://www.facebook.com/jeremydesmondmusic

This episode is a little different, I'm not interviewing anyone. I sit down and have a bit of a think about dealing with being shit when we start out at something and how I go about dealing with that.

Today I’m talking with Alex Asher. Alex is an Explorer, entrepreneur and founder of Moxiee Running. Moxiee Running is most importantly a movement to inspire confidence in women through running.  As part of that mission, Alex has an online running bootcamp for women to complete running adventures they never thought they could. Alex has run all over the world from Norway to Mexico but is known for being the first to run and swim down the entire East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, the equivalent of 55 marathons in 63 days in the Summer of 2011.

Alex and I chat through a few different topics.

Looking to find what his adventure was.

Starting out slow with something achievable

Doing things that scare you, capable of so much more than you realise

Overcoming adversity, coming up against a wall, reassessing and finding a new way to do it.

What you do isn’t just for yourself, your actions can have big effects on all of those around you

Being aware of your inner voice and when it isn’t talking in your best interests.

Now we had a few technical difficulties recording this one, so I want to give a big thanks to Alex for carrying this conversation. With that out of the way, enjoy the chat.

http://moxieerunning.com/

https://www.facebook.com/moxieerunning

Hi everyone. Welcome to the introduction episode of the Uncomfortable is OK podcast. Episode triple Zero!

My name is Chris Desmond and I’ll be your host here.

So the idea for the podcast came about because there are heaps of people out there, myself included that only operate within our comfort zones. We’ll adopt the mindset that “Hey, it’s easier not too”. We do the same things that we always do, because they are easy, because they are comfortable, and sometimes because society tells us that we should.

We don’t often challenge ourselves or pursue that big idea. Often this is because we are afraid; afraid of failure, afraid of being judged, afraid of what success might mean for us, or just afraid of the discomfort of doing something different or asking different questions. We have this inner battle with ourselves and it can be really uncomfortable.

I’m trying to get the message out that it is ok for us to be uncertain, to be uncomfortable, everybody has this from time to time. And it’s only by pushing into these uncomfortable areas that we grow as people and as societies.

So we’re going to start off with a weekly podcast coming out on a Tuesday Aotearoa time. Predominantly it’ll be me sitting down and having a chat with cool people. We’ll talk about uncomfortable things that they’ve done or are in the process of doing. We’ll talk about uncomfortable ideas that they’ve had, or ideas that challenge society’s comfortable beliefs.

Because everyone has a different comfort zone and different threshold for discomfort we’re going to speak with a wide array of people from a whole lot different walks of life to get their perspectives.

Now you as a listener aren’t going to like every episode, some of the stuff we talk about might make you uncomfortable, but hey that is the point! I don’t know where this is going to go, or how it’ll evolve but I promise I’ll keep you in the loop.

If you know someone you think it would be cool for me to talk to, or if you want to have a conversation then get in touch with me. Search for Uncomfortable is OK on Facebook, @uncomfortableisok on Instagram or email me [email protected].

And if this sound like something that you want to get into your ear holes on a regular basis then head over to Uncomfortableisok on iTunes and subscribe to get all the episodes.

I’ll catch up with all of you guys on Tuesday for our first three episodes coming out all together so you can enjoy an aural feast.