Short Optimize +1 podcast in which Brian Johnson and his son Emerson use a simple anecdote—a lime-green bike with a flat tire—to illustrate "neutral thinking": stay present, move past emotions, ask "What do I want?" and "What do I do?", then take action (find and use the pump). The episode emphasizes replacing feeling-focused responses with behavior-focused problem-solving.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian.
Hi, this is Emerson.
Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. Plus one. In our last couple plus ones, we've been chatting about Trevor Moad's wisdom on.
What he calls neutral thinking.
Neutral thinking? We started by hanging out with Russell Wilson en route to winning a Super Bowl. We actually watched that one together years ago. Which one? The Super Bowl. Huh. Remember, we turned on the computer, checked it out, then we visited the Johnson ranch to discuss my relationship with our new chickens and their poop. So the morning after that chat I had with Emerson about how to approach the chicken situation, either what are the three ways you can think?
Negative.
Yeah.
Neutral. And it doesn't smell that bad.
Positively. Yep. So the morning after we were doing good job, our family workout, which currently is me chasing the kids riding their bike around the half mile loop we put around our property. Only this morning, Emerson's bike had what?
A flat tire.
And what'd you start doing?
Crying.
Yeah. I mean, it was understandable. Epic lime green bike. Couldn't ride it around the trail as planned. So he's a little bit disappointed. So I cruised over and I said, buddy, the tire's flat. That's a bummer. I get it. And remember that chat we had last night about neutral thinking?
Yes.
What'd you say? Yeah, I said, well, let's get neutral. What do you want? And what'd you say?
My tire pumped.
Then you want to be able to ride your bike? Yeah, I said, exactly. So what can we do to make that happen?
Pump my tire, find the bike, pump.
And fill up the tire. And I said, exactly. So he cruised into the barn, found it, pumped up the tire, the air surprisingly held, huh?
Yes. Your nose popped.
Yeah, it's pretty amazing. Boom. Done. The tire was filled, and you were off to the trail races. And that's today's plus one. You got any metaphorical flat tires in your life? Echo. Of course you do. You're human. We all have. And whether it's a lime green bike or something else, the question is, how are you reacting? Negatively, positively, or neutrally? Back to Trevor, who tells us that's neutral. Staying in the moment, giving each moment its own history, and reacting to events as they unfold. It takes away emotion and replaces it with behaviors. Instead of asking, how do I feel? You should be asking yourself, what do I do? You can develop these skills if you're willing to let go of a few things. Negative, cynical thinking doesn't make you more realistic. It just makes you negative and cynical. Biased thinking doesn't help you either. You need to steer clear of your feelings and make an honest assessment of each situation you face. Don't worry about what you feel. Rely on what you know. So, back to you. Neutral thinking. It works. Try it today. What do you think? You think neutral thinking works pretty well?
Yes.
It's amazing, isn't it?
Yeah.
You start feeling a little bit upset rather than complaining. What do you do?
What can I do about it?
What can I do about it? And also, what do I want? Right.
I want my tire pump.
Yeah. In any situation when you know what you want, what can you do?
Make it happen.
Make it happen. Neutral thinking in a nutshell. Have a great day.
