“The world will only be as small as you let it, until you allow the world to be bigger than you know it,” says Eddie Mockus, licensed psychologist and founder of the Boulder Center for Family and Behavioral Health in Boulder, Colorado. He joins the Avid Adventurer podcast to delve into the power of our thoughts and the importance of managing anxiety while navigating and mitigating risks. Eddie shares how trusting our hearts and bodies as much as our intellect can lead to significant personal growth. He also recounts his own journey of leading with the heart and watching his clients embrace their vulnerabilities and find their rightful place in the world.   In a city like Boulder, often dubbed "the epicenter of the Instagram outdoors," the pressures of conforming to a certain aesthetic or level of athleticism can make some feel out of place. Eddie discusses how he assists young people and their families in realizing that there's no single correct way to enjoy the outdoors and that it's accessible to everyone. This environment also offers valuable lessons in listening, distinguishing between perceived and actual risks, and maintaining competence even in discomfort.   Eddie stresses that the answers lie within us; we simply need to slow down and listen. In today's episode, he also introduces new therapeutic techniques that go beyond Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), teaching us how to accept negative thoughts and act despite them.   Quotes “Even in these past few years, how big of a deep dive I’ve taken in that direction to really not just practice being a good steward of my thoughts and my actions but really being a good steward of learning my heart and what my heart is telling me and being more heart open and actually allowing things like intuition to guide me, not necessarily being such an academic and using all my logic to guide every move.”(5:15 | Eddie Mockus)  “Your brain is ultimately in control of a lot of the thoughts that you’ve had. Your past training and programming in life is ultimately in control of the thoughts that you get, but you yourself are actually in more control than you think of what you can focus on.”  (10:17 | Eddie Mockus) “There’s not a single thing you need to do to be OK. You just are.” (25:57 | Eddie Mockus)  “When I think of access to the outdoors, what the outdoor community can do or what the outdoor lifestyle can do, it’s a way of just simply connecting with something greater than yourself.” (29:13 | Eddie Mockus)   Links Connect with Eddie Mockus: www.boulderfamilyhealth.com [email protected] Avid4 Adventure website: www.avid4.com Avid4 on Instagram: @avid4adventure Avid4 Adventure on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avid4adventure Email the host:  [email protected]    Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm