What if your body has a workforce, and you keep giving it extra jobs? The soldiers have to clean the lungs, repair the cuts and process bad food. Something gets dropped.

As you get older they get tired, and they have more to do than they used to. If they are cleaning up after a cigarette every night, they are not doing the other work. Give them fewer jobs and they catch up. The cravings fade on their own once you stop treating it as a war. Also, I entered a chilli eating contest, which I do not recommend.

One thing to try: Take one job off your body today. Only one. It does the rest itself.

In this episode

• (0:03) Ninety nine episodes, and a hundred next week
• (2:51) They get tired, and they have more to do than before
• (7:26) Back to the lungs again, and then they are too tired
• (9:53) An example of a healthy meal, before anybody sues me
• (12:32) Processing bad food, cleaning lungs, repairing cuts
• (14:43) The cravings fading once you stop fighting them
• (17:13) The chilli eating contest, coolest to hottest

With gratitude to

Deb, Martha and Jenna.

Support the podcast and join the Weekly Calm: stevenwebb.uk

Thank you for listening.

Steven

Links to Steven Webb's podcast and how you can support his work.

• Donate paypal.me/stevenwebb or Coffee stevenwebb.uk
• Steven's courses, podcasts and links: stevenwebb.uk

Hello, welcome to Stillness in the Storms, the 99th episode of my podcast. I cannot believe there's 99

episodes. Next week will be 100, and it will be exactly 32 years since I changed my life completely by

breaking my neck and ending up paralysed. I'm looking forward to getting that one out next week. This week's podcast

is about your little internal soldiers. And a friend of mine, I was reminded about this on a Whatsapp chat

this morning. She's going through a battle at the moment with cancer and they mentioned about... The little soldiers

working hard to protect her. And it just made me remind, it reminded me of

something I always say about we've only got so many soldiers and each day those soldiers are fighting for us.

They're protecting us. They're our guardians. They're our healers and Yeah

it's a concept that I like to think and it helps me make better choices in life. So I'm going

to introduce you to that concept today about our little soldiers inside. But before we do that, I want to

thank Deb, Martha and Jenna for your donations. There was another two anonymous donations this week,

but thank you guys. You are awesome. You do make a difference. And I know I say this every week,

but I mean it from the depth of my heart. These things are not cheap. And as everything's going up

in the world and the money's so much more important for basic everyday livings, I just deeply appreciate every time

someone treats me to a coffee or a virtual hug. So thank you. It helps me to get these podcasts

out. So deep bow, much gratitude. Thank you to Deb, Martha and Jenna and

the other anonymous ones. So introducing the concept of the body soldiers, the immune system

cells. And can you remember when you were young and used to have a drink lots and used to stay

up late and go bed for two hours and wake up in the morning and you were bright as a

button and you were ready to go for the day and you didn't have to worry about anything. And someone

would come along go oh God, I got the biggest headache and hangover. And you go, yeah, I know. I

don't suffer from hangovers. I'm absolutely fine. Yeah, there's a reason for that. And if you think about it logically...

You're born with so many soldiers. And yes, you replace some of them and things like that. But they're so

much healthier. You're healthier. You're doing better. So when you're 18, 19, 20, you have, I don't know, a few

billion or a few trillion healthy protein cells that are your soldiers running around doing the work and all for

you. But as you get older, they get tired. But not only do they get tired, they have more to

do. They don't have to keep your skin all nice and smooth and nice when you're 20 years old. They

don't have to repair your liver and fix all your little aches and pains and all your joints and all

that when you're 20, 22 years old. But when you're 40, 50 and like me, you wake up in the

morning and I open my eyes and I'm like, oh, should I even move my shoulders? My shoulders are hurting.

My elbows are hurting. And probably my whole body's hurting, but because I'm paralysed, I don't feel it. But yeah,

literally, oh, I don't want to move. And it feels like every joint is going to break if I do

move. After a little bit moving around, I'm okay. But it's literally our whole bodies break down as we get

older. Just look at our skin and look at our wrinkles. It's literally the fabric of our body just starts

deteriorating. And every single organ in our body becomes less efficient. It needs the healthy proteins. It

needs all these things. It needs all these things to repair. And it just doesn't have to do all that

work. So when you're 20 years old, these soldiers don't have as much to do. It's simply at night half

of them can rest. Whereas me, my soldiers have got loads to do at night. I close my eye at

11, 12 o'clock. Sometimes one o'clock in the morning when I'm watching a program. And I'm gonna digress for a

moment. I'm gonna tell you something. I've been watching la brie on I think it's la brie I don't know

how to pronounce it, on Paramount. It's brilliant. I love it. I'm so addicted to it. It's been my escapism

for the past two weeks and I've got two episodes to go and I'm going to watch them later this

evening. But basically a sinkhole happened in Los Angeles or somewhere and people fell through it.

Everybody thought they were dead and they weren't. And I'm not going to tell you anything else, but it's brilliant.

And if we're allowed to share, I would give you all my password, but I'd I would get in trouble

for that, but I would love to do that. So it's on Paramount. I don't know if you can find

it somewhere else. It's called La brewery L-a-b-l-a space B-r-e-a.

Just brilliant. I'm loving it. It's really good. Anyway, let's get back to today's battles with the little tiny

soldiers I Hope you didn't mind that a little. And I'm not sponsored by Paramount. It's just something that come

into my head. Really enjoying it. A bit of gratitude to the writers and everybody. But going back to, for

me, they have a load to do. When I close my eyes and go sleep my body is no um

I don't know, what what do you call it? My body is no guardian or no trying to think of

some Greek god that's got pecs and my belly's big my It's just my

body you remember years and years ago, there was some kind of alien film and everybody thought, is it real?

Is it not real? And there's alien thing lying on there with really skinny legs and a pot belly and

all. That was me lying on that table. Trust me. That's what I think I look like. And everyone said

no you don't. Well, trust me, I think I do. But because I'm paralysed, my muscles are paralysed, so my

I've got a big belly, can't get rid of It's like there. So when I go to sleep, I hope

you're laughing with me as opposed to...

But when I go to sleep, my soldiers have a lot to do. But when I used to smoke, they

had a lot more to do. When I used to drink, they had a lot more to do. So if

you think about what do your soldiers need to do when you go to bed?

They've got to fight the daily battles. They've got to eliminate the bacteria and the viruses. They've got to make

new cells. They've got to repair the sun damage from the sun. They've got to heal from any stress, mending

the wear and tear on the chronic stress of the body. They've got to detoxify from unhealthy eating. They've got

to break down all the food. They've got to do all these things. They've got to get rid of the

toxins if you've been drinking or something like that. You think about all the different things these little soldiers have

to do. And then they've got to repair the lungs. Let's say you've been smoking, like I used to do

for many years. First thing they've got to do is, okay, let's start on the lungs again. And then they

just get tired. And because they're doing that, they cannot do other things. So you wake up in the morning

with that hangover or ill because they've managed to clear some of your blood or do some of it, but

they haven't managed to repair. I don't know, a bit in your brain or your heart and your liver and

your joints. And and after time it builds up. So eventually they get to 11 o'clock at night when you

go bed and you put down your head and you go to sleep. All your soldiers have a little meeting

they go, seriously? We've got to do the same thing again. Let's get on with it. I'm just tired. I'm

fed up. They're probably all on minimum wage. They're not rewarded with anything. So when we do eat a salad

or we do eat something healthy, they're rewarded. They're like, okay, what have we got to work with we got

salad we got some nice protein we got some nice fish we got all these different things. Let's go to

work tonight we got some good produce we got some good things. We haven't got to repair the lungs. We

haven't got to clean the blood so we can repair the joints.

And I'm milking this metaphor now, but wow. When you realise this, you like go, okay. Is my

action and making things worse? So how do we support the soldiers? Adequate sleep. Let them get on with the

job if If you're awake, they've got to be awake and they've got to do the things with you. They've

got to keep your eyes open. They've got to keep you thinking. They've got to do all the other things.

They've got to beat your heart faster. All the other things to keep you awake and all that balancing and

all that. Whereas when you're asleep, you give them a lot less to do. And then go to work on

things that that you don't need to do while awake, like walking or thinking or looking or doing all the

other things. And balanced nutrition. Foods rich in nutrients empower the soldiers. They're like, brilliant, give

me a bit of that. You go into a really good chef, as in a really good soldier inside your

body. And the you say to the chef, I would like some tea, please. And the chef says okay go

and get me some ingredients. And we come back with Mcdonald's. The chef's gonna what's the chef gonna say What

can I do with that? What kind of goodness is in that? And yeah, don't get me wrong. It's not

just Mcdonald's before I get sued or something like that. I'm just giving it as an example of A healthy

meal. And there is healthy versions of Mcdonald's. There is a salad and all that from it. But we know

processed food is not that brilliant because the body has to do more processing. It has to literally get rid

of the nitrates and all those other things in the food in order to process it and then use it.

So it's an extra layer. Whereas if you're eating more organic and healthier food without all the nitrates and all

those things, suddenly they're like, okay, we've got brilliant food here. The chefs, I can really cook up something with

this. I don't need to steam it or do all the other things with it beforehand. I can just get

on and use it and repair the body. And it's the same as the doctor. The doctor wants decent x-ray

machines. They want decent materials, decent creams, decent medicine, nothing like that. It's not... It's

literally you give your soldiers just what they need in order to repair. And we very often don't do it.

And that this little simple metaphor makes me think, am I doing the right thing today? But don't get me

wrong, I don't always do the right thing. But it helps me to lean towards doing the right thing. Regular

exercise. Strengthening the ability to fight and repair. Just exercise. Getting them going. Exercising

them and things like that really helps, I think. Not quite sure how, but it does apparently. Mindfulness and meditation.

Calming practices to support these healing soldiers. Allowing optimal function. So during the day, if you spent two

or three minutes out, just sat in your car before you go into a stressful situation or something, and you

just went, let's just breathe. All those soldiers said, okay, you've just given us a little time out. Let's just

go and catch up on a few things we didn't get done this morning while you're sitting there. And you

just give them a little bit of leeway. You cut them a little bit of slack. And I think that's

really important. That's where meditation helps people to be happier. Because these soldiers give you a feeling. If these

soldiers are tired, they'll resonate that in you. You'll be tired. You'll be fed up. If they're fed up, you're

fed up. It's that simple. Avoiding harmful habits. So just avoid the

negative harmful habits that the soldiers have to work twice as hard with.

If they've got to process the food because it's got bad stuff in it. If they've got to clean the

lungs every night. If they've got to repair your cuts and bruises because you've been playing tires

and in the jungle and you keep falling out of trees I don't know That's probably a terrible example but

You get my point. If you end up cutting and bruising and breaking your bones, you're giving them more to

do. I'm not suggesting do nothing. I'm not suggesting never have risk and go out and cut yourself. I'm just

suggesting make a few more healthy choices. Help your soldiers that a little bit. You cannot complain about aches and

pains and hangovers and tiredness if you're not giving your soldiers what they need to help you repair. Give them

a little bit of time out. And just take care of them it's very serious Cut them a bit of

slack. Appreciate them. They're getting tired and old, the same as you are. And I think with me,

this metaphor just helps me to go, yeah, okay, I won't have that cigarette. I gave

up smoking several times. My last time I gave up smoking was, I don't know, two, three years ago. It's

not easy difficult to give up smoking. And the way I did it, if anybody's thinking about giving up smoking,

and this works for everything, is don't give up.

Okay, you're like, wait, what? Yeah, don't give up. I'm still a smoker today. And if I

fancy a cigarette... I don't have a cigarette, but I go, look, if I still want one in an hour's

time, I'll have one. And then the mind goes, oh, okay. And then it puts it out of the mind

and then before you know it, three weeks later, you still haven't had one. That's what it's like for me

now. But at the time when I started doing that, it stopped my brain craving it. And I could always

go an hour without one. And then first of all, it was an hour and I had to do it

again. I had to do it again. And then it was two hours, then five hours, then a day went

by. And before you know it, you're giving up, but without the cravings so much. The

cravings tend to go away if you leave it open the opportunity to have a cigarette. And you have to

believe that if it gets really bad, you'll have one. But the chances are you won't. And it makes it

so much easier. And that's the same with giving up everything. And if you make a mistake, you never give

up anyway. So all the pressure's lifted. And this is the thing with the soldiers. They don't want the

pressure. They don't need it. They've got enough to deal with. You think you're dealing with life? You imagine being

your soldiers. They've got you to deal with, for Christ's sake. That's a tough one. I wouldn't like to be

my soldiers. I wouldn't like to be one of them, let alone all of them. But what would my soldiers

say to me today that's like you're doing all right, Stevie, but damn, slightly less takeaways. Slightly less processed food.

Do a bit of exercise. A little more meditation. A little more chilling. I'm sure they would.

And I'm sure they would always say that anyway, even if I done things brilliantly. There's always somewhere a little

more they can do, but I can certainly help. And I think it'll make a huge difference in your life.

If you just see it in this way, just cut them a bit of slack. How can you help them

tonight? Is this next meal something that they can use or is it something they got to work on? I

remember I don't know I remember it's really last week. But I'd done a chili eating contest. And there was

about seven, eight, maybe ten of us. And I was sat there and I said to stewart from the farmer's

market about 18 months ago. I said, I'll do it. Yeah, no problem. I was up for it. But it

was more to take part than to win. Now, I'm sure my 18 20 year old the 30 year old

self would have been there and would have suffered and would have gone through it in some kind of

stupid egoic way. But I ate the first chili and that was hot. I ate the second chili and that

wasn't too bad and the third one wasn't too bad. I think I said to Craig that was sat next

to me I met him before. I said to him, so any tips? He said, well, just make sure you

eat it all down, get on with it and Don't drink your meal too quickly. And he's never done it

in the way that he starts from the coldest goes to the hottest. They normally just get a low put

in front of them and the first one to eat them all. So we started with the coolest, went to

the hottest. And even the guy that grew them said, look, the coolest one can sometimes be really hot.

If it is, I apologize. I've never done this before. I put it in my mouth and I bit on

it. And I headed down I looked at Craig. I said, that was hot. He said, yeah, that was unusually

hot. In his accent he was and I was like quite relieved by that then because I thought if this

is the lowest one, I'm never going to make three. But the next two weren't too bad. And I bottled

out of it then. I stopped. And I could have gone more, but I didn't. And I'll tell you why.

The audience were there. There must have been about 10,000 people. No, there was about, I don't know, 30. But

I'm not one to exaggerate. But, what did I say? I can't remember what I said now. Oh yeah, the

compare come over to me and said, okay, are you gonna bottle it? I said, I'm out of it. And

I'll tell you why. It's because I care about my carers more than I do my ego. And I got

quite a big cheer from the crowd then that was quite nice. He did come back a little bit later,

because I stayed there for encouragement for the rest part of the fact that I didn't know where else to

go and sit, actually. There was no room. But he did come back, and he said, are you regretting coming

out of it? I said, no, not at all, because I care about my bum. And I thought about it.

And years ago, I would have allowed my ego to get the better of me. But I thought about my

soldiers. I thought about the carers. I thought about my internal things. What would I have gained if I went

to seven or eight? I would have suffered. But what would I have got from it? I would I probably

wouldn't have won it. And even if I won it, there was nothing to win apart from, yeah, there we

go. I can eat the world's hottest chili. What

does it give you? It didn't give me anything. But what this did give me is freedom them from suffering.

And I've shown the crowd that I'm not driven by my ego. I'm quite a sensible person. And a few

people come up to me afterwards and said, do you know what? That was a sensible you You're probably the

most sensible one on the stage. I'm not sure about that, but it was certainly better than suffering. Okay,

that story went on way too long for. This single podcast, but it's a point. Look after your soldiers.

Cut them a bit of slack. And when you're making decisions now, just think about it. How are my soldiers

gonna react to this? What are they gonna be thinking tonight when they have their meeting, when they work out

what they gotta do tonight when you're asleep? Have they gotta repair your lungs again? Have they gotta repair your

liver again? It's no wonder you're not feeling great in the morning. And I know many of you doing amazing

anyway. Just do a bit more amazing with your... For your soldiers sake. Your little warriors

that are all down there helping. So... I'm gonna say thank you to Deb, Murtha and Jenna

and three other anonymous. You can help out towards the podcast if you would like. I've put all the links

under one place. StevenWebb.uk with a V. The link is in the podcast underneath the show.

And you can also sign up to the Weekly Calm newsletter. Leave a review. Whatever you want to do. But

most of all, look after your soldiers. I love you. You are awesome. Have an amazing week.