178: Living Undeterred with Jeff Johnston
b'It\\u2019s so easy to compare your own trauma with somebody else\'s trauma but trauma is trauma. You can have no kids and not be married, and put your dog down. And that can be just as traumatic as somebody who went through losing a child. All of our pain is unique to us and it\'s painful to us no matter what it is. But at the end of the day, we are all left with two roads \\u2013 one is the road of anger, despair, and hatred and the other is a road of inspiration and motivation \\u2013 which one are you going to take?\\nOn this episode, Duane speaks with Jeff Johnston about his story of loss and grief, losing his eldest son and his wife to addiction, and having to deal with his own recovery from alcoholism.\\xa0\\xa0\\nJeff was a functional alcoholic who has been drinking since he was in eighth grade. He was also a compulsive gambler for 15 years. But his pivot point in his life came in October 2016 when his 23-year-old son, Seth died from fentanyl poisoning and heroin overdose.\\nJeff initially drank his way to cope with the pain. Then in December 2017, as an alcoholic since eighth grade, he just woke up and realized he was tired of being tired. Although we always have two choices, there was only one choice for him because the bitter road was never an option for him. In June 2021, his wife died of alcohol abuse at the age of 46.\\xa0\\nJeff took the deaths in his family as the beginning of something beautiful. For Jeff, things didn\\u2019t happen to him, but things had to happen for him. With this kind of mindset, he is committed to living a life undeterred. He made a choice to turn his pain and suffering into something transformative, not only for him but also for other people. And out of that came his Living Undeterred project, where he tours around the United States, working to change the narrative on mental health, substance abuse, and addiction.\\xa0\\n\\xa0\\nIn this episode, you will hear:\\n\\nJeff\\u2019s story of losing his 23-year-old son\\n\\nThe two roads you can go down\\n\\nDo things happen to you or for you?\\n\\nPain is unavoidable, suffering is a choice\\n\\nJeff\\u2019s coping mechanisms\\n\\nKeeping yourself from being addicted to your vulnerability\\n\\nReframing your situation\\n\\nEnding the stigma of addiction\\n\\nAbout Living Undeterred\\n\\nThe opposite of addiction\\n\\nThe quiver of arrows metaphor in life\\xa0\\n\\nKey Quotes:\\n[08:43] - \\u201cDeath presented an opportunity for me to be a better man, not a bitter man.\\u201d\\n[10:20] - "We have one road of anger, despair, and hatred, and we become alcoholics ourselves. Or we have a road of inspiration and motivation, and this can be the single greatest moment in our lives to make our own lives better and those around us."\\n[11:40] - "As an alcoholic since eighth grade, I just woke up and said, I\'m tired of being tired."\\n[13:21] - \\u201cDo things happen to you or do things happen for you?\\u201d\\n[15:20] - "Pain is unavoidable, but suffering is a choice."\\n[23:00] - \\u201cA death of somebody doesn\'t have to be the end of you. It can be the beginning of something beautiful."\\n[27:59] - \\u201cThe opposite of addiction is connection.\\u201d\\n[31:06] - "We all have a "why" and you just have to find it. And then when you find it, your way gets revealed right in front of you."\\xa0\\n\\nIf you really enjoyed this episode, we\\u2019ve created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at www.theaddictedmind.com\\xa0to download it.\\nSupporting Resources:\\nLiving Undeterred\\nhttps://www.livingundeterred.com/\\xa0\\nYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmGZTTnszWNlkG0sIGcp-YQ\\xa0\\nThis One\'s For You: An Inspirational Journey Through Addiction, Death, and Meaning\\nhttps://www.thisonesforyoubook.com/\\xa0\\n\\nEpisode Credits\\nIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'