This episode of the Choose Yourself Channel explores what it really means to choose yourself when motivation alone isn’t enough. Dr. Dan Gubler shares how science has been part of his life for generations — from growing up in his grandfather’s lab to witnessing his grandfather’s battle with cancer, a moment that shaped his lifelong mission to use chemistry to transform health. What began as a career in synthesizing pharmaceutical drugs turned into a defining realization: many of the same effects could be achieved through molecules found in plants, without the harsh side effects. That realization led him away from synthetic drugs and into the natural product world.

Throughout the conversation, we walk through the Choose Yourself process in a practical, human way. Triggers show up as illness, fatigue, inflammation, food noise, and chronic cravings. Environment expands beyond people and habits into food, water, air, soil, and the chemical overload of modern life. Dr. Dan explains why inflammation sits at the root of nearly all disease, how lifeless food lacking vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients disrupts hunger hormones, and why the body often isn’t craving more food — it’s craving nourishment it’s not receiving.

We dive into GLP-1 signaling, weight regulation, and the difference between synthetic injectables and natural peptides. Dr. Dan breaks down complex science using simple metaphors, explaining how synthetic drugs act like keys jammed into locks, while natural molecules gently activate and release receptors as the body was designed to do. He explains why preserving lean muscle, bone density, and metabolic balance matters more than rapid weight loss, and how appetite suppression becomes healing only when it restores awareness rather than eliminates hunger altogether.

The conversation also expands into fasting, gut health, and energy regulation. Dr. Dan shares how fasting allows the body to step out of crisis mode and resolve deep-seated inflammation, why regulating blood sugar and insulin is critical for repairing gut-brain communication, and how GLP-1 acts as a master regulator influencing metabolism, neurotransmitters, and even addiction pathways. Together, we explore why small, consistent changes compound into massive health outcomes .. not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Episode Takeaways

• Choosing yourself applies to biology just as much as mindset
• Inflammation and nutrient depletion quietly drive cravings and fatigue
• Synthetic shortcuts often solve symptoms while creating new problems
• Natural regulation supports long-term balance, not just short-term results
• Hunger, energy, and discipline improve when physiology is supported
• Small daily changes compound into massive health outcomes

This conversation invites a deeper question: if your body had the right tools, would choosing yourself finally feel sustainable? Dr. Dan’s work reminds us that discipline becomes easier when the body is supported, awareness returns when systems are balanced, and real health is built through alignment .. not force.

Choosing yourself isn’t just a mindset. It’s a biological process.

Grow With Me ⬇️

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Season one showed us something powerful: choosing yourself isn’t a personality trait, it’s a process. Different guests, different stories, different “meat suits,” but the same pattern every single time TEFIC: triggers, environment, foundation, investment, and contribution. We didn’t just talk about success; we talked about survival, alignment, integrity, and what it actually took to get there. Most people weren’t broken — they were just unprepared — and when motivation faded, they fell to the level of their preparation.

This Season 2 preview sets the tone for what’s next. Choosing yourself is still the mission, but now we’re going deeper into the environments that make that choice harder : toxins in food, water, air, screens, chemicals, and overstimulation. We get into inflammation, fatigue, cravings, weight gain, discipline, and why self-control becomes nearly impossible when the body is depleted and inflamed. This next episode also introduces Dr. Dan Gubler’s story .. leaving synthetic pharmaceutical sales, questioning the systems he was told to trust, and turning back to nature to support gut health, metabolism, hunger signaling, and real regulation instead of shortcuts.

The question that opens Season 2 is simple: If choosing yourself feels harder than it should… is it really a character issue, or is it an environment issue?

Grow With Me ⬇️

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This conversation with Nate O'brien centers on a simple truth: preparation matters more than motivation when pressure shows up. We talk about why so many people want the glow-up without the groundwork, praying for growth but panicking when adversity arrives because the work wasn’t done beforehand. Nate speaks from lived experience - not theory - sharing what it looks like when life applies real pressure through loss, responsibility, and uncertainty, and why foundation, not talent or hype, determines what holds.

Throughout the episode, we move through the Choose Yourself process in real time. Triggers are named, especially numbing, masking, and avoidance, and why they don’t disappear when ignored .. they get louder. We explore environment beyond substances, into conversations, media, habits, and energy drains, and why choosing yourself can feel lonely when old people, places, and patterns no longer align. Discipline, early mornings, cold exposure, and routine are framed not as punishment, but as preparation for grief, stress, and the uncontrollables that eventually come for everyone.

Tap in with Nate on IG

Episode Takeaways

• Preparation matters more than motivation when pressure shows up
• Triggers get louder when ignored
• Chronic stress and avoidance weaken decision-making and emotional control
• Environment includes people, media, and daily inputs
• Discipline isn’t punishment — it’s preparation
• Poor systems cost more than humility and mentorship

This episode ultimately comes back to responsibility, not in a heavy way, but in an empowering one. We talk about ego, systems, mentorship, and how one honest conversation or apology can completely change the direction of a relationship, a business, or a season of life. The message isn’t to do more.. it’s to be ready, so when life shows up, you don’t fold.

“If opportunity or adversity showed up tomorrow, would your mind, body, and character be ready?”

Grow With Me ⬇️

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Most people want the glow up without the groundwork. They pray for growth, but panic when pressure shows up because the work wasn’t done before adversity arrived. This preview sets the tone for a conversation that isn’t about motivation - it’s about preparation and what actually determines how you survive when the storm hits.

In this preview, Nate speaks from experience, not theory. We touch on losing money, losing employees, losing relationships, and losing yourself, and why foundation — not talent, not vibes — decides the outcome. The conversation moves through triggers, environment, foundation, investment, and contribution, including numbing and masking behaviors, why triggers get louder when ignored, how chronic stress and avoidance impact decision-making, and why certain environments quietly drain your energy.

This episode ultimately asks one simple question: If the opportunity or adversity showed up tomorrow, would your mind, body, and character be ready?

Grow With Me ⬇️

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Some people don’t change because they’re inspired. They change because the old version of them can’t survive anymore.

In this episode of the Choose Yourself Channel, I sit down with Chris Spruill - founder of Start Over Fitness - whose transformation didn’t begin with discipline or fitness. It began when he was hit by a truck. Chris describes that moment as the death of the version of him that was living in darkness. “I was dark and now I’m light. I was dead and now I’m alive. It was the death of the flesh, and it birthed the spirit.”

That experience forced him into isolation, reflection, and responsibility and reshaped how he approaches life, training, and purpose.

Chris shares how life gave him repeated warnings before it finally stopped him. “I had like twelve trigger points before I finally turned one into a turning point.” We talk about why pain repeats until it’s acknowledged, how relationships act as mirrors, and why trigger points aren’t punishments .. they’re invitations.

As he evolved, familiar environments no longer fit. “My spirit guides me away from places I no longer fit… I’m interested in growth, morals, values, substance, and purpose.” We unpack why outgrowing people and spaces isn’t betrayal - it’s alignment - and how old environments can resurrect old identities if you’re not intentional.

Discipline shows up throughout this conversation, but not as restriction. Chris reframes it as protection. “Kill yourself daily. We’re built to be consumers ... kill that. Be a producer.” We explore routine, fasting, solitude, controlled struggle, and why training discomfort on purpose strengthens the space between emotion and action .. the space where choice lives.

Rather than extremes, Chris emphasizes small, repeatable systems. “One habit. One adjustment. One month at a time.” Motivation fades. Systems compound. Healing turns into leadership when ownership replaces avoidance.

This isn’t a fitness episode. It’s a conversation about choosing intention over default, alignment over comfort, and responsibility over excuses.

If you’ve felt stuck in cycles or tired of repeating the same lessons, this episode will meet you honestly and challenge you directly.

Grow With Me ⬇️

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#CYC #chooseyourself #motivation #love #accountability #mindset #selfmastery #transformation

Some people don’t change until the old version of them dies

💪🏾In this preview episode, I set the tone for my conversation with Chris, founder of Start Over Fitness, a trainer, a spiritual thinker, and someone who didn’t wake up one day and decide to change.. life forced it. Chris was literally hit by a truck, and according to him, that version of him didn’t survive. What followed wasn’t just recovery, it was a rebirth. We talk about what happens when pain stops being something you run from and starts becoming the thing that redirects your entire life.

💥Most people say they want change but they don’t want the death that comes before it. They don’t want to let go of the addictions, the old friends, the environments, or the identity that feels familiar even when it’s killing them. In this preview, I break down how trigger points repeat until you stop numbing and start listening, why relationships expose what you haven’t healed, and how environments don’t just influence behavior... they resurrect old versions of you if you’re not intentional.

🌟Triggers aren’t punishments, they’re instructions. Growth requires burial before it brings resurrection. If you keep planting yourself in the same soil, don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

∞This episode sets up a deeper conversation about discipline, fasting, controlled struggle, solitude, and building identity through routine instead of extremes. We get into why discipline isn’t restriction, it’s protection, why consumption loops keep people spiritually and emotionally weak, and how small systems practiced daily build self-trust over time. This isn’t fitness talk — it’s a masterclass on choosing intention over emotion, even when your environment, habits, and history are pulling you backward.

If this preview hits, the full episode goes much deeper. It challenges you to ask whether you’re actually changing… or just coping better while hoping life doesn’t force the lesson again.

Grow With Me ⬇️

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Healing before dating, nervous system regulation, and choosing alignment over chemistry — a conversation with Chelsko Nellie

🌱 Chelsko’s story didn’t start with coaching or clarity, it started with repetition. Back-to-back abusive relationships forced her to confront a hard truth: she wasn’t unlucky, she was unhealed. Instead of blaming partners, she turned inward and asked why her nervous system kept choosing the same dynamics in different bodies. That question became the doorway to solitude, self-honesty, and the deep work that would later shape her mission.

🌍 Through seasons of stepping away from dating, cutting off external validation, and traveling the world, Chelsko learned that attention can feel like love when you’ve been deprived of safety. She shares how choosing to be alone... truly alone... helped her break patterns rooted in abandonment, fear of intimacy, and the need to be chosen. What began as personal healing evolved into a blueprint she now teaches others: you don’t attract better by trying harder, you attract better by becoming regulated.

❤️ In this conversation, she opens up about faith, discipline, and why relationships don’t heal wounds, they expose them. She explains how many people feel “healed” in isolation, only to unravel once intimacy activates old trauma. Rather than running from that activation, Chelsko teaches how to prepare for it through nervous system regulation, boundaries, and consistent self-investment.

🧠 Together, we explore why trauma is often mistaken for chemistry, why chaos feels exciting while calm feels suspicious, and how modern overstimulation keeps people addicted to intensity instead of intimacy. From breathwork and exercise to solitude and sobriety from validation, this episode connects emotional healing to practical systems that support long-term alignment.

✨ What you’ll take from this episode:

• How unhealed patterns repeat until they’re addressed
• Why familiar chaos feels safer than unfamiliar peace
• The difference between chemistry and nervous system conditioning
• Why distance isn’t betrayal — it’s alignment
• How faith, values, and discipline stabilize relationships when emotions fluctuate

🛠️ Systems and practices discussed:

• Stepping away from dating to regulate your nervous system
• Journaling to separate feelings from facts
• Breathwork and somatic practices to release stored trauma
• Building routines that create psychological safety
• Evaluating values early instead of years into a relationship
• Using solitude to strengthen identity before intimacy

🌊 At its core, this episode reflects the Choose Yourself process : recognizing trigger points, evaluating your environment, building a foundation in solitude, investing in yourself consistently, and creating relationships from overflow instead of need. Chelsko’s story is a reminder that love doesn’t ask you to abandon yourself .. it asks you to meet yourself first.

🔥 If peace feels boring, you’re not healed, you’re conditioned and if you don’t choose yourself first, you’ll keep asking others to do it for you.

Grow With Me ⬇️

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💫If chaos feels exciting and peace feels boring, that’s not chemistry, it’s conditioning.

💓In this preview episode, I open the door to a conversation with Chelsko Nellie that challenges the way most people think about attraction, healing, and relationships. We talk about how trauma bonds light up dopamine and cortisol at the same time, why your nervous system keeps pulling you toward what feels familiar even when it hurts, and how repeating the same pattern with different people isn’t bad luck.. it’s unhealed wiring. When you haven’t regulated your system, you don’t choose partners, your nervous system does.

♻️You’re not attracted, you’re conditioned. If neglect feels normal, consistency feels suspicious. If chaos feels familiar, peace feels boring.

🧬This preview sets the tone for the full episode, where we go deeper into healing before dating, balancing masculine and feminine polarity, and why discipline, structure, and solitude aren’t punishments... they’re what create emotional safety. We unpack how vices, overstimulation, and “just one night out” quietly reset your nervous system backward, and why choosing yourself first isn’t selfish, it’s the only way to stop bleeding on people who didn’t cut you.

🏡If this hits close to home, that’s the invitation. Not to isolate, not to numb, not to jump into another connection hoping it fixes the ache but to slow down, build a foundation, and become the version of you that can actually sustain the love you say you want.

Grow With the CYC ⬇️

🐬 CYC Zoom (Tuesdays 10 a.m.) ❤️‍🩹 Choose Yourself, Heal Your Gut Webinar 🏝️ Costa Rica Retreat 📖 Choose Yourself to Be Chosen (book) 🎙️ Choose Yourself Channel