Small Steps for Big Clarity w/ Quinn Magnuson

[00:00:00] Dr. Christiane Schroeter: When life gets loud, it’s not the noise that breaks us. It’s the weight of everything we haven’t paused. To feel overwhelm isn’t weakness. It’s a signal for clarity. And today we are learning how to find it. Welcome back to the show. I’m Dr. Christiane, and if you’ve ever felt stuck, tired, or feel like you’re running empty, this conversation is for you.

[00:01:04] Dr. Christiane Schroeter: And host of the EOR Podcast, Quinn Magnuson. Welcome. I’m so excited to have you here. In our last episode, we talked about how we can use curiosity to get unstuck. And today we are exploring what it is when curiosity is still there, but your energy is gone.

[00:02:00] Quinn Magnuson: I gave this a lot of thought, and overwhelm to me feels like quicksand. It feels like you’re drowning in quicksand and you’re struggling and you’re actually trying to work harder to get out of it. But we all know that when you work hard in quicksand, it actually sucks you in deeper. Overwhelm, much like quicksand, means you need to calm down, slow down, and take deliberate, prioritized steps. It feels like your whole world is out of control, when you really should be trying to calm your mind, calm your body, and come up with deliberate quick wins to slowly work your way out.

[00:03:13] Quinn Magnuson: I get my reset from actually getting away from the overwhelm. That means changing my environment. Often it’s just getting outside. Sometimes it’s even changing the room that I’m in. For me, it’s getting outside, going for a walk, calming my mind.

There’s a resistance in me that says, “No, I’m going to stay at my desk and keep working.” And then my wife will pull me away, or I’ll finally just say, “No. I need to take time for myself to come back more energized.” For me, it’s taking a few minutes. It could be a breathing exercise, but it’s most definitely activity — get physical, go outside, change environments.

[00:04:10] Dr. Christiane Schroeter: I love that. It’s fitting to the whole Petite Practice®, because it is a very small step but it leads to big impacts. Overwhelm tends to shrink our world to where we feel small — movement expands it again.

[00:04:36] Quinn Magnuson: My superpower has always been helping others get better. It was coaching in amateur sports. It was being a teacher for five years. It was owning my own company and growing those employees up and out to better things. And now it’s helping teachers, coaches, educators, employers, parents — learn how to take things a little bit slower. That’s what I get my most passion and joy from.

[00:05:37] Quinn Magnuson: When you’re feeling overwhelm and you want to help others to fix that, it sometimes looks and feels a lot like control. The superpower I have of helping others is now also turning those messages back to myself: “What do you need to do in this moment to bring yourself back to balance, and then take steps forward to help others?” That’s what makes me feel better and often helps me out of my overwhelm.

[00:06:44] Dr. Christiane Schroeter: Overwhelm has many layers. Signal — too many inputs from all over the place. Structure — when we don’t have a clear container. And self-talk — the voice that says “I should be much further along.” Which one hits you the hardest right now, and how do you notice it in your body?

[00:07:34] Quinn Magnuson: I’m a big fan of structure — that’s the control part of me. But I understand signal too. For me, it’s often in my chest. I feel the overwhelm in my chest and in my upper body. That requires me to take a step back. I do a quick inventory: “How is work going? How is the family doing?” Then I prioritize. Instead of trying to do 20 things, let’s do one thing and get that little quick win. That signal in my chest says: take a break. Deep breath. Prioritize. Do that one thing.

[00:08:41] Dr. Christiane Schroeter: So it’s a symbiosis of signal and structure. It’s a learning process. You can’t really plan from panic.

[00:08:41] Dr. Christiane Schroeter: Three quick resets you can do in five minutes or less. First, a breath reset — box breathing or a long exhale. Second, the decision rule — two columns, This Week and Not Now. Third, the micro win — do something small and complete it. Clear your desk. Answer three emails. Take that short walk.

[00:10:47] Quinn Magnuson: For me, the immediate answer is to change environment and get activity going. I don’t want to. I want to stay at my desk and work hard. And then I’m like, “Okay, I’ll go for a walk.” I always feel better. I always feel energized when I come back. If you just work nonstop, you never really feel what getting a break is. Movement — getting away from the spot you’re in even for a few minutes — is the number one thing you can do.

[00:12:50] Quinn Magnuson: The biggest struggle I faced growing up was being in a single-parent family — a mother trying to raise three children on welfare. That poverty-level feeling of trying to prove myself, seeking approval, always wondering where the next meal was coming from. I brought that into my adult life and my life as a father and husband.

My goal as a father and husband is to protect and provide. The struggle now is I’m only as happy as my unhappiest child. I’m only as happy as my family is happy. Everything I do — EOR, Effort Over Results, the podcast — goes back to providing for my family and helping others feel better.

[00:14:58] Quinn Magnuson: Being stuck comes from lack of clarity. Only in the last five or seven years have I learned to care less what other people think, to do what I truly love, to find my happy place.

[00:17:16] Quinn Magnuson: I get so much of my motivation from my family. When I eventually pass away, I want my kids to look back and say how much I helped them, and be proud of the work I did. That’s really what this is all about.

[00:18:04] Dr. Christiane Schroeter: It’s beautiful. It’s leaving a legacy.

[00:18:27] Quinn Magnuson: First, change your environment. Even if it’s small. Secondly, gain clarity: “What do I want to move forward with? What requires me to be productive and active?” Then Petite Practice®, Effort Over Results: small steps toward it. There is profit in all labor.

Happiness comes and goes like waves. It’s more important to ask, “Do I feel fulfilled and content in what I’m doing?” Keep moving forward in any directionally correct, not absolutely correct, way.

[00:20:36] Dr. Christiane Schroeter: When life feels too much, run the 24-Hour Clarity Reset. Step one, Clear the Field — dump your brain on paper. Step two, Sort the Game Plan — label A, B, and C. Step three, One Play at a Time — pick one A task and finish it. Step four, Reset the System — move, walk, hydrate. Step five, Prep the Future — set up tomorrow’s tasks.

Effort creates clarity, and clarity creates results. Overwhelm tells you to stop — but progress often starts as a whisper. One breath and one small step forward.

[00:22:28] Dr. Christiane Schroeter: Take one small action today toward clarity. Tell us how your micro win turns out. Put it in the comments. Subscribe to the podcast — you can’t miss what we’re going to talk about regarding home.