Change Academy podcast

As a society, we place a very high value on optimization.

Now that it’s so easy to track your nutrition, sleep, exercise, productivity, your stock gains or weather, you naturally want to optimize them. 

What we don’t always acknowledge is that optimizing for one thing is likely to cost you gains in at least one other domain. 

In this episode, we talk about why it’s so important to be clear on exactly what value you are optimizing for–-and what you are willing to sacrifice in order to do that.

It is a tricky balance to find but well worth the effort. 

Continue reading “Be Careful What You Optimize For”

Our evaluation of a certain experience can be heavily influenced by things that actually have nothing to do with it. For example, if we happen to be very thirsty when we sample a new beverage, we may later remember it as being far better than it actually was.

It’s called attribution bias. And if left unexamined, it can lead us to make choices or decisions that are not based on our actual goals and values.

As with so many other things, correcting for attribution bias starts with becoming aware of its existence.

Continue reading “Why We Crave What We Crave”

According to a recent survey by the American Psychological Association, 84% of adults reported feeling stressed out. Two-thirds say that they feel overwhelmed by the issues they face.

This is no way to live, much less thrive.

In this episode, we’re going to talk about the importance of distinguishing between stress and stressors. Because this can be the first step toward reducing their negative effects, both on our bodies and on our lives.

Continue reading “Stress vs. Stressor”

Most of us have a long list of things about our lives (or ourselves) that we would like to work on or improve . The problem is that when we try to change too many things at once, we end up changing nothing. That is why knowing what to focus on, and when, is essential.

Continue reading “What to Focus on Next”

Every path to success includes its share of stumbling blocks.

We may stumble when we’re trying something new and don’t yet know where the tricky parts are. (Fair enough!)  And then there are those things that we seem to stumble over and over again.  You’d think we’d learn how to avoid them! But one of the reasons that we don’t is that we focus on the wrong part of the story.

In this episode, we’ll show you how to turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones on the road to success.

Continue reading “How to turn Stumbling Blocks into Stepping Stones”

In this episode, psychologist Dr. Monica Johnson talks with Monica about the ways in which people with ADHD often struggle with various aspects of behavior change–whether that’s staying focused on the goal, following through on plans, or resisting impulses that lead them astray.  

It’s not just a lack of willpower or commitment. And there are some strategies that can help.

Continue reading “It’s not me, it’s my ADHD (with Dr. Monica Johnson)”

When we become aware of a gap between our present reality and our desired reality, our inclination is to add something. A new practice. A new program. A new effort. When that doesn’t work, we go back to the drawing board and add another thing. 

What if the answer were not to add something new but to subtract something that is not working, or not pulling its weight? 

Continue reading “Law of Subtraction: Why you should do less to reach your goals”

Dr. Michelle Segar is an NIH-funded researcher at the University of Michigan. She’s also a best-selling author and health coach. She’s spent close to thirty years studying how to create sustainable changes and healthy behaviors that can survive the complexity and unpredictability of the real world.

Continue reading “Opening up Your Options with Dr. Michelle Segar”

Our expectations powerfully impact what happens to us.  If we believe something is going to help, hurt, suck, or be fun – our experience will probably fulfill that belief. 

But it’s not only that we behave in ways that fulfill our expectations or that we interpret what happens through that lens. Although both of these things are true.

Our expectations actually determine our physiological responses to inputs like diet and exercise and stress. 

Continue reading “The surprising ways expectations matter”

We’re told that self-care is essential to our well-being; it’s practically a duty! But it’s easy to confuse self-care with self-indulgence–and while indulgences can be fun, they don’t necessarily improve our well-being.

In this episode, we explore the difference between self-care and self-indulgence, so that you can make sure that the time, energy, and money you spend on self-care is actually moving you toward your goals. 

Continue reading “Rescuing $elf-Care from Consumer Culture”