In this episode, we explore the surprising mental and emotional benefits of reading books you don’t enjoy. From expanding your perspective to building resilience, we break down why pushing through uncomfortable or challenging material can actually strengthen your mind. You’ll learn how disliked books sharpen critical thinking, deepen emotional capacity, and reveal hidden parts of…
Family stress seems to be more of a theme around the holidays. It seems to me most people are caught between wanting to spend time with family and not wanting to wade through the distress of a divisive political conversation. In today’s episode, I share some strategies to finding a peaceful way to spend time…
I worry that we have killed sadness. Maybe I just worry that we think we have killed sadness. Let me explain what I mean. It seems that everywhere you look, depression is up today. In fact, while preparing to write this post, I googled if numbers were up and the very first link had the…
Civil discourse feels harder to find every day. Last week, a prominent conservative figure was executed, and what troubled me most were the responses that followed. Not long ago, a young woman was murdered on public transportation, and the government tried to cover it up—afraid of how the public might respond. This episode isn’t about…
Somewhere between the half-melted popsicles and the growing stack of school supply ads, this truth emerges.Summer is almost over.Back-to-school is coming. Depending on your personality, that sentence either made your chest tighten or your shoulders relax.Maybe both. Some parents are counting down the daysuntil structure returns.Others are holding tightto every last bedtime story and backyard…
Last week, I wrote about how you cannot help someone change who doesn’t want to change. You can read that here. Today, let’s talk about another truth—one that’s more hopeful. Here’s a truth we have to hold onto—keep close when life gets heavy. Even when—we’re wrestling with the weightof loving someone who won’t move forward….
Have you ever had two pieces of information—but no bridge between them?So you built one.Filled in the gap.Connected the dots.Only to find out later…you got it wrong? You’re not alone. Malcolm Gladwell wrote an entire book on it called Talking to Strangers.Turns out, we’re wrong as often as we’re rightwhen we fill in the blanks.Our…
We all say we want change.But when it’s time to move—to actually do something, most people stall. Not because they’re lazy. Not because they’re incapable.Because they don’t know where to start. This is Part 3 in a series about change: What is required to change? I imagine some of my friends felt a quick snag…
You want change. But! Do you want to change?
We all fail. It’s part of being human.What we do after the failure? That’s where growth—or deeper damage—happens. In this episode, I talk about what failure can teach us if we’re willing to listen, learn, and lean into the discomfort. I also address some listener concerns about a previous episode, because feedback, like failure, is…
