Now that season 2 has wrapped, the Reconsidering team is taking a break. Season 3 is already coming together with exciting new interviews that will further illuminate the elements of a satisfying life. Kieran Setiya will be back to talk about his new book, Life is hard, which explores philosophical insights that can set us on the right path. Dan Pink will share the power of regret and how it can actually help us live a more fulfilling life. And we’re working on a special 5 episode series in partnership with our friends at Indeed that will feature inspiring people like Leslie Witt of Headspace and John Maeda. It’s going to be an epic season and we’re launching September 20. If you have any feedback that will help us improve the show or you just want to say hi, shoot us a message at http://reconsidering.org/contact. We’ll be back on September 20 with season 3 of Reconsidering.

In this episode, Ed Batista discusses the benefits of self-coaching in professional development, shifting from a warrior to a sage mindset for personal growth. The conversation explores coaching methodologies, mindful decision-making, embracing growth through self-trust, and cultivating deliberate habits for success.

In this engaging discussion, Kaushik Panchal, a designer, writer, and creative director, challenges the notion that creativity is reserved for the elite. He emphasizes creativity as a journey and a learning tool, advocating for embracing mistakes and curiosity. The conversation dives into how vulnerability enhances creativity and the importance of community connection through art, especially during the pandemic. With anecdotes on fostering a growth mindset and the joy of tackling challenges, Kaushik inspires listeners to rediscover and embrace their creative potential.

If the past few years have taught us anything it is this: don’t get too attached to your plans. Or as Patricia Ryan Madson might put it, “Life is something we all make up as we go along.” For many of us, the improvisational life can feel awkward, uncomfortable, and even frightening. But with some practice, reflection, and a slight shift in attitude, it can lead us to a life filled with YES! One where opportunities and adventures flow naturally into our lives—ones that we willingly embrace and follow just to see where they might lead us next. In this episode we’re going to learn about the practice of improv from Patricia Ryan Madson, author of “Improve Wisdom: Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up”. Over a career that spans some four decades, Patricia has taught improv to thousands of students at Stanford, online, and at the storied Esalen Institute in Northern California. It’s going to be a great conversation…wherever it might go. Show notes and transcripts can be found at: https://reconsidering.org/episodes/19

In this special rewind episode, we re-air one of our most popular interviews that guests on the show have often cited as a favorite. In it Brad Stulberg shares practical guidance to get out of the grind and build a more grounded life. Hustle culture keeps us grinding, busy, overcommitted, rushed, and subsequently ungrounded. It’s a phenomenon Brad Stulberg calls “heroic individualism” and it’s something he knows all too well from his own life and his performance coaching work with people doing their best to reach their peak. Brad wants to shake us out of the hustle mindset and help us find a more grounded, sustainable existence. His book The Practice of Groundedness provides the framework. In our conversation with Brad he shows us how to neutralize negative talk, be present in the moment, and recognize that how we spend our time day to day is ultimately how we spend our life. Transcript, links, and show notes: https://reconsidering.org/episodes/7

At some point we all struggle with stress, anxiety, and incessant overthinking. Meredith Arthur, author of Get Out of My Head, is on a mission to help us find strategies for defusing these emotional bombs. Meredith founded Beautiful Voyager, an online community where people discuss mental health challenges and support one another on their journey. In this episode we talk with Meredith about her own struggles with mental health and how to muster the courage to admit to our own limitations so we can find a more peaceful path. You'll find a transcript and links to all resources mentioned at http://reconsidering.org/episodes/18

In his New York Times bestselling book Four Thousand Weeks, Oliver Burkeman writes, “The average human lifespan is absurdly, terrifyingly, insultingly short. But that isn’t a reason for unremitting despair, or for living in an anxiety-fueled panic about making the most of your limited time. It’s a cause for relief. You get to give up on something that was always impossible – the quest to become the optimized, infinitely capable, emotionally invincible, fully independent person you’re officially supposed to be. Then you get to roll up your sleeves and start work on what’s gloriously possible instead.” In this episode Burkeman presents us with an entirely different way of thinking about time management and our futile attempt to squeeze every ounce of productivity from our already short lives – telling us instead to relax and embrace what is possible, acknowledging and accepting the fact that doing it all was never really an option anyway. You'll find the show notes and a transcript of our conversation at https://reconsidering.org/episodes/16

Though most people pass through a midlife malaise or crisis, few have studied the phenomenon as closely as M.I.T Philosophy Professor Kieran Setiya. As Kieran shares in his book Midlife: A Philosophical Guide, people as far back as ancient Greece have written about midlife crises and searched for answers to life's big questions. In this episode, Kieran Setiya boils down what happens to us at midlife and exposes the wisdom of those who have come before us and found satisfaction as they entered the second half of life. Find the show notes and transcript at http://reconsidering.org/episodes/16

Living in isolation for two years without the support of community clarified for many of us just how nourishing and essential relationships are to us. Now that we’re starting to re-enter the world, how might we be more intentional about cultivating community? Tina Roth-Eisenberg—Swissmiss to her hundreds of thousands of followers on the web—has thought about this deeply. She’s the founder of Creative Mornings, a global creative community in 224 cities and 67 countries that welcomes thousands of people each month to inspiring events. She’s also a master at bringing small groups together for support, and as you’ll hear in this episode, pretty clever at building new friendships. Show notes and transcript: https://reconsidering.org/episodes/15

Too often we’ve been told that the workplace is an arena of competition, a zero-sum game where the strong thrive and the rest barely survive. If we’re going to reconsider anything, it’s hard to imagine a better place to start than this outdated, outmoded, and destructive model of the workplace. In this episode, Scott Shute, the former Head of Mindfulness and Compassion at LinkedIn and the author of the book, “The Full Body Yes”, shares stories and insights from his experience leading a large-scale mindfulness initiative at a major corporation. We’ll also learn about the power of compassion and hear some of his insights about how to start following our own path rather than being buffeted about by the demands and expectations of others. Show notes and transcript: https://reconsidering.org/episodes/14