Pursue What Matters

This week I’m focusing on the science of spirituality and the astounding benefits of cultivating a spiritual practice. Spirituality has far-reaching benefits for your emotional, neurological, physical and social health.     ​I’ll review a fascinating new book: The Awakened Brain: The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life by Lisa Miller. Our discussion will help you better understand what spirituality is and what it is not, why it’s important, and how to take simple steps today to cultivate greater spirituality in your life.    This discussion will help you: Learn the difference between religion and spirituality Understand the benefits of spirituality Identify simple ways to cultivate greater spirituality in your life Thanks for being here. I would love to connect with you more. Connect on Instagram @dr.melissasmith Don't miss out on each week's Pursue What Matters episodes. You can have a new episode drop in your inbox each week by subscribing here. Show notes available at: https://drmelissasmith.com/134-awakenedbrain/

In this episode, I interviewed Jake Kelfer. Jake is a lifestyle entrepreneur and coach to ambitious entrepreneurs and freedom seekers, helping people create incredibly impactful and profitable businesses. He is the bestselling author of Elevate Beyond and Elevate Your Network, a high-energy motivational speaker, and the founder of the Professional Basketball Combine, which has helped 70+ NBA draft prospects turn their dreams of playing pro basketball into their reality. He and his work have been featured on Forbes, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and many other major media outlets.    Jake is an expert for leadership, chasing your dreams, and taking your business to the next level. I'm so excited to share this conversation with you. This discussion will help you:  Stand out in a competitive job market Pursue big dreams while managing distress Reframe networking  Show notes available at: https://drmelissasmith.com/133-successwithjake/

Last week I helped you answer the question “are you a control freak” and I made a case for why being a control freak isn’t the worst thing ever. But I also talked about the importance of integration so that control tendencies don’t take over your life and relationships.  This week I’ll help you take a look at the dark side of over-control and how you can embrace radical acceptance to help you overcome the costs of control without losing the benefits. This discussion will help you: Integrate control tendencies for greater balance Recognize the signs of overcontrol  Embrace radical acceptance for greater well-being Show notes available at: https://drmelissasmith.com/132-overcontrol/

Are you a control freak? Maybe you've been made aware of this through the comments of family, friends, or co-workers. Perhaps you're self-aware enough to recognize your tendencies to oversee, control, and take responsibility for everything. Even if you haven’t been accused of being a control freak, this episode will help you better understand the role of healthy control in life and how to use it for good, while staying away from over-control.   This discussion will help you: Recognize the importance of healthy control  Identify the costs of trying to rigidly control life  Understand how over-control might be showing up for you Show notes available at: https://drmelissasmith.com/131-controlfreak/  

You, like many leaders, probably are in a constant state of evaluation. You evaluate your team, your life, your decisions. You constantly evaluate and reevaluate everything you do. If this is the case with you, I'd bet you're pretty stressed out. This constant effort of trying to control everything is exhausting. This week's podcast is all about learning to let go of that desire for control. This episode will be based around John Purkiss's excellent book, The Power of Letting Go: How to Drop Everything That's Holding you Back.  This discussion will help you:  Identify what’s holding you back Let go of overwhelm without guilt  Prioritize practices that keep you sane Show notes available at:  https://drmelissasmith.com/130-lettinggo/

Growth is hard. Learning how to push yourself appropriately and take risks while balancing your need to be safe and secure is tricky. If you've recently paid attention to the podcast, you'll know this episode wraps up a 3-part series on tolerating risk.  Part 1 helped you identify your security needs so you can respect them without being ruled by them. Part 2 identified the important function of growth needs to propel success and confidence in life, and Part 3 is designed to help you make better choices for yourself by balancing both security and growth needs.    This discussion will help you: Understand what’s motivating you  Identify your sweet spot between security and growth needs Increase risk tolerance in healthy ways

Every person has security needs and growth needs. Security needs are the needs that keep us safe and protected. As Maslow taught, growth needs are the needs we have to become more than we are on the path to self-actualization.  These needs stand at opposite ends of a continuum, but are both equally important for well-being. Last week’s podcast focused on helping you understand security needs, and this week I’ll make the case for growth needs.   This discussion will help you:  Understand what growth needs are  Identify healthy ways to tolerate risk in your daily life  Set goals designed to help you fulfill potential Show notes available at:  https://drmelissasmith.com/128-growthneeds/

Life is risky. Nothing is guaranteed, and regardless of where you are, you're going to take your punches. Learning how to navigate the risk that comes from living life, and even more, learning how to tolerate the risks that come when leading a team, is vital to your success. So vital, in fact, that this episode is part one of a three part series on risk. This week is all about understanding yourself and your security need; needs that focus on protecting you from the risks of life. Specifically I'll discuss: This discussion will help you to: 1. Understand your needs for both security and growth This understanding brings awareness about your risk tolerance Clarity about why some decisions will never fit for you And compassion for both yourself and others when it comes to facing down fears  2. Better understand your security needs These are needs that everyone has But the way we cope with them and try to get them met can either help us or hinder us I hope you'll join me for the next two episodes as well when I discuss growth needs as well as finding a balance between security needs and growth needs.

You talk to yourself. It's ok, and you can admit it. Everyone does it. Talking to yourself or having a "voice" in your head is as common as breathing air. Unfortunately, that voice in your head, if it's anything like mine, is often your biggest critic rather than your supporter. It doesn't have to be this way, though! This week I'm reviewing the book Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It.    This discussion will help you to: Understand the voice in your head See why that voice is good and why it can be bad Harness the voice in your head for your benefit   Chatter is a rarely discussed yet important topic, and I hope you'll join me this week as I discuss it.  

There are thousands, if not millions, of books, videos, articles, and posts on the topic of communication. Communication is studied in schools and universities, it's done via nearly every conceivable technology, and it's something you and I take part in everyday. Needless to say, communication is a vital part of daily life. It would not only be easy but would also be completely feasible and relevant to dedicate a whole podcast or a series of episodes within a podcast just to the topic of communication. It's a topic i've spoken about before and you can bet I'll speak about again. This week though, I want to focus on just the basics of communication. Communications 101. I'm talking about the straightforward dos and don'ts of communicating with the people around you. Communicating is more than verbally speaking face to face, so I'll be talking about the dos and don'ts of non-verbal communication and written communication in addition to the traditional verbal communication. This episode is so applicable to daily life, I'll be sharing simple things that you can apply today to improve your communications skills. Join me for this useful and important topic! Show notes available at: www.drmelissasmith.com/communication101