Untangle

Todays guest is Cheryl Richardson. Cheryl has written 7 books and has dedicated her life to the practice of self care. When we begin to care for ourselves, we naturally begin to care for others…families, friends, the environment and the world. There are so many wisdom nuggets in this episode. She invites us to look at what’s draining our energy so that we can let go of what no longer serves us; she shares how to make our inner lives more of a priority and discusses how to set up priorities and boundaries. I love her phrase; “stop doing things that bore you.” This can be the biggest energy drain of all. She also suggests that doing the opposite of what you normally do or even think you can do can be a great way to change stagnant habits and break some old patterns. Cheryl shares why focusing on self care is so important for all of us. She also discusses how to make soul vs. ego more of a focus as you move into your later years; how to look at what’s draining your energy by making a list and eliminating each one by one. She believes those who focus on self care are good at sitting with the discomfort of letting go of the things in their lives that are no longer useful. Make your inner life more of a priority than your outer life and remember that death is a reminder of how precious and fleeting life is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Todays guest is Ozan Varol. Ozan is a native of Turkey and moved to the US to study astrophysics when he was 17. He started out as a rocket scientist and later became a law professor. In our interview, he reflects on how there were so many moments where on paper everything looked great, but intuitively there was something deep down in his gut that felt very wrong. He couldn’t rationally explain the feeling…but he knew he needed to make some changes in his life. And he did. His mission now is to help others reimagine the conventional wisdom that led them to decisions that govern their lives…but no longer need to. I like when he says “is your safety net really a straight jacket?” His book is called Awaken your Genius. Escape Conformity, Ignite Creativity and Become Extraordinary. Genius, to him, means being who you were meant to be; not what others expect. Unlock your originality and unleash your unique talents to discover your true nature. I think you’ll find his perspectives super interesting, and a great reminder of what it takes to be truly who we’re meant to be. This episode has some great insights on how to stop conforming to what others expect, how to discover who we truly are, how to stop feeling like you’re sleepwalking through life, how to get unstuck and ignite creativity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to another meditation edition of Untangle.I’m excited to introduce you to Shawn Moore. Shawn is a meditation and yoga teacher, and loves to create spaces for stillness and self-inquiry to help leaders and all of us… align our strengths, intention, and impact. Today’s meditation lives in the Optimal Brain States Collection on the Muse app. Shawn leads all of the community initiatives at Muse and is passionate about bringing people together to connect, learn and be inspired by one another. Today’s meditation is about the gifts of a growth vs. fixed mindset. He invites us to leave lot’s of room for reflection here. My favorite part? He asks us to ponder this question. How do you react when working outside your comfort zone? Head over to choosemuse.com to check out his meditations on the Muse app. Use Untangle15 for your discount code. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Todays guest is Rob Schwartz. You may not know him, but you’ve likely heard of his dad, Morrie. Bestseller, “Tuesdays with Morrie,” sold over 18 million copies after it was released in 1997. While Morrie, a beloved dad and professor at Brandeis University, was dying of ALS, Mitch Albom, one of his students, sat down to interview him every Tuesday for 12 weeks. This became a treasure trove of his philosophy as his health declined. It was very early in our understanding of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Several years after “Tuesdays with Morrie," and the death of his father, Rob, found an almost finished manuscript in his dad’s desk drawer. He decided to edit this book as a tribute to his dad. Now, “The Wisdom of Morrie," recently released, is a new look at Morries’ life wisdom and lessons. I was happy to be reminded of the spirit and light that filled his life, despite that he was dying. A reminder from Morrie: “Dying is only one thing to be upset about; living an unhappy life is something else.” Show Notes: Morrie is known for his positive attitude and growth mindset before and after he was diagnosed with ALS. He was an extremely curious, compassionate and intelligent man. He always had this intense empathy for everybody, and was open to different worldviews. He was aware of others’ difficulties and their pain. Once you're open to somebody else's worldview and perspective, he said, you're going to see things in a different light. The Wisdom of Morrie is really about lessons on how to live your best life and how to live with the tension or paradox of joy and sorrow. His attitude was…”I’m gonna live the best that I can in the time that I have left. And that means I have to put bitterness, anger and disappointment aside and concentrate on what gives me joy and life and pushes me forward.” Morrie wrote a bit about ageism. He has a term called age casting, which is to make assumptions about older people just because they’re old. He also includes many practical tips on how to live more creatively and joyously as you age. Very simply put, what gives your life meaning, Morrie would say, is your relationship with other people. Morrie viewed aging as completely natural; Not something to be angry or despairing about, but something to understand as a natural process of life, and that you should appreciate what is strong and good about it, as opposed to trying to pick out, oh, my body isn't as strong as it used to be. There will always be the tension of opposites in our lives. This idea of balancing out hope and despair. In this book, Morrie was attempting to remove the stumbling blocks that prevent people from being happy and fulfilled. He believed that laughter was incredibly important and wondered why elderly people often forget to incorporate more humor in their lives. Don’t let it slip away, he reminds us. Rob’s most important lesson from his dad? Pay attention to your relationships and continue to strengthen them always. Resources: The Wisdom of Morrie. Available at all booksellers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Enjoy this lovely meditation, by Kate Johnson, in honor of World Meditation Week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest interviewer > Ariel Garten! Do you want to wake up feeling great, and be productive through the rest of the day? Make the most of your day by optimizing your mornings. Charming British brother and sister therapists, Toby and Kate Oliver, give dozens of practical, science-backed techniques to try at the start of the day, to improve your morning and the whole day. Whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, this episode will help you transform your life, one morning at a time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's guest is Dr. Greg Wells a Physiologist, Scientist, Author, and renowned health and high-performance expert. He has dedicated his career to studying the science of human limits and developing practical strategies to help individuals and organizations perform at their best, even under the most challenging circumstances. He’s even worked with Olympic athletes. But his most important work is with those of us who simply want to optimize health every single day. His guidance in this interview relates to protecting and optimizing our Mitochondria, which affects every aspect of our lives. It’s a really interesting way to look at how we can have some agency over our mental and physical health so we can live our best lives. Note: Use discount code UNTANGLE15 at choosemuse.com to order your Muse Headband. Show notes: We get our energy from mitochondria. These are tiny structures inside our cells that break down the foods that we eat to create energy. They're in our muscles, our brains, they're all over the place. We need our mitochondria to live our best, healthiest lives. Our mitochondria are damaged by stress, but they're really responsive to lifestyle activities so there's infinite potential for them to get better. We produce 2 billion new mitochondria every single day. These enable us to think, move, be creative, play music, build relationships…almost everything that is fundamental to life. As little as three minutes of exercise a day can stimulate the production of new and better mitochondria that make us able to have more energy to navigate our lives. When we do things like meditation, our mitochondria become stronger. He is a big Muse user and loves it. Mitochondria are also a common pathway to different diseases like cancer, heart disease, and neurodegenerative diseases. When they aren’t working properly, they can even be responsible for depression, so even our mental health depends upon healthy, high-functioning mitochondria. Also important to creating a joyful and meaningful life are social connections, people, pursuits, and purpose. A strong focus in these areas can have a profound impact on longevity. Flow plus meaning is the best predictor of “Magic Moments.” Resources: Drgregwells.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4X NYT best-selling author, the hilarious and poignant AJ Jacobs, spent a year following every commandment in the Bible, to see what would happen. He then dove deep into gratitude by traveling around the globe to thank every person who had helped produce his morning coffee. In an incredibly interesting conversation, he shares his witty and profound insights from these experiments, and also teaches us what it takes to accomplish the things we want in our own lives, and gives us techniques we can use to motivate ourselves towards our goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is all about behavior change. Dr. Allison Grupski, PhD and Clinical Health Psychologist specializing in weight management and eating behaviors is the Head of Behavior Change at Weight Watchers, referred to as WW in this interview. She shares many of the behavior change strategies she’s used to drive real-life behavior change for millions of people. Change can be difficult, especially when it’s tied to deeply engrained habits. And, when it comes to eating and weight management, it may be even more complicated given the many factors that influence us. Her thoughts on disrupting routine behaviors as a way to shift habits are fascinating. You won’t be surprised to know that she includes meditation in many of her workshops and meetings. She also shared the top five behaviors that help people reach their healthy weight goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Dr. Tobias Esch. He is a primary care physician, pioneer in holistic general medicine, and expert in the neurobiology of happiness. He shaped mind-body medicine and integrative health in Germany and as Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School. He has published more than 300 scientific works. His background is in primary care, neurobiology, and positive psychology and his work focus has been on promoting good health, patient activation and behavior change. In this interview we dive into his Happiness Model, and what he calls the U Curve of happiness which is both surprising and fascinating. The good news is that happiness can be shaped through practice. Life satisfaction and happiness are both deep feeling states, but he defines them differently. His wisdom is cultivated through a rich blend of neuroscience, medicine, positive psychology, mindfulness, gratitude, stillness, and acceptance. He believes in listening deeply and connecting with his patients to uncover what might be beyond the obvious. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices