Beste Optimalwork podcasts (2024)

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194: Reviewing Cal Newport’s “Slow Productivity” 34:28

7d ago34:28

34:28

#194: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discuss Cal Newport's new book, “Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout.” “Slow Productivity” builds on themes he explores in his previous books: for instance, mastering your craft and focusing on the process of working. Here Newport focuses on three principles for achie…

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193: Mindset Mistakes that Sabotage Success 33:59

14d ago33:59

33:59

#193: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discuss the theory and science behind reframing, which is a foundational skill of OptimalWork. Reframing is essential to personal growth and overcoming challenges. But it goes beyond many of the techniques espoused by “self-help experts.” It is not just about positive thinking or building habits, …

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192. Going Beyond Outcomes with Growth Goals 29:42

21d ago29:42

29:42

#192: Automaticity, while beneficial in some ways, can also be a danger if it makes everyday actions become rote. Treating each moment of a task as unique allows for growth, meaning, and mastery. One way to do this is frequently setting growth goals to stretch yourself in how you do things. The second half of the episode covers the Reframer tool on…

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191. How to Help the Anxious Generation Thrive 32:38

28d ago32:38

32:38

#191: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres review the book “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt. “The Anxious Generation” attributes the skyrocketing levels of anxiety among youth, particularly Gen Z, in large part to the widespread use of smartphones and social media. The negative effects of smartphones include social disconnection,…

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190. Is All Therapy Bad Therapy? 31:04

1M ago31:04

31:04

#190: In her recent best-seller “Bad Therapy,” Abigail Shrier argues that therapy for children causes more problems than it solves. Shrier critiques the approach many therapists take as based on a flawed understanding of human nature, and she also draws attention to data suggesting that modern therapy is not stopping the increase in rates of anxiet…

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[Rebroadcast] The Impact of Awe 29:09

1M ago29:09

29:09

One of the least-discussed emotions may be the most powerful in bringing about well-being. When was the last time you were filled with awe? People may think of awe as a nice-to-have emotion, but not needed for living a good life. Recent research, however, suggests that awe may be essential to true thriving. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com…

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188: Why You Should Stop Labeling People 29:35

2M ago29:35

29:35

#188: It can be tempting to fit people into our categories: we think things like, “she’s sanguine,” “he’s not good at math,” “she’s shy,” “he’s melancholic.” We may even convince ourselves that these labels help us people as they want to or ought to be treated. But taken too far, labels prevent us from forming meaningful relationships with people. …

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187. Harnessing Your Brain’s Predictions to Transform Anxiety 26:26

2M ago26:26

26:26

#187: The brain’s models and predictions play a central role in the vicious cycles that drive procrastination, dread, and anxiety. When your brain assess a challenge as a threat, often it’s predicting some pain, or shame and sounds the alarm to get you to avoid it. To reverse these vicious cycles and transform them into virtuous ones, we need to sh…

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186. How to Navigate Inner Conflict 31:49

2M ago31:49

31:49

#186: Why do we sometimes feel like we're at war with ourselves? In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres dive into a therapy approach called Internal Family Systems (IFS), exploring how our mind has various parts — protectors and exiles — which are sometimes in conflict. Approaching these parts with curiosity and compassion paves the way to r…

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185. Getting Past Shame-Based Motivation 30:42

2M ago30:42

30:42

#185: What motivates you to get up in the morning? What motivates you to continue working on a challenging task? Learning how to motivate yourself is essential to true success, but so many people are motivated by a fear of failure, that is, by shame. In this episode, we discuss the relationship between shame and motivation, how to tap into deeper s…

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[Rebroadcast] How to Process Negative Feedback 31:34

3M ago31:34

31:34

Negative feedback is a part of life. It’s also essential in helping us identify our biggest opportunities for growth. In this episode, we discuss how to give and receive negative feedback and the role it plays in the social dimension of growth. Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.

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183. Overcoming Anxiety III: Incorporating Ideals 29:33

3M ago29:33

29:33

#183: Overcoming anxiety occurs in three successive stages. In the third and final installment of a three episode series, we discuss stage three: using adrenaline to achieve maximal growth. Stage one, bronze-work, centers on challenging yourself by engaging triggers head-on, and it has the effect of habituating the fear associated with that particu…

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182. Overcoming Anxiety II: Develop Daring 30:10

3M ago30:10

30:10

#182: Overcoming anxiety occurs in three successive stages. In the second installment of a three episode series, we discuss stage two: using mindfulness to experience the alarm of anxiety. When you focus on the alarm of anxiety, rather than the trigger only, the learning generalizes to all triggers. It also flips the feeling of fear into one of dar…

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181. Overcoming Anxiety I: Feel the Fear 32:46

3M ago32:46

32:46

#181: Overcoming anxiety occurs in three successive stages. In this first installment of a three episode series, we discuss stage one: confronting the trigger of anxiety head-on, embracing the fear. Over time, the trigger will habituate; as you challenge yourself, the fear you experience will gradually diminish. You can then develop a sense of dari…

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180. How to Discipline Your Children While Deepening Your Bond with Them 28:46

3M ago28:46

28:46

#180: When a child does something wrong, your first instinct may be justice: to punish them. In this episode, we discuss “No-Drama Discipline,” by Daniel Siegal and Tina Bryson, exploring how to discipline children in a way that builds your bond with them and promotes their moral development. By connecting with your child, helping him or her gain i…

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179. Unleash the Power of Dynorphins 29:23

4M ago29:23

29:23

#179: Difficult situations can feel intolerable. That intolerable feeling is produced by dynorphins and it makes us want to give up and abandon the difficulty we’re facing, whether it’s exercise, a difficult task, time in the sauna, or some small annoyance. But the more we embrace the dynorphin effect — the intolerable feeling — the more we develop…

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178. How to Get Energy from Tiredness 27:53

4M ago27:53

27:53

#178: What do you do when you feel tired? Go back to sleep? Take a nap? Power through? In this episode, we discuss a number of approaches to overcoming tiredness, from tracking your levels of fatigue (not recommended) to changing up your diet. But the ultimate approach draws on all the principles of OptimalWork and will actually help you harness ti…

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[Rebroadcast] A Deeper Dive into Challenge 32:21

4M ago32:21

32:21

#177: The goal of OptimalWork is to help people challenge themselves according to their highest ideals in each task. In this episode, we dive deeper into this core concept, showing how challenge is the surest path to growth. Find more at ⁠https://www.OptimalWork.com⁠.

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[Rebroadcast] How to Approach Every Challenge With a Sense of Newness 27:56

4M ago27:56

27:56

#176: Whenever we do something repeatedly, we’ll tend eventually to do it in a rote, automatic way. This even applies to OptimalWork’s core practices: reframing, mindfulness, and challenge. In this episode we show how curiosity can help you overcome this tendency and bring a sense of newness to every challenge you face. Find more at https://Optimal…

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[Rebroadcast] How to Broadcast Positive Emotions 28:15

5M ago28:15

28:15

#175: Whether we’re aware of it or not, we’re always broadcasting our own inner experience. By shaping our actions according to our ideals, we forget about ourselves and create a positive tone around us. In this episode, we’ll show you psychological strategies for how to do this. Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.…

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174. The Paradoxes of Mindfulness 34:20

5M ago34:20

34:20

#174: Mindfulness lies at the heart of OptimalWork’s approach. Living your highest ideals means being fully present, fully engaged with reality. Cultivating this habit is the work of mindfulness. But mindfulness rests on a set of apparent contradictions. Foremost among them is this: while mindfulness involves accepting reality as it is, it is often…

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173. From Tolerance to Acceptance to Love 29:45

5M ago29:45

29:45

#173: The two fundamental ways you can relate to challenge are approach and avoidance. Typically, approach leads to a virtuous cycle: the challenge gets easier and more enjoyable over time as you grow in mastery. Avoidance, on the other hand, often leads to a vicious cycle of increasing difficulty and pain. In this episode we further break down app…

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[Rebroadcast] How to Work Intensely without Stressing Yourself Out 28:19

5M ago28:19

28:19

#172: Many people think that they and others work best under extreme external pressure: impending deadlines, demanding bosses, etc. In this rebroadcast, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif Younes discuss better ways to achieve intensity. Find more at ⁠https://www.OptimalWork.com⁠.

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[Rebroadcast] Choose Flow, Not Hyperfocus 28:47

6M ago28:47

28:47

#171: Have you ever worked with great intensity and lost track of time, only to realize later that it was all a waste? You had fallen for the trap of hyperfocus.In this episode, we’ll distinguish between hyperfocus and true flow, and show you how to always attain the latter. Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.…

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170. Should You Be Doing Therapy at Work? 33:55

6M ago33:55

33:55

#170: With rising rates of anxiety and depression, some have suggested that managers be trained to provide “mental-health first aid” to employees in distress. In this episode, we discuss the best ways managers can help employees thrive at work, how to help them grow, and how to balance the need to get results from their teams with the ideal of supp…

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169. How to Persuade Your Emotions 32:04

6M ago32:04

32:04

#169: What’s the best way to prevent distractions? Are prevention techniques — like website blockers — effective? In this episode, we discuss different strategies aimed at behavior change. We argue that the source of the most sustainable behavior change is to build self-mastery through right action. By doing this, you’ll be laying the foundations f…

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168. The True Value of Reframing 27:08

6M ago27:08

27:08

#168: Reframing is a practice that developed from cognitive behavioral therapy. It means discovering the opportunity present within a challenge. If you face a challenge that causes anxiety, distraction, or burnout, reframing can help you approach it more effectively. But reframing can do more. It will also help you harmonize the different parts of …

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167. The Power of a Golden Hour 33:30

7M ago33:30

33:30

#167: At the heart of our approach is the practice of a Golden Hour: preparing your mind for a time of work, focusing on one thing, and setting a stop time in advance. Doing a Golden Hour brings the key practices of psychology into your hour of work, so you not only do your best work, but you also practice bringing your highest ideals into your act…

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166. Why Embracing Shame Will Help You Thrive 28:55

7M ago28:55

28:55

#166: Shame is the emotion we feel when we fear that our failures or weaknesses will become known. This fear can lead us to pursue certain outcomes as defenses — money, success, prestige, etc. — or to shy away from challenges that will expose us. In this episode, we discuss how to experience and accept shame, and why doing so gives us a profound fr…

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165. How to Stop Justifying Yourself 34:29

7M ago34:29

34:29

#165: When people experience cognitive dissonance — that is, a clash between one’s self-concept and reality — they will tend to favor their self-concept, and can rationalize this bias in a process of self-justification. This process can thwart meaningful personal growth. In this episode, we discuss self-justification, how to identify it and how to …

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164. Why Venting Negative Emotions Only Makes Things Worse 33:59

7M ago33:59

33:59

#164: It’s a widespread belief that when experiencing negative emotions like anger or frustration, it’s helpful to vent them. In fact, this practice is counterproductive. Studies indicate that when people express negative emotions in this way, far from letting them out, they in fact get more of them. This result is confirmed by a consideration of t…

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163. The Power of Agency 29:14

7M ago29:14

29:14

#163: In their 2019 book “The Power of Agency,” Paul Napper and Anthony Rao lay out their theory of growth and happiness, which centers on the concept of “agency.” In this episode, we compare their seven principles with OptimalWork’s approach, and show how ideals are essential to true agency. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com…

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162. How to Conquer Procrastination 26:39

8M ago26:39

26:39

#162: Procrastination is something of a mystery. Its costs — decreased quality of work, fraying of bonds with others, increased negative emotions like stress, even health effects — are universally acknowledged. Yet procrastination persists — or, put precisely, people persist in procrastinating. In this episode, we discuss the primary cause of procr…

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161. How to Develop Lasting Motivation 30:03

8M ago30:03

30:03

#161: This episode continues our discussion of Alfie Kohn’s “Punished by Rewards.” Kohn believes that a person’s motivation (especially a child’s) starts out pure but gets corrupted by rewards and praise. Here we explore the possibility that intrinsic motivation is actually something that develops over time, and thus behavioralist psychology, rathe…

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160. Punished by Rewards? 27:05

8M ago27:05

27:05

#160: In this episode, we explore the radical claims made by Alfie Kohn in his 1993 book Punished by Rewards. Kohn, an expert in education and psychology, argues against the use of rewards to incentivize behavior. For Kohn, such incentives cause people to lose intrinsic motivation: for instance, kids get motivated by grades, not learning; employees…

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[Rebroadcast] How to Be Generous and Still Thrive 27:45

8M ago27:45

27:45

#159: At OptimalWork, we often emphasize generosity as a crowning ideal: a key character quality to strive for. But this raises some questions. Should you just give everything to everyone? What are the limits? What if people start to take advantage of your generosity? In this episode, we discuss how to set boundaries that will help you maximize you…

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[Rebroadcast] How to Have Deeper Conversations 27:54

9M ago27:54

27:54

#158: Conversations can be a source of frustration, but they can also be the source of our deepest and most fulfilling joys. The bonds that we form with others are forged in large part through conversations. In this episode, we’ll talk about the key skill needed to have good conversations. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com…

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[Rebroadcast] Challenging Anxiety 29:05

9M ago29:05

29:05

#157: Do you have any anxiety that you feel might be holding you back? In fact, anxiety is like a forge that you can use to shape yourself according to your highest ideals. In this episode, we show you how to find the challenge at the root of your anxiety and engage it as a unique opportunity. Find more at ⁠https://www.OptimalWork.com⁠.…

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[Rebroadcast] Making Wise Use of Small Blocks of Time 26:47

9M ago26:47

26:47

#156: Do you ever find that you don’t have enough time to accomplish all the things you’d like to? Small blocks of time may seem inconsequential, but they add up. Making wise use of these blocks can increase your productivity by 20% — the difference between getting ahead and falling behind. How to do it? That’s the topic of today’s rebroadcast. Fin…

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[Rebroadcast] Boost Your Sleep Skills 30:50

9M ago30:50

30:50

#155: A lot of people have heard about the practices of sleep hygiene, and are using them, but still struggle to achieve sleep. It may seem like sleep is something that either happens effortlessly or not at all. Recent research, however, suggests that falling asleep is a skill that can be learned. Find more at https://OptimalWork.com…

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154. Mastering Your Brain’s Predictions 26:59

10M ago26:59

26:59

#154: The pain you experience from negative emotions is your brain’s way of predicting and preparing you for some kind of avoidant behavior. In this episode, we’ll show you how to most directly change your brain’s predictions and thus attain a new mastery over discomfort. Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.…

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153. Break Through Your Brain’s Predictions 24:19

10M ago24:19

24:19

#153: When you experience anything — tiredness, pain, distractions — you’re engaging not just reality, but also your brain’s predictions. This insight has profound consequences for how you should engage challenges like tiredness, and for the types of beliefs you should have about yourself. In this episode, we discuss how to interpret and respond to…

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[Rebroadcast] Why You Should Aim for Silver Instead of Gold 25:19

10M ago25:19

25:19

#152: You may have a goal of achieving a high level of performance with no difficulty, no inner turmoil whatsoever. In this rebroadcast, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss approaching challenges in a different way: not aiming for effortless success, but rather for acceptance of difficulty and perseverance — what Dr. Majeres calls aiming for silve…

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[Rebroadcast] How to Face Imposter Syndrome 24:44

10M ago24:44

24:44

#151: More and more people report experiencing “imposter syndrome,” often in new and challenging social or professional situations. They are unable to internalize their own success, attributing it instead to external factors like chance or luck; as a result, they often see themselves as “frauds.” In this rebroadcast, we introduce a solution to impo…

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[Rebroadcast] An Unconventional Way to Stop Wasting Time 30:35

10M ago30:35

30:35

#150: If you think you waste too much time—for example, on social media, internet, and entertainment—there is likely some part of you that is urging you to do better. In this rebroadcast, we show how to redirect the energy of these different “parts” of you—the one seeking entertainment, and the one criticizing your time wasting—in order to integrat…

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[Rebroadcast] How to Dehypnotize Yourself 28:07

11M ago28:07

28:07

#149: Are you hypnotized right now? It might surprise you to learn that, in a technical sense, you very well may be. Understanding how trances work, the topic of today’s rebroadcast, will allow you to free your attention from the things that capture it. Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.

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148. Why Leisure is More than Just Rest 27:02

11M ago27:02

27:02

#148: We work in order to produce something of value for others. In order to work better, rest is important to restore ourselves and maintain energy. But activities of leisure carry us beyond rest to contemplation, and are done for their own sake. In this episode, Dr. Majeres and Sharif discuss the relationship between rest, work, and leisure. Find…

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147. Why Growth Goals Are Better than Outcome Goals 26:20

11M ago26:20

26:20

#147: Sometimes it may seem like the outcome is the most important thing you need to obtain: the perfect grade, the well-deserved promotion, or the necessary money. In this episode, Dr. Majeres and Sharif discuss the superiority of growth goals and why you should never aim for outcomes as ends in themselves. Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com…

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146. The Problem of Toxic Positivity 27:26

11M ago27:26

27:26

#146: Toxic positivity means invalidating the negative emotions of others. In this episode, Dr. Majeres and Sharif discuss how to engage negative emotions — in ourselves and others — in a constructive way, by being understanding and encouraging, rather than positively toxic. Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.…

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145. The Best Way to Do OptimalWork 31:04

12M ago31:04

31:04

#145: Over the past five years, OptimalWork has grown into a unique and powerful digital platform for growth, centered on our MasterClass. In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Majeres discuss the history of our digital platform and recent findings about how effective the MasterClass is in helping people achieve behavior change. Find more at https://www.…

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