The Next Ideal

Now matter how much we may wish otherwise, there are no simple answers, morality is made up of shades of grey, and the people with whom we most strongly disagree usually have some good points. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapte...

Looking on the *not* bright side can help us prepare for bad things, as long is it doesn't close us off from the possibility of good things happening. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapters 34 & 35! The Next Ideal Podcast is...

We all have tendencies, ways we usually approach life. But that doesn't always dictate how we behave in every situation. And also jam is delicious. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapter 33! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on...

New ideas can be lifesaving, but can also be chaotic in the larger context. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapters 30, 31, & 32! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! For more info...

Being confident in our positions while still allowing the for possibility of being wrong is an ideal I think we ALL can strive for. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapter 29! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wher...

Rysn, Axies, and Szeth teach us to change our viewpoints on the future, present, and past. And also maybe about nudity. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Interludes 4, 5, & 6! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wh...

The act of physical exertion fundamentally can help our minds work through hard stuff too. If you're struggling emotionally, do some jumping jacks, go for a run, or even just close your eyes, balance, and breathe. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, Th...

The degree to which we can influence our minds by connecting with our bodies is incredible. Everything is interrelated. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapter 27! Featuring Dr. Jerome Lubbe, author of The Brain-Based Enneagram: ht...

What walls are we imposing on ourselves because we just assume they're there? Seriously, Taskmaster is an excellent case study of that. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapter 26! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or...

It doesn't matter what other people think; as long as you find meaning in what you love, that's good enough. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapters 24 & 25! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you get...

This one sort of turned into a therapy session for me. Sorry about that. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapters 22 & 23! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! For more information,...

Action precedes motivation. But planning and practice can precede action. Though technically those are actions too. So action precedes action, which precedes motivation. You get it. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week: The Way of Kings Chapters 20 &...

Extending humanity and "agent-ity" to ourselves can be incredibly difficult; even though we live our own experiences, we don't always recognize the circumstances that lead to those experiences. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapt...

Compassion, like a virus, can spread when it is observed. Let's go infect others with it. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapter 17! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! For more infor...

Life has the meaning that we give it. And context can help us decide. Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapter 16! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! For more information, visit TheNextIdeal.com The Next Step Coin by Dr...

You can't be worthless, because no one is worth more than you are. Real lessons from a fantasy world! Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapter 15! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! For more information, visit TheNextId...

Doing a difficult thing because you know it will make things better later can be transformative. Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapter 14! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! For more information, visit TheNextIdeal.c...

Just because someone believes something different than you doesn't make their lived experience any less True. Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapters 12 & 13! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! For more informatio...

Real lessons from a fantasy world! Word of the Day is Sonder: the profound, often sudden realization that every random passerby is living a life as vivid, complex, and chaotic as your own. Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Interludes 1, 2, & 3! The Next Ideal Podc...

Real lessons from a fantasy world! Trigger Warning: we talk about suicide A LOT in this episode. Which shouldn't be a surprise, given the chapter we're on. Nothing graphic, but it certainly can be a hard topic for some. Steven Pond (@TheCosmerenaut) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapter 11! The...

Real lessons from a fantasy world! The values we develop in childhood often shape the rest of our lives. Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapters 9 & 10! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! For more information, vis...

Real lessons from a fantasy world! No matter what MATH says, you totally do win more on the third hand. Or at least, you win when you need it most. Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapters 7 & 8! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you ge...

Real lessons from a fantasy world! There's always SOMETHING to hold on to, even if it's just a name. Steven Pond ( @TheCosmerenaut ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapter 6! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! For more information, visit TheNextIdea...

Real lessons from a fantasy world! What do we do after someone tells us no? Especially if what we're working toward is vitally important? Steven Pond (@TheCosmerenaut) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapter 5! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! For...

Real lessons from a fantasy world! How is it one of the best quotes from these books comes from an actual slaver? Steven Pond (  @TheCosmerenaut  ) and Dr. Ben Jeppsen explore what Brandon Sanderson's "The Way of Kings" can teach us about mental health. This week, The Way of Kings Chapters 3 & 4! The Next Ideal Podcast is available on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! For m...