The Motivation Mindset with Risa Williams

We often understand what it means to feel physically fit in our bodies, but what does "emotionally fitness" look and feel like? Dr. Tamara Soles, psychologist and keynote speaker, is back on the show to talk with Risa Williams about building up our "emotional fitness," one mental rep at a time. They discuss how families can work with these emotional regulation tools together, a...

So, you've learned how to set boundaries and effectively communicate your boundaries to people, but what do you do next? How can we go about managing and adjusting our boundaries as our relationships change, we grow, or new situations present themselves to us? Risa Williams talks to Stevon Lewis, therapist and book author, about how to figure out how much "access" you're allowi...

Do you feel like there's just work and free time but you never quite get everything done during your free time? You're not alone! On this special episode of the show, "Reader Questions" - I invited a reader of my books, Ksenjia Sabic, a technical project manager in NYC, on the show to ask questions about "Get Stuff Done Without the Stress" and to share her experience...

Do you try to set goals but then beat yourself up if you're not working on them every single day? Or, do you want to move forward with many new goals but find yourself stalling out at the starting line? Risa Williams talks to Debra Eckerling, book author, goals coach, and podcaster, about how we can set goals in a much easier and less stressful way!  They discuss: -Deb's 5 of 7 Rule for...

If someone asked you to share your computer's desktop, would you cringe a little? Are the texts and emails just piling up and you're feeling really overwhelmed by them? What's the state of your digital organization right now? Risa Williams talks to digital organizational expert, Indigo Organizing founder, and Ted Talk speaker, Amanda Jefferson, about managing our digital footprints...

How can we start and end our days in calmer ways? What are some easy routines that can keep us grounded in what we value and help us focus on what we want to get out of the week? Risa Williams talks to podcast host and founder of Whole Wellness Mamas, Amy Nesbitt, about how we can form daily routines that help provide structure and calmer feelings for our lives and our homes. They discuss: -Nightl...

Sometimes, we can get really lost in our own words during conversations with others. We wander off, we shut down, we forget to say what we need...so how can we learn to be more assertive in our every communication? Risa Williams is joined by Erica Curtis to discuss simple ways we can simplify our thoughts down into words and figure out exactly what we want out of the conversations we're havin...

Do you struggle to slow down and emotionally connect with what's going on around you sometimes? We all do! Risa Williams talks to Kyohei Mikawa, minister of The Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Center of Los Angeles, and Youtube creator of The Lotus Sutra Lab, about everyday mindfulness tools we can use to slow down and feel more compassion for ourselves and the world around us. In these stressful t...

Do you struggle with talking to yourself in a loving way? Do you find it's easier to show other people love rather than to give it to yourself? Then, this episode is for you! Risa Williams talks to therapist, Darrin Kagele, about cultivating self-love and learning into lean into self-kindness more intentionally. They discuss: -How kindness is a starting point for learning self-love -Creating...

Do you avoid trying new things sometimes because your inner critic really holds you back? On this special 100th episode of The Motivation Mindset , Risa Williams talks to podcast host and therapist, Wynn Helms, about how trying new things is so good for you to do - it helps our brains with cognitive flexibility, it engages our curiosity and helps us lean into life-long learning. They discuss: -How...

What age were you when you learned how to cook for yourself, organize your home, fix household objects or manage your time? Some of us didn't learn these things from our parents or families, we had to teach them to ourselves as adults! And so what happens now, when we have kids, and we have to teach everyday things we weren't taught as kids? Risa Williams talks to Life Skills expert and...

Do you tend to argue with your partner a lot about clutter? Do you have different "clutter tolerance" styles? Sometimes, one person in a relationship doesn't even see the clutter sitting there, while another is very visually and emotionally triggered by it! So, what can we do? Risa Williams talks to organizational expert and author, Colette Roy, about her new book, Clutter and Coupl...

Do you find the transition into summer to be really stressful to manage? You're not alone! The first few weeks of summer can often feel emotionally bumpy and chaotic to navigate for both parents and kids. Risa Williams talks to Lori Oberbroeckling about managing the start of summer break in a less stressful way so that you can find your fun as a family again. They discuss: -Why transitioning...

Do you sometimes wonder why you get to the end of the day and you haven't completed all the tasks you set out to do? Well, sometimes it's down to something called "invisible tasks" which are either tasks we don't really acknowledge we're doing each day, or invisible pieces of tasks we haven't even considered! Risa Williams talks to time management expert, Doctor...

Are you feeling stuck and overwhelmed by the small space you're living in? Do you want to get more organized but there just isn't enough room to navigate it all? Risa Williams speaks to organizational expert and Small Spaces coach, Khrystyne Jaspers, about handling living in tight quarters and how we can cultivate gratitude and appreciation for the small spaces we're in. They discus...

Do you ever feel unmotivated by the monotony of the work week and wish you could have a little more fun at work? Well, this episode is for you! Risa Williams talks to Dr. Alexis Hope, co-founder of Focused Space, about how to find the fun in your work week again. They discuss different tricks for getting yourself to focus in fun new ways when you're feeling unmotivated and stuck on what you n...

Do your kids struggle to sleep and calm down at bedtime? Well, Risa's did too! That's why she came up with a story, Max and the Imaginary Tree , that she told her own kids when they were little to teach them how to relax by taking big deep breaths. Risa is joined by her co-author and friend, Erica Curtis, and they discuss their new kids book, Max and The Imaginary Tree , which is part of...

Do you tend to feel overwhelmed by the intensity of your own emotions? Do you feel like your emotions sometimes get out of control? Does fear, rejection, or guilt consume your thoughts to the point where it's very hard to move forward? Listen to this episode on emotional mastery to learn how your own perceptions are causing you to feel certain things, and how you can control these perceptions...

Do you wish you had a magic Patronus spell you could use to call upon an imaginary spirit animal to help you feel calm when you needed to? Well, we have just the visualization for you in this fun episode! Risa Williams talks to Marc Antonio, an EMDR therapist, about a Spirit Animal Visualization that people can use to feel calmer and happier feelings when they need to. They also discuss different...

Do you tend to push off taking care of yourself to the bottom of your to-do list each week? In this double podcast broadcast episode, Risa Williams talks to fellow podcast host, Gabby Sanderson (of The Happier Life Project) about how we can reduce our stress in regular ways and learn to take our self-care more seriously each day. For International Stress-Awareness Month, they talk about ways we ca...

Do you over-commit to social events only to find yourself avoiding what you've just signed up to do? Do you over-explain why you can't make something and then feel overly guilty afterwards? Do you wish you had a simple formula so you could just say no to something without all the stress? Then, check out our latest episode: Setting Boundaries! In this episode, Risa Williams talks to psych...

In this episode, Risa Williams talks to best-selling author, Jodi Wellman, about living a regret-free life. In her book, You Only Die Once , Jodi talks about practical ways we can start to look at our life from the point of view of the end of our lives, and work our way backwards to figuring out what we want to be doing right now. They discuss: -The Deathbed Regret Exercise: If you think about bei...

In this episode, Risa Williams talks to ADHD-ish podcast host and business coach, Diann Wingert, about time horizons, and stretching our time perspective so that we can actually accomplish what we set out to do. They discuss ways that adults with ADHD can unintentionally "shrink" their time horizons and sometimes set themselves up to feel stressed out by their own goal expectations. They...

It's book launch month of Get Stuff Done Without the Stress, Risa Williams' new book, and on this episode, Risa is joined by organizational expert/author, Colette Roy, to delve into the concept of "self-kindness" as discussed in the book. They discuss: -Why being mean to ourselves stops us from getting things done -The challenge of becoming addicted to the "productivity of...

--Recorded live at Book Soup bookstore in LA on Feb. 21st, 2025 -- Are you tired of feeling burnt out, overwhelmed, and like nothing on your to-do list is ever done? This is the episode for you! Live from Book Soup, it's Risa Williams' talk with Mike Sonksen about tools from her latest book, Get Stuff Done Without the Stress ! Recorded during the event last Friday, Risa talks to Mike abo...