The Motivation Mindset with Risa Williams

Do you find yourself rushing through self-care activities only to feel just as stressed afterward? Why do so many of us struggle to slow down and truly reconnect with ourselves? In this episode, Risa Williams talks with Dr. Lea Didion about simple, everyday self-care practices that can help us become more mindful, present, and intentional throughout the week.  Together, they explore: - Practical w...

Are summer plans throwing you into a frenzy of rushing around to too many things and places? Summer often gets us fired up to do a lot; however, sometimes in all the planning, we're not taking our real energy and capacity into consideration at all. Risa Williams talks to fellow therapists, Darrin Kagele and Erica Curtis, about ways we can get more mindful about slowing down for the summer so...

Do you often feel like you're holding up a bunch of spinning plates in the air and if you step back for a second, they will all crash down? Do you feel like you need to hold a million bits of information in your head to the point of weekly exhaustion and burnout? Risa Williams talks to author, Lori Oberbroeckling, about the "invisible mental load" that parents carry and how it can o...

How can we teach kids and teens everyday life skills in ways that actually stick? In this episode, Risa Williams talks with life skills expert Katie Kimball about a simple three-step approach to help kids and teens build confidence, responsibility, and independence through completing everyday tasks and projects at home. They discuss: -Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation tools -Collaborating as a te...

Do you have that one cluttered desk drawer that's always driving you crazy? Or that old can opener that just doesn't work any more but you keep trying to use it anyway? What if we told you that these tiny little daily frustrations may be holding you back from experiencing little bursts of delight and joy each day? Risa Williams is joined once again by book author and Ted Talk speaker, Jo...

With the constant onslaught of fear-inducing news coming at us each day, how can we keep ourselves emotioanlly regulated and calm enough to do what we need to do? Risa Williams is joined again by CBT expert, psychologist, podcast host, and book author, Dr. Scott Waltman, to discuss how to notice when our doomscrolling tendencies might be derailing us from being present in our daily lives. They dis...

In this special episode, Risa Williams invites participants from the Tiny Wins Workshop to join her in a conversation about how tracking their small daily wins over four weeks led to meaningful, lasting change. Featured guests include author and educator Ezra Werb, author and tutor Judy O’Kelley, and her daughter, Kelsey O’Kelley. We discused: -How noticing and tracking tiny wins helps you recogni...

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a rut, unable to motivate yourself to take the next step forward? Risa Williams talks with ADHD-ish host Diann Wingert about navigating ADHD inertia and finding the energy to start tasks.  They also discuss:  -Diann's START-STOP-SHIFT method that provides an easy method for figuring out where you need to go next - How to recognize when you’ve done enough...

Do you ever feel like your work is never quite “good enough,” so you keep pushing yourself until you’re completely burned out? Do perfectionistic tendencies sometimes make it hard to relax or try new things without worrying about mistakes? If so, this episode is for you. Risa Williams sits down with mental health counselor and DBT specialist Stephanie Van Schaick to talk about perfectionism and ho...

How can we learn to better navigate and manage the fears that arise in everyday life? Risa Williams speaks with fear expert, biopsychologist, TED Talk speaker, and author Dr. Mary Poffenroth about how to recognize fear as it begins to surface and how to use neuroscience based tools to calm ourselves more effectively in the moment. They discuss: -Learning The R.A.I.N. Method for developing an aware...

Where do couples tend to get stuck and bogged down in their daily communication with each other? How do we fall into the trap of criticizing and nagging when we actually just want to create positive change and grow together? Risa Williams talks to DBT expert, Dr. Marcus Rodriguez, on validation and communication skills people can use when they're in long term relationships. They discuss: -How...

Do you tend to fall into the role of "rescuer" in your relationships? Or are you the one who tends to need the rescuing? Risa Williams talks to Dr. Scott Waltman about the ideas of "rescuing" and "people pleasing" and how we can get stuck playing roles that we might want to change in relationships. They discuss: -How people can fall into the roles of "rescuer&quo...

In this special episode of The Motivation Mindset, Risa shares a tiny sample of her new online workshop, The Tiny Wins Workshop , which is live today!  What if making progress didn’t have to feel SO stressful and overwhelming? What if you counted every tiny win from now on and actually allowed yourself to  feel proud of each one? Risa explains how to: - Notice your tiny daily wins (even on hard da...

Happy 2026, everyone! If you're listening to this episode, you made it to the new year, and that's a wonderful thing! Risa Williams talks to fellow therapists, Erica Curtis and Darrin Kagele about new tools they're going to try in the new year ahead. They discuss: -How the words we're using with ourselves are so important to become mindful of -Darrin shares a few phrases he tel...

When someone's behavior or emotional state is bothering us, how do we take a pause and validate what they are feeling without judgement? This can be tricky to do! Dr. Marcus Rodriguez, founder of the Youth and Family Institute and an expert in teaching validation, talks to Risa Williams about some practical ways to practice validating the emotional experience of others. They discuss: -What va...

Every so often, Risa Williams runs into someone on the show who has a tool that is very aligned with one of her own! This was the case in this episode, Holiday Time Tools, in which Risa Williams shares her tool, The Time Wardrobe, and Jenny Layton shares her tool, The Time Pantry, both with many similarities on how to visualize your time in an easier and more tangible way. They discuss: -How to vi...

Are you starting to feel the holiday overwhelm kick in this week? Are seasonal things feeling a little too busy, too rushed, too chaotic, and too exhausting to manage? Then, this episode is for you! Dr. Michelle Chung and Risa Williams discuss the concept of "Holiday Mindfulness," which includes intentionally slowing down for the holidays so that we can feel more joy and connection in th...

The holiday season can often feel really stressful, even though we often feel like we should be feeling more gratitude at this time of year. So how do we slow down enough to notice the small things that are actually going right...especially when life feels busy, chaotic, or overwhelming? Author and podcaster Lori Oberbroeckling joins Risa Williams to talk about simple, actionable ways to build gra...

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...