Inner Peace to Go

Habits are the scaffolding of our lives. They are the thoughts and behaviors we repeat regularly, shaping who and how we are in the world. No matter what habit you're trying to build or break, there are ways to make the process easier. I share eight expert strategies in this episode, many of which I've used myself to both break bad habits (like smoking) and build good ones (I finally med...

Do you have to believe in manifesting for it to work? Coach, hypnotherapist and author Daniel Olexa says no. In fact, he wrote the book on it: "The Pessimist's Guide to Manifesting: A Practical Approach to Making the Law of Attraction and 20 Other Universal Laws Work for You." It's all about mindset, he says, and understanding how this operating system affects what we see on th...

One of the great myths of Western culture is that success equals happiness. You study hard, get a good job and BOOM, happiness forever. Um, no. So many of us get caught in this trap, striving striving striving for success so we can be happy while foregoing the things that would actually make us happy as we're wrapped up in that pursuit. I have experienced this personally and ended up burnt ou...

Welcome to Thursday thoughts -- brief thought prompts to consider as a way to bring more peace to your mind and more ease to your life. Today I'm talking about "social friction," a concept described by Dr. Rangan Chatterjee in his latest book, "Happy Mind, Happy Life." The idea is to explore the social interactions that cause friction in our days with a warm, gentle perspe...

What is my purpose? Isn't that the billion-dollar question. And is it something I find at work, or outside of work? And how do I find it? Dharma coach Heather Love has some answers for us. In this second installment of our series about inner peace at work, Heather shares the strategies she uses to help her clients reconnect with what matters most to them to bring deeper meaning to their lives...

How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. So if you're spending your days at an unfulfilling job, it's important to cultivate joy where you can. Jamie Riene, host of "Breaking Up with Corporate" podcast, has learned to find purpose beyond her day job -- and sometimes within it. Listen as she shares how following a path of self-inquiry and self-development has allowed her...

Your brain is not a static organ. It's malleable and remains so throughout our lifespan. This is neuroplasticity, and it's great news for anyone with a brain! Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to create new synaptic connections and build new pathways. This principle is why our brains can adapt after injury and make room for new skills, like learning a language or how to...

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama are two of the world's great spiritual leaders and they were also great friends. Filmmaker and activist Peggy Callahan spent a week filming these two luminaries for "Mission: Joy," a new documentary about the importance of joy and how we can create more of it in our lives. Peggy shares what she learned from these two holy men a...

There's so much more to well-being than physical appearance. Kelsey Bryant discovered this firsthand when, despite a healthy diet and rigorous exercise routine that gave her an enviable physique, she still felt like something was missing. That's when she began integrating spirituality with exercise science. In this conversation, we discuss how connecting to a larger purpose makes it easi...

Did you know our bodies have a built-in mechanism for activating a sense of calm? It's called the vagus nerve and it's directly connected to our parasympathetic nervous system, the rest-and-digest, tend-and-befriend condition that's opposite of fight or flight. I recently wrote about expert-recommended strategies for activating the vagus nerve for Shondaland.com. My friend Branimir...

Usually, when we feel stressed, it's not because we're being chased by a bear or find our lives in immediate danger. Most often, we're stressed because of traffic, work stuff, relationship stuff, ordinary inconveniences and other things we face on the daily. That's when these two simple calming techniques can provide a quick dose of peace. In this episode, I share two science-b...

What if we could live by our intuitive wisdom? Georgiana Alexander lets that inner voice guide her life and career. In this episode, she shares how to hear your intuition, live from the heart and honor your unique gifts. This episode is a re-run because it's one of the most popular to date! Find Georgie at chaoscalm.com and on Instagram @heyhellogeorgie and @thechaoscalm . Her podcast is call...

It can often feel like our thoughts are thinking us and we're just the audience for this endless stream of chatter in our minds. But we have a choice in which thoughts we pay attention to and which we ignore, and psychologist Brian Krolczyk explains a simple strategy for how to identify unhelpful thoughts and replace them with thoughts that support our mental and emotional well-being. Brian i...

Clutter isn't just an eyesore and a reason to not have guests over. It actually takes a toll on our mental health. People who spend time in cluttered spaces are more distracted and less calm. I am someone who personally struggles with clutter (of the books, clothes and cosmetics kind), so the tips presented in this episode are all ones I can use. This is the fourth installment in my Shondalan...

Summer is peak FOMO season. School is out, bikinis are on, vacations are happening and our social media feeds are full of enviable images that make us feel like we're the only ones who aren't out being fabulous. This third installment of the Shondaland series, based on articles about well-being that I've been writing for Shondaland.com, is about how to try a summertime digital detox...

Strong social ties are the number one predictor of happiness. Yet we are living in a time of epidemic loneliness, which was only made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this second installment of the Shondaland series, based on articles about well-being that I've been writing for Shondaland.com, we focus on the importance of fostering good relationships and staying connected. Learn about the...

Since January, I've been writing about mental health and well-being for Shondaland.com, and I've learned  so many healthy, helpful, inspiring things that I want to share them with you here! As you probably know, Shondaland.com is the lifestyle website from Shonda Rhimes, the creative visionary behind "Bridgerton," "Scandal," "How to Get Away With Murder" and...

Striving toward the life we dream about is scary. What if we stumble? (We will.) What if things aren't perfect? (They won't be.) The key is to give ourselves permission to try and to cultivate confidence along the way, according to musician, producer and chaplain Nick Phelps, founder of Music &  Life Mindset . Nick shares how intentionally shaping his mindset helped him forge a path...

It's hard to imagine something more traumatic than losing a child, but Mesha McKittrick transformed this shattering experience in her teens into a lifelong commitment to hone and shape her mindset to empower her growth. Mesha shares her story in this moving conversation, along with some of the strategies that have helped her seize control of her thoughts and the life narrative they create. Me...

Jocey Wiitanen traveled across the globe to find herself, and she's sharing her happiness and well-being secrets here! (Spoiler alert: Dancing and deep breaths are part of her approach.) An emotional-healing coach and host of the " Make Life Fun " podcast, Jocey is full of warm wisdom and practical advice for feeling more at ease in our mind and body. Get more of her contagious joy...

Does creativity require suffering? Rachel Moore, a therapist who specializes in working with creative people, has an illuminating answer to this question. She also talks about the connection between therapy and spirituality and why she compares Julia Cameron's book "The Artist's Way" to the Bible. Rachel mentions a couple of her psychology heroes in this episode: Irvin Yalom an...

Feeling grateful doesn't just boost mood and psychological well-being, it improves overall health and leads to a better quality of life, according to Robert Emmons, PhD, the leading scientific expert on gratitude and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis. This week, my friend Branimir Kvartuc and I discuss the science of gratitude and what thankfulness looks like in...

Albert Einstein once said, "There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." What happens when we live as though everything is a miracle? We feel immense wonder, delight and gratitude. We become aware of the incredible abundance around us. We remember that we can choose what we focus on and what meaning we assig...

In our booze-loving culture, alcohol is part of celebrations and occasions of all kinds. Having a drink can take the edge off a stressful day, so it seems like a useful jumpstart to create inner peace. But does it really help? What if life actually feels better with less booze? My friend and colleague Christy Lemire and I are sharing our journeys with alcohol in this episode: the role it played in...

A close call in the Grand Canyon led Haley Peel to explore the role of adventure in her life and tap into a deep well of inner strength, which inspired her to help others discover how outdoor adventures can unleash their own grit and growth. In this fourth and final installment of the spring series, we discuss how adventures on the edge of our comfort zone -- particularly in nature -- open a porta...