Investigative Selfism

I can't say my third season is on the topic of empowerment if I don't address one major part of it: our physical health. Why? Because no matter how important it is to manage your thoughts (and I talk about ALL THE TIME), you simply can't intellectualise yourself into health. "Health" is super broad, I know. But this is where the good news is: there are SO many areas you can c...

I start with a ridiculous story from my weekend of a kayaking experience that didn't go exactly as planned. But what my episode is on are six learnings/reminders that I've extracted from it and want to share with you. Why? Because how we FRAME our experiences is so so so important. And especially experiences that we choose to call challenges. I give you examples in my episode, yes, but you...

I must admit that it's been difficult for me to find healthier ways to navigate social media. Interestingly, it's not so much about consumption but my own desire to appear a certain way --- does that resonate with you? If it does, and if you've ever wondered how you're appearing on different platforms or how you'd LIKE to appear, please please watch this. Thankfully, there are...

If someone asked you why you should invest in yourself, what would you say? Why do the work of personal development, healing, empowerment, or however we choose to call it? I have a pretty damn complete answer to that question. I mean, it makes sense, since my whole Investigative Selfism project is very much about that. And even if YOUR answer is different, I'm sure that mine will be a reminder...

I come from a very judgemental background: lots of passive aggressiveness, patronising comments, and body-shaming -- just to name a few cultural tendencies. ⁣⁣So I myself had a choice: either normalise and practice it or consciously reject it. And oh my there are plenty of benefits of inspecting that judging mind!⁣⁣ Putting a conscious effort to judge less becomes so much more than just about &quo...

Can we truly grow if we're rejecting certain parts of ourselves, denying certain experiences, or holding onto shame? Unfortunately, that's not what different disciplines say. So if we want to talk about empowerment- which has been the topic of my third podcast season - we have to talk about own our life story in a way that's healthy and involves a lot of self-compassion. But we also ha...

When do you feel strong? When do you feel most like yourself? When does your life "make sense" to you? When do you feel proud of who - and how - you are? I'd say, these are excellent questions to ask if we want to lead lives of authenticity and courage. Empowerment has been the umbrella topic of my whole third season and I have talked about it a lot. Now, what does it mean TO YOU? Wa...

Have you ever reflected on what courage means to you? I'd say, to lead a life that's authentically ours, sometimes (always?:) we need to engage in active reflection - and take conscious action - towards the kind of person we want to be. But let me explain it in my episode!

Why do we take some things personally and others not? What can help us to go deeper and let this burden down? This is no easy task. And how deep you want to go with this work depends on how willing and how equipped you are to do it. In my episode, I present four suggestions: four reminders, questions, and invitations to go increasingly deeper into this work: “What A says about B says more about A...

To say "I'm a perfectionist" might not be as cute as you thought. Why? Because there is one meaning of this word that is extremely unhealthy. But only if we never learn about it. So learn about it in my quick episode and find resources on fear management here:   http://bit.ly/3XkVfBU  

There are many ways to define empowerment and any progress toward being the authentic and intentional selves matters. But is there something else? Is there something we can put the work to uncover that would help us move forward in significant ways? I think there is.  I don't know what it is for you and I don't know where that healing lies. But I want to invite you to embark on that journey a...

Do we think we have the capacity to change? And if we do, what would that look like? If you said YES to the first question, you might have what is called a growth mindset. It's a simple yet empowering concept that can help us shed more light on how we are showing up in this world and how to close a gap between how things are and how we'd like them to be. Learn more about it in my episode, includin...

If we're basing our growth on something, let's make sure it's not destructive. And that's exactly what shame is!  In my episode, I explain the difference between shame and guilt, why shame is not your friend, how we can approach shame, and what's a healthier base for us to base our growth and learnings on.  In short, shame is not a good house for us to live in. There are much better envi...

Why would we ever do anything, including work on ourselves? I believe that behind any investment in ourselves we find three ideas that can continue moving us forward in times of good and bad. These ideas might seem simple -- but to truly believe in them requires a lot of work. And reminders, like this episode! You can also watch it as a video on my Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/7iS_3F7FYpo

"Just have better problems!" would be arrogant - and ignorant "advice" to give to anyone. That's why it's not what my episode is about. It's about reframing certain challenges in our lives in ways that are more empowering. As we do that, we can see that some challenges are "safer" (more familiar) than others. Behind the safe challenges what we often find are higher-quality problems: the ones that...

It’s so easy not to be in tune with ourselves. To keep on running without ever giving ourselves credit for the meaningful ways in which we’ve changed and without setting the intention of our own growth. Let’s not do that. As I’m recording this in December, I’d like to invite you to take the time completely for yourself to reflect on how this year has been. What are your learnings? What were your d...

What we choose to put into our precious minds is no joke. That doesn't mean there is no place for entertainment and anything playful here. Yet what we choose to consume and what people we spend time with can influence our focus, our emotional state, our habits, and so much more.  In my short episode, I invite you to take your well-being seriously and inspect what you allow into your mind. &nb...

If your family can be called functional, congrats – statistically, you’ve won a very important lottery! If not – like me – you might need to put some work in when spending time with your folks. In my video, I present four quick points that can serve as reminders for ourselves when spending time with family:  It's a test for our patience and mindfulness, It's an opportunity to check how our bo...

Don't get me wrong: our values, dreams, and mission ARE to be taken seriously. Yet we don't have to choose to bring grimness to our journey. It's easy to get entangled in everything we do, only to forget that it's supposed to be light -- and that it should bring us joy, right? Personal development, self-knowledge, healing... Even when the path is hard and the challenges are real, we can choose to...

How do less drama and more meaning sound? You might have heard the saying “choose your battles.” Although it can be deconstructed in many ways, what it means is an invitation to choose where we’re putting our time, energy, and emotional labour. What I do in this episode is give you four points that can serve as more specific frameworks for us to assess a situation – or…our way of being! – to decid...

Can we take the spark of a certain extraordinary experience and bring it to our regular lives? I think it's not easy but it is, thankfully, possible. For me, that experience is definitely travelling. It is something that has shaped me immensely and has enriched my life in ways I could never imagine. But what is it about it that changes the way I am? In this episode, I share my thoughts with you on...

When we talk about empowerment, let's not forget one huge source of it: our friends! Be it their struggles, the way they're navigating their lives, any major changes they're going through, or their openness about their journeys. Let's listen to them and let's give them credit. Because it's very easy to move through life without ever doing that. It's not all about famous teachers, therapists, and o...

The concept of empowerment is much more than how to keep ourselves motivated and work on our confidence. It's about the tools we have to live more fully, to know how to face challenging situations and navigate complex issues. That's why it is the topic of my whole third season! There is just so much to cover! The second season of Investigative Selfism podcast focused on discomfort: how we can norm...

“Why don’t you tell the kids about your prison experience?” Wait, what? It’s a sentence you might not hear often. Unless you’re me and you’re kindly asked to talk about politics to students once in a while. In my podcast episode, I mention this story briefly and I’ll link to it in a second. But what I talk about in it is how discomfort oftentimes is a price we have to pay for the lives we want to...

“Happy 2-year COVID anniversary!” I thought to myself recently. And decided to do a quick episode on it. If my second season is all about discomfort, who can deny that COVID has been one uncomfortable experience? In this episode, I do reference a piece on COVID learnings from a year ago and promise you to share my resources on boundaries. You can find them here: https://wp.me/p1WQjD-Mo