The End of the Day Podcast with Kari Watterson: Using Mindset Work to Live Your Best Life

We’ve all been there—those moments when life throws a curveball, and our first reaction is to spiral into frustration, stress, or self-blame. In this episode, we explore a simple but powerful mindset shift inspired by author Jon Acuff: “If you’re not sure what to do, start by deciding not to make things worse.” This small but intentional choice can bring clarity, reduce overwhelm, and help us navi...

In this final episode of the three-part series, we explore one of the most critical but overlooked steps in personal growth: deciding what to do with what you’ve learned. It’s not enough to expand your awareness or gain new insights—real change happens when you give your brain a clear directive on how you want to move forward. Through a replay of a screen recording originally shared on LinkedIn, I...

In this episode, I continue exploring how ChatGPT can serve as a powerful tool for personal growth. By refining prompts, I’ve discovered how it can help us prime our brains for tasks, expand our thinking, and uncover insights we might not reach on our own. Building on Episode 76, where I explored psychology terms beginning with "self," this episode dives into words starting with "un...

Do you use ChatGPT in your self-development journey? Over the next three episodes, I’ll share screen recordings of my recent explorations with ChatGPT, where I use it to find fresh ways to talk about tools and concepts that can help us move forward in life. I believe many of us need to hear things more than once, and in different ways, before we have that "aha" moment that helps us break...

In this episode, we shed light on a very real but little talked about struggle of those suffering with burnout: the challenge of embracing effort again after burnout. For many, words like “effort” or “hard work” trigger resistance. But what if effort could energize you instead of draining you? When we redefine effort as lively, healthy, and purposeful, it shifts from something to fear into somethi...

Welcome back to The End of the Day Podcast —a mindset podcast on a mission to help you think differently so you can start living differently. In this episode: New Series Launch: Introducing The Daily Shift —quick episodes (20 minutes or less) designed to deliver a single thought, tool, or insight to help shift your mindset and keep you moving forward. Today’s Focus: Key Insight: "Most people...

In this week's episode, I share how I went from being completely overwhelmed and depressed by the state of my home to being almost 80% decluttered and organized and still excited and motivated to keep going. While I love a good decluttering story, I recorded this episode to share the mindset work that allowed me to take the first small step, and how I used that first small step to keep the mo...

In this week's episode, I share what it's like to do this work in real-time, when you're actually in the muck of your own mind. How do you navigate through those dark periods when you're believing the worst about yourself, and how can you use the power of active language to initiate the second part of pattern recognition -- the inevitable rally. Cited in this episode: Book  | ...

Last week we talked about harnessing the emotional intensity of your deepest yearning to 'hush' or quiet the areas of your life that are 'yelling' at you, This week we talk about channeling that deep motivation into action and how to avoid the common pitfall of gaining your reward from planning and thinking (and more planning and more thinking) versus from taking actual steps t...

If you've ever turned down the radio to think, or decluttered before tackling a project or new task, you'll want to learn about house hushing. Coined by home decor author, Myquillyn Smith, house hushing is the act of "quieting" a physical space of visual clutter for 24 hours so the brain can experience what a room could be like without everything in it. Smith calls this "b...

As we near the end of the first quarter, I'm reminded of how fast time passes. Hours become days, days become weeks. Without a system in place to track progress, it's easy to see how quickly we lose control of our goals. To combat goal slide, I've started tracking my behavior around my goals. Inspired by the book, The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, I'm documenting my behavior...

"The Compound Effect is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices. What's most interesting about this process to me is that, even though the results are massive, the steps, in the moment, don't feel significant."  - Darren Hardy, Author of The Compound Effect and Publisher of SUCCESS Magazine So, why do many of us give up before reaching our de...

Do you struggle with procrastination? If so, do you try to think your way out? How has that been working for you? Overintellectualizing procrastination is what my guest, Nerijus Antanavicius, and I discuss in today's episode. Nerijus is a personal coach and trainer whose unique approach to coaching and self-development led me to hire him as my 1:1 coach back in 2020 to help me work through so...

"Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional." This quote, often attributed to Haruki Murakami, is rooted in the Buddhist parable of the second arrow. The Buddha says, “In life, we can’t always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. The second arrow is optional.” Tara Brach explains the teaching like this: "If you get struck by an arrow, do yo...

What do you do when you're 5 years into a Ph. D. program in a field you know is not meant for you? In this episode, I talk to Career & Confidence Coach, Ken Li, who spent his formative years being groomed for a life in the sciences. From math camps in the summers to undergrad at Cornell University where he received degrees in chemistry and biochemistry, his relentless pursuit of academic...

Mindset Shifts are mini-episodes where I share one insight, tool, or concept to help you challenge the negative narratives and unproductive thought patterns that are keeping you from what you most want in life. In this mini-episode, I walk you through an exercise in causal coaching so you can see, in real time, how different thoughts can lead to dramatically different results. When we understand o...

Bruce Lee said, "There are no limits, only plateaus." This is not just an inspirational thought but a truth of life that could shift everything for you when you feel stuck. Plateaus acknowledge you've done work to get to where you currently are. They also acknowledge there's more work to do to get where you want to go. That's it. Our brains like to complicate and make thin...

"Me Time" is not just about taking a break from work or responsibilities; it's about dedicating time to yourself, to nurture your mental, emotional, and physical well-being. We often lead busy lives, filled with work, family, and other commitments. Neglecting "Me Time" can lead to stress, burnout, and a negative mindset. On the other hand, making time for yourself can help...

Do you long for a Level 10 life, but know you're only putting forth Level 2 effort? That's what Hal Elrod realized in 2008 when he hit rock bottom emotionally, mentally, physically, and financially following the stock market crash in 2007.  Up to that point, he had enjoyed success in his 20s as one of the leading sales reps at Cutco. This accomplishment was made all the more impressive a...

This week's episode is for anyone who has areas of their lives they feel helpless and powerless to change. In this episode, I talk about learned helplessness and how it may be showing up in your life and impacting your ability to move forward in areas you'd really like to change. Perhaps it's in the area of health and fitness, money, career, relationships, or even in your ability to...

Do you avoid trying new things, even things you'd love to do, out of fear that others might see you in the awkward, novice stage, and judge you? Sometimes we hold ourselves back from things we actually want -- like trying out for a team in school, learning to play the guitar, training for a half marathon, picking up a new language, starting a business, or even showing up differently in relati...

If you've ever felt stuck, frozen or paralyzed in certain areas of your life, you're not alone. Feeling stuck or stagnant is one of the most common reasons clients seek out mindset coaching. They say things like, "I know what I want to do / I know what I need to do, but I just can't seem to get myself to do it." When we notice that we're in a state of freeze, our imme...

What words would you use to describe yourself? How do you see yourself? Our self-concept, or the way we perceive ourselves, has a direct impact on how we feel about ourselves. When we're able to acknowledge all parts of us -- the positive and not-so-positive, our strengths and the parts of us we'd like to improve -- we feel more comfortable in our skin. We accept, even embrace, who we ar...

Do you feel like you've been doing personal growth work for some time, only to still feel like something's missing -- like you're still not whole? Maybe you've been so focused on your mind and body that your soul feels undernourished. Or maybe you've been so focused on understanding and supporting your emotional body that you've been neglecting your physical body. Thi...

If you feel stuck or trapped in your life, you're not alone. This is one of the most common reasons clients cite for seeking out a coach. By the time they reach out to work with me, they've been struggling and frustrated for some time. They believe if they could just be more consistent, dedicated, disciplined, motivated, or have more willpower in very specific areas of their life, then t...