The OptimalWork Podcast

#307: Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres delve into the significance of breath in regulation attention and managing anxiety. One of the most interesting advances in the understanding of breath is the discovery of the oxygen paradox: breathing too much can actually reduce the amount of oxygen that reaches your brain. Breathing, mood, nutrition, attention, and activity are all interrelated. Understanding...

#306: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discuss the importance of learning how to self-regulate your attention. We often try to address distraction and worrying — two common obstacles relating to attention — by re-arranging our external circumstances, changing aspects of our lives. This can be helpful and even necessary at times. But to get the best results, it is also important to foc...

#305: In this episode, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss the importance of attention for working at your best. Understanding how your attention works — especially the dynamic between task attention and default attention — can help you improve how you both rest and work. Some may think that focus is a matter of brute force and self-discipline, or of simply arranging your environment. But the und...

#304: In this episode, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss OptimalWork's recently launched anxiety course called Overcoming Anxiety. Having the proper attitude toward anxiety is essential. Rather than thinking we must get rid of anxiety or merely cope with it, we need to see how to embrace anxiety and use it to perform at our best and live out our highest ideals. This understanding is key to...

#303: Complaining is very tempting. When experiencing difficulty, it can seem helpful to vent our frustration. But chronic complaining can hinder the development of genuine bonds and can reinforce a negative mindset. Complaining narrows our focus and prevents us from reframing challenges as opportunities for growth. In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Majeres do a deep dive into complaining. Defending...

#302: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discuss the concept of self-efficacy and its practical application in various examples. Self-efficacy is the brain's prediction of success right before engaging in a task. It affects motivation, resilience, and the ability to overcome challenges. The key is to shape self-efficacy by widening the context of success and identifying concrete ste...

#301: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discuss the concept of self-efficacy and its relationship to mastery and confidence. Albert Bandura, a psychologist at Stanford, initiated the self-efficacy literature. He developed ways to help people overcome their fear of snakes and observed that this process helped them engage challenges in other areas of their lives. They seemed to develop a...

#300: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discuss Cal Newport's new book, “Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout.” “Slow Productivity” builds on themes he explores in his previous books: for instance, mastering your craft and focusing on the process of working. Here Newport focuses on three principles for achieving greater long-term productivity: doing fewer t...

#299: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discuss the theory and science behind reframing, which is a foundational skill of OptimalWork. Reframing is essential to personal growth and overcoming challenges. But it goes beyond many of the techniques espoused by “self-help experts.” It is not just about positive thinking or building habits, but about discovering the meaningful opportunities...

#298: In this episode, Sharif and Kevin turn their attention to temperance — the most misunderstood of the cardinal virtues in modern culture. While today's wellness conversations obsess over macros, seed oils, and "locking in" on the perfect diet, Kevin argues that classical temperance was never about health at all. It's about protecting bonds. Drawing on Augustine, Aquinas, and...

#297: Automaticity, while beneficial in some ways, can also be a danger if it makes everyday actions become rote. Treating each moment of a task as unique allows for growth, meaning, and mastery. One way to do this is frequently setting growth goals to stretch yourself in how you do things. The second half of the episode covers the Reframer tool on OptimalWork.com . The Reframer takes you through...

#296: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres review the book “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt. “The Anxious Generation” attributes the skyrocketing levels of anxiety among youth, particularly Gen Z, in large part to the widespread use of smartphones and social media. The negative effects of smartphones include social disconnection, sleep deprivation, attentional problems, and addi...

#295: In this episode, Sharif asks Kevin to untangle one of the most common mindsets he encounters when coaching people on work: the urge to "just get things done." Kevin argues that this seemingly reasonable attitude is actually a form of anti-fortitude — an effortful suppression of the cost of a task that quietly taxes performance and squeezes meaning out of what we do. Drawing on the...

#294: In this episode, Sharif and Kevin explore one of the most psychologically subtle traps people fall into after being wronged: resentment. Kevin opens with a bold claim — that a hyperfocus on wounds is actually an inversion of justice, not an expression of it. Drawing on Augustine and Aquinas, they unpack why real justice is fundamentally outward-directed and rooted in love, while resentment c...

#293: In this episode, Sharif and Kevin explore scrupulosity — a form of OCD that targets the conscience itself, trapping thoughtful, well-intentioned people in endless loops of moral doubt. Kevin explains how scrupulosity hijacks the machinery of prudence, replacing genuine moral reasoning with what he calls "sham prudence" and "sham guilt" — feelings that are indistinguishable from real guilt bu...

#292: In her recent best-seller “Bad Therapy,” Abigail Shrier argues that therapy for children causes more problems than it solves. Shrier critiques the approach many therapists take as based on a flawed understanding of human nature, and she also draws attention to data suggesting that modern therapy is not stopping the increase in rates of anxiety, depression, etc. and may even be increasing the...

#291: Kevin and Sharif pull back the curtain on the major AI overhaul inside OptimalWork, explaining how the platform has evolved into a personalized growth system that helps people set better goals, reflect more effectively, and build momentum day by day. They explore why generic AI advice often falls flat, how a strong governing theory makes AI far more useful, and why the future of human flouri...

#290: It can be tempting to fit people into our categories: we think things like, “she’s sanguine,” “he’s not good at math,” “she’s shy,” “he’s melancholic.” We may even convince ourselves that these labels help us people as they want to or ought to be treated. But taken too far, labels prevent us from forming meaningful relationships with people. They can limit what we say or do, leading us to av...

#289: The brain’s models and predictions play a central role in the vicious cycles that drive procrastination, dread, and anxiety. When your brain assess a challenge as a threat, often it’s predicting some pain, or shame and sounds the alarm to get you to avoid it. To reverse these vicious cycles and transform them into virtuous ones, we need to shape our brain’s predictions, de-fusing from our mo...

#288: In this capstone episode, Sharif and Kevin explore a powerful question: Do you have to fix yourself before you can serve others? As they unpack the virtue of justice, Kevin challenges the common belief that relief from anxiety, depression, or anger must come first. Instead, he argues that vitality begins when attention shifts outward—toward real duties, real people, and real bonds. But they...

#287: Why do we sometimes feel like we're at war with ourselves? In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres dive into a therapy approach called Internal Family Systems (IFS), exploring how our mind has various parts — protectors and exiles — which are sometimes in conflict. Approaching these parts with curiosity and compassion paves the way to resilience and growth. IFS offers valuable tool...

#286: In this episode, Sharif and Kevin continue their deep dive into the dynamics of vitality by tackling the most overlooked of the cardinal virtues: justice. Building on their framework linking anxiety, depression, and addiction to different “engines” of human behavior, Kevin explains why justice doesn’t merely fix one problem but reorders the entire system. Through vivid metaphors and clinical...

#285: In this episode, Sharif and Kevin map the ancient framework of the cardinal virtues—prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance—onto the modern “three engines” model of meaning, effort, and attention. Kevin argues that love sits at the core of both emotion and virtue, and shows how different “dark valleys” (anxiety, depression, addiction) have corresponding saddle points where a person can open...

#284: Sharif and Dr. Majeres return to unpack one of the most practical ideas in OptimalWork: valleys, vitality, and the “saddle points” where change actually happens. Kevin explains how anxiety, depression, and addiction are shaped by love misdirected toward relief, and why the moments in between—waking up, starting work, finishing a task—are where everything tilts. They explore how love function...

#283: What motivates you to get up in the morning? What motivates you to continue working on a challenging task? Learning how to motivate yourself is essential to true success, but so many people are motivated by a fear of failure, that is, by shame. In this episode, we discuss the relationship between shame and motivation, how to tap into deeper sources of motivation, and how to overcome shame us...