Useful Thinking | Mindset, Identity & Brain Training

Last week you learned how your RAS filters your reality without you ever realizing it. This week, you'll learn how to take that mechanism and put it to work for the life you're actually building. Laura walks you through why "stop thinking about it" approaches always backfire, why you don't have to dig up the root of every belief before you can change it, and the three components that make the diff...

Laura pulls apart a viral moment from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Amanda Frances said "and it's true" about out-earning her husband, and it illustrates why the mental reach for truth as justification almost always leaves you stuck with thoughts that aren't actually doing anything for the life you're trying to build. In this episode: Why "and it's true" is one of the most common mental mo...

Your brain is filtering your reality right now. Every second of every day, a mechanism called the Reticular Activating System (the RAS) is deciding what makes it into your conscious awareness and what gets screened out. In this episode, Laura goes deeper than the surface-level version most people have heard and reveals what the RAS actually means for how you experience your life. You'll learn why...

Before you can change how you think, you have to understand how your brain became YOUR brain. In this episode, Laura walks you through the remarkable story of how your brain wired itself. From the galaxy of neurons you were born with, to the million-plus connections forming every second in your early years, to the pruning process that shaped you into the specific person you are today. You'll learn...

Before you can change how you think, you need to understand the system you're working with. In this episode, Laura covers the four primary directives your brain is running at all times: seek pleasure, avoid pain, conserve energy, ensure safety. She breaks down why this factory-installed operating system explains so much of the behavior we get frustrated with ourselves about. You'll also learn why...

Your brain is processing thousands of thoughts every day, and most of them are running on autopilot. In this first episode, Laura introduces the single most important filter you can apply to your thinking: is this thought useful for what I'm trying to accomplish? You'll learn why "true" and "useful" are two completely different systems of thought, why your ability to focus is becoming an elite-lev...

Useful Thinking is a weekly practice for your mind, hosted by clinical professor and mind coach Laura. Each episode works the fundamentals of how your brain operates, giving you practical tools to direct your attention, filter out mental noise, and think with more clarity and power. Think of it as a gym for your mind. Show up weekly and master the one skill that will impact every other area of you...