You open Instagram and it hits you right away, a sense of perfection or idealism that seems just a little too shiny, a little too great to be real. And guess what? Most of the time, it isn’t. Today's guest, Dr. Whitney Goodman, assures us of that much and more. She's the radically honest psychotherapist behind the popular Instagram account, @sitwithwhit, the book Toxic Positivity: Keeping It Real in a World Obsessed with Being Happy, and the owner of the Collaborative Counseling Center, a private therapy practice in Miami. She helps individuals and couples heal past wounds and create the life they've always wanted.

We spend this episode unpacking the false perception of perfection all around us, the world’s constant striving for “happiness,” and why finding center in your life is so much more complicated than that – and should be! Whether it’s content-friendly or not – feeling all the feelings, really embracing them and chershing them, can be as healthy for us as a diverse and nutrient-rich diet.

Dr. Goodman offers up a more diverse experience, more layers to really dive into and learn about ourselves and the people we love. We get tips on listening (it’s more than just hearing!), recognizing toxic positivity and understanding why it sells, the importance of values over happiness, and prioritizing focus time – even thirty minutes a day – to help keep your mind sharp.

It’s time to get honest about – well, everything! There’s no time to waste striving and stressing over goals that only move further into the distance the harder we work at them. Life is perfect as it is, we’re so glad Dr. Goodman took the time to share this message with us today.

You will learn about...

• Pitfalls of toxic positivity
• How to respond instead → Really, truly listening to someone
• Finding room for validation beyond happiness 
• Seeing the world in black and white
• Setting realistic goals to actually feel fulfillment
• Values > happiness
• Whitney’s personal experience and growth
• Feeling all the feelings and that’s ok
• The power of 30-minute focus blocks 
• Recognizing toxic positivity
• How to give feedback to someone who’s “toxically positive”
• Setting boundaries with friends/family in a compassionate way
• How to find a therapist
• The flaw with “time heals all wounds”
• The “Good Enough” community
• Unpacking the perfection trend
• Social’s media place in all of this
• The truth about most influencers 

Resources:

• Website: sitwithwhit.com
• Instagram: @sitwithwhit
• Twitter: @sitwithwhit
• Collab Counseling: collabcounseling.com
• Read: Toxic Positivity by Whitney Goodman
• “Good Enough” Community: sitwithwhit.substack.com

Connect with Kelly:

• kellyleveque.com
• Instagram: @bewellbykelly
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/bewellbykelly

Be Well By Kelly is produced by Crate Media.

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