Change Academy

Revisiting one of our most popular episodes, originally published exactly one year ago

These final few days of the year are a great time to reflect on the year that’s past and think about what we’d like to focus on or accomplish in the New Year. And in this episode, I’m sharing a three-part process that might just become your new end-of-year ritual.  Instead of your New year’s Resolutions being a well-intentioned flash in the pan, we’re going to kindle a flame that will burn brightly all year. 

Key Takeaways

- Reflecting on our past successes, however modest, helps build the self-efficacy needed for future change
- Connecting our goals to our values helps us tap into the intrinsic motivations that fuels sustained effort. 
- Link each goal to an identity statement that reflects who you want to become, not just what you want to achieve
- Focus on no more than 2-3 goals at a time to avoid overwhelming yourself and diluting your efforts
- Create "if-then" commitments for how you will handle potential obstacles when they arise

What if the pursuit of happiness is NOT the path to greater life satisfaction? What if being more productive and getting more done isn’t actually the way to get ahead?

In this episode, I'm revisiting my conversation with author Oliver Burkeman about some of the ways in which we might want to re-examine our relationship to goals, happiness, and the things that are most important to us.

This is sometimes a bit painful. because so much of it has to do with confronting some of the hard limits that we like to pretend don’t exist. But, as you’ll hear, there is ultimately a profound relief and freedom to be found in facing finitude. 

Key Takeaways

1. Try to find satisfaction in the journey toward your goals, rather than postponing fulfillment until they are achieved​​.
2. Cultivating your ability to be present to everyday, even mundane, moments can lead to a deeper appreciation of life as it unfolds.
3. Understand that every choice has its consequences, and it’s impossible to avoid negative outcomes entirely.
4. Some of the most meaningful experiences in life are not the result of meticulous planning or pursuit but unexpected and unplanned.
5. Being present is a skill that can be practiced in everyday situations like waiting in line or working in the office​​–and not just on the meditation cushion or yoga mat.

Mentioned in this Episode

Upcoming Live Events for Meditations for Mortals

The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking

4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

50K Mile Tune-up Listening Guide and Workbook

Ready for some time travel? Your Current Self was once your Future Self. And I’m guessing that Past You had big plans for Current You (previously, Future You). 

In this episode, we’re exploring how our lives and habits have and haven’t evolved in the ways we expected or hoped, and how we can use that information to our (current and future) advantage. 

Plus: It’s time to open a Change Academy time capsule!

Highlights

- How to make the future feel more vivid—and more motivating

- A journaling prompt that can shift your behavior right now

- What it means when your letter to the future is full of “I hope…”

- Assessing whether your present actions align with your desired legacy

Mentioned

The Science of Why We Doomscroll by Emily Falk (New York Times gift link)

What We Value: The Neuroscience of Choice and Change, by Emily Falk

Letter to my Future Self Worksheet

Futureme.org (send yourself an email in the future)

In this final episode of our Business of Being Well series, wellness strategist and speaker Cassie Christopher joins me to explore how insights from the world of business—especially sales and marketing—can help wellness professionals become more effective, persuasive, and impactful.

Highlights

• How the "what" isn’t nearly as important as the "why"
• A simple messaging shift that can dramatically boost participation
• How to build authority and credibility in skeptical or high-stress environments
• How to reframe selling as an act of service, not manipulation
• The one business skill every wellness pro should master (hint: it’s not spreadsheets)

Mentioned in this Episode

You Can't Pour from an Empty Cup: Self-Compassion for a Thriving Workforce (Cassie's upcoming session at HERO Forum II)

Cassie Christopher, Corporate Wellness Speaker 

The Business of Being Well: a Special Series

Join our mailing list

What if your values weren’t just something you thought about once during a journaling workshop, but a real-time compass for how you show up—especially when things get complicated? In this episode, we’re going to talk about how to turn your values into a functional operating system.

Key Takeaways:

- A personal mission statement isn’t a slogan—it’s an operating system. When used well, it helps guide daily actions, not just big decisions.
- Misalignment between values and actions is a valuable signal that it might be time to recommit to your goals…or to revise them entirely.
- “Would this be on-brand for me?” is a useful question to test alignment between choices and core identity.
- When you're stuck, your values can help you move from indecision to clarity.
- Mission statements don’t have to be perfect; they just have to feel true. The goal is not to impress others, but to steer you toward decisions you can stand behind, especially when things get tough.

Mentioned

Ep 33: Aligned Actions

Sometimes, the system isn’t broken—it’s just bottlenecked.

In this episode, we’re continuing our series on translating business strategies into personal growth tools by looking at bottlenecks: those hidden chokepoints where progress stalls and good intentions quietly fall apart.

You’ll learn how to spot these sneaky sources of friction, and explore simple ways to loosen them—so your habits feel easier, not harder, to follow through on.

Key Takeaways

• Bottlenecks aren’t failures—they’re leverage points. Identifying them gives you a clearer sense of where to focus your attention for the biggest impact.
• Look for where things consistently stall—not where you 'fail.'  Troubleshooting your routines can be more productive than judging them.
• Delegate when you can—share the load.  You don’t have to be the sole operator of your entire life.
• Automate where possible—to reduce friction and decision fatigue.  If it can be made simpler or more predictable, that’s often the difference between doing it and skipping it.
• Simplify or eliminate what's no longer serving you.  A habit doesn't have to be perfect to be worth doing. The more repeatable it is, the more reliable it becomes.

When the economy gets rocky, smart businesses don’t panic—they prepare. They focus on what really matters, streamline what they can, and make sure they’re flexible enough to weather the storm. 

In this episode, we’re borrowing that same mindset and translating it into the way we think about our own self-care routines and health habits. Because whether it’s travel, stress, a challenging diagnosis, or just a really busy season, life will test your systems.

We’ll explore six ways businesses recession-proof themselves—and translate them into strategies you can use to build more resilience into your own routines. Not to control every variable, but to stay steady when things get wobbly.

Key Takeaways

1. Identify your non-negotiables--the routines, supports, and boundaries that keep you grounded and functional.
2. Once your essentials are clear, you can consciously pause or scale back the “nice-to-haves” without guilt. This prevents burnout and preserves energy for what really matters.
3. Don't rely on just one strategy. Have multiple ways to meet your needs so you’re not derailed by a single point of failure.
4. Build your reserves--whether it’s food in the freezer, margin in your calendar, or emotional stamina. 
5. In a pinch, shift from growth to resilience mode. Maintenance is a win when your capacity is limited.
6. Strengthen your relationships with the people, tools, and systems that support your follow-through. Don’t wait until things get rocky to realize how much you depend on those connections.

Will you succeed in reaching your next big goal? Only time will tell. Because success (or failure) generally comes at the end of the process. 

Except that every success or failure is actually made up of countless smaller successes or failures that happened along the way. And paying more attention to those can save us a lot of frustration and disappointment. 

In this episode, I’m borrowing a powerful concept from the world of business that can help you notch more wins, build confidence, and feel more in control of your progress—whatever you’re working toward.

Key Takeaways

1. Lagging indicators reflect the results of your actions—but only after the fact.
2. Leading indicators are the consistent, controllable actions that move you toward your goal. They help you stay engaged with the process, even when the payoff is weeks or months away.
3. When you define progress by your actions, you create more opportunities for wins—even before the results show up.
4. Clarifying what your outcome is meant to make possible helps sustain motivation—and shapes smarter action plans.
5. If progress is elusive, look upstream. Ask: "What behaviors am I consistently tracking—and are they the right ones?"

If you feel like your progress (or your motivation) has stalled, you have options. You can redouble your efforts. You can take an entirely different approach. Or, you might even decide to walk away. In this episode, we’ll talk about figuring out which route serves you best.

Key Takeaways

1. Taking a break can help protect the quality of our work, create space for creative insights, and ensure that we’re using our time and energy in the most meaningful way.
2. The urge to step away can sometimes be a form of avoidance. When something feels hard or tedious, pushing through may be the key to progress. The challenge is knowing when persistence serves us and when it doesn’t.
3. Just because something was valuable or necessary in the past doesn’t mean it still is. We can get stuck in commitments out of habit, sunk costs, or fear of change. It’s important to ask: Would I choose this again today?
4. Unplanned breaks can still serve us. When life forces us to pause, we can reframe it as an opportunity for reflection, skill-building, or re-evaluating our direction. 
5. Clarity comes from asking the right questions. 

1.  What would taking a break or stepping back make possible? Would you use that freed-up time and energy to do something else that is important and meaningful to you?
2. Are there clear benefits to continuing? Are you willing to give those up, or would you regret it?
3. Are you seeing the results you had hoped to see? If not, why not?
4. Might you be better off pursuing the same goal but in a different way?
5. Is this goal still meaningful to you?
6. Am I continuing in this effort because it still makes sense, or because I’m having trouble cutting bait on the time or effort I’ve already invested?
7. Has my objective changed? Is this goal still aligned with my current objective?
8. If I were starting from scratch today, would I still commit to this?

Mentioned

Ep 488 of the What Works podcast with Tara McMullin

The Change Academy will be on hiatus for the next several weeks. We plan to be back later in the Spring with some exciting new content. If you’re not already on our mailing list, sign up here, and we’ll send you a quick announcement when our next episodes are ready! 

Are you guilty of holding yourself (or others) to impossibly high standards?

In this episode, we're exploring the concept of Ought implies can—the notion that we can only be obligated to do what we’re actually capable of. But how do we know where the limits of ability really are?

Are we being too hard on ourselves (or others)? Or are we making excuses?

Learning how to tell the difference can help you set fair, realistic, and empowering expectations—for yourself and everyone around you.

Key Takeaways

-  Capacity includes more than just your physical ability to do something—cognitive, emotional, and situational factors also shape what’s truly possible.
-  There's an important difference between "I can't" and "I can't yet."
-  Acknowledging barriers or limitations is not an excuse, it's an invitation. 
-  When setting expectations—of yourself or others—check your assumptions. Are you asking for something that’s actually within reach? Or are you expecting the impossible?