Todd McCullough (he/him) is the founder of TMAC Fitness and creator of the TMAC20 program, offering 20 minute no-equipment workouts for everyone from beginners to elite athletes. He’s also one of my closest friends. In this episode (recorded in my kitchen), Todd shares the background and how-to of his four-part “mindright” meditation practice. He’ll explain how football injuries and a cold ocean led him to meditation; Melissa talks about the first moment she realized mindright was magic; and they explore why choosing to meditate immediately post-workout, run, walk, or surf is so impactful. Todd also walks you through exactly how to complete each part of the meditation, while Melissa shares how she uses the practice to listen more closely to the universe and receive messages for her highest good. Continue the conversation with me @melissa_hartwig on Instagram. If you have a question for Dear Melissa or a topic idea for the show, leave me a voicemail at (321) 209-1480. Do the Thing is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better.  Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Side Hustle School, and Happier in Hollywood. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell your friends to Do the Thing!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this Just Melissa episode, I explore my “Melissa talks to strangers” experiment from 2013, the unexpected impact this simple practice has had on every area of my life, and how I've turned these initially awkward efforts into an easy, fulfilling daily habit. I’ll share how you can transform normally mundane social exchanges into meaningful encounters that can spark joy, spread happiness, and leave you feeling more present and connected; provide tips for starting your own talking-to-strangers experiment; and explain why this practice works so well for introverts, specifically.Continue the conversation with me @melissa_hartwig on Instagram.If you have a question for Dear Melissa or a topic idea for the show, leave me a voicemail at (321) 209-1480. Do the Thing is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better.  Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Side Hustle School, and Happier in Hollywood. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell your friends to Do the Thing!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jacob Henriquez is the Atlanta-based 2019 Whole30 Certified Coach of the Year, and Community Manager for Whole30 Approved brand The New Primal. Jacob specializes in motivation and creating self-accountability, and runs an ongoing LGBTQ+ Whole30 Support Group.In today’s episode, we’re both here to help you crack the code to a successful Whole30, going beyond the advice in my books. We share our best insider tips for all phases of the Whole30, including planning and preparing, socializing, navigating challenges, and measuring Whole30 success. I've led people through the Whole30 for ten years now, but I still learned some great tips from Jacob, so whether you’re gearing up for your first Whole30 or your fourth, his experience and observations will help you fill in the missing pieces, and make the most of your Whole30 self-experiment.  Continue the conversation with me @melissa_hartwig on Instagram. If you have a question for Dear Melissa or a topic idea for the show, leave me a voicemail at (321) 209-1480. Do the Thing is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better.  Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Side Hustle School, and Happier in Hollywood. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell your friends to Do the Thing!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Magdalena McClellan (she/her) helps you redirect your current life course to health, happiness and spiritual fulfillment through her intuitive gifts and various energy modalities. She uses crystals and their properties as tools to help clients to tap into their truth, heal from past hurts, move toward energetic balance, and find deeper purpose. In today’s episode, I open the discussion exploring how to respectfully appreciate these traditions and practices brought to us from other cultures without crossing the line to appropriation. We then dive into how we use crystals in our own lives and with our kids, Magdalena’s philosophy on keeping it simple, how crystals can help you start your day mindfully, and the five stones I use most often in my own personal growth work.  Continue the conversation with me @melissa_hartwig on Instagram. If you have a question for Dear Melissa or a topic idea for the show, leave me a voicemail at (321) 209-1480. Do the Thing is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better.  Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Side Hustle School, and Happier in Hollywood. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell your friends to Do the Thing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Drew Manning (he/him) is the New York Times best-selling author of Fit2Fat2Fit: The Unexpected Lessons from Gaining and Losing 75 lbs on Purpose, and the author of Complete Keto, which helps people achieve a complete transformation using a ketogenic approach. He’s known for his straightforward and empathetic fitness and health coaching, and has been a close personal friend of mine for years. In today’s discussion, we’re talking about how we each navigated our very public divorces. Today, we'll explain the mindset shifts that allowed us to move from anxiety and fear into hope and empowerment, the one tool that proved life-saving for both of us during our divorces, the most important things we did post-divorce to keep us from repeating negative patterns, and how we see our relationships today, five years later.  Continue the conversation with me @melissa_hartwig on Instagram. If you have a question for Dear Melissa or a topic idea for the show, leave me a voicemail at (321) 209-1480. Do the Thing is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better.  Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Side Hustle School, and Happier in Hollywood. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell your friends to Do the Thing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Vickie Bhatia (she/her) is a licensed clinical psychologist and Whole30 Certified Coach who helps her patients improve mood, overcome fear and anxiety, increase self-worth and connection, and handle emotions in a healthy way. She’s also a self-proclaimed recovering perfectionist—something we have in common. I used to think about perfectionism as one of my best personality traits. So why did striving for perfection feel so lonely, painful, and exhausting? Today we discuss the dark side of perfectionism—how it impacts our fears, self-talk, careers, and relationships; the difference between striving for excellence and perfectionism; how to spot your perfectionist tendencies in the wild; and techniques to help you look beyond your drive for perfection and start showing up authentically.For show notes visit:  whole30.com/podcast Continue the conversation with me @melissa_hartwig on Instagram. If you have a question for Dear Melissa or a topic idea for the show, leave me a voicemail at (321) 209-1480. Do the Thing is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better.  Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Side Hustle School, and Happier in Hollywood. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell your friends to Do the Thing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this “Just Melissa” episode, Melissa (she/her) goes back nearly 20 years, sharing how a decade of reliance on external validation to fill her up left her feeling empty and unworthy. With the help of her therapist and a tool she calls the “Self-Review,” she was finally able break out of this cycle, and feel confident in her own worth and value. Melissa outlines the specific “Self-Review” process her therapist taught her, shares how she uses the practice in her own life, and walks you through exactly how to stop living and dying by the opinions of others, and feel true self-confidence in every area of your life.For show notes visit:  whole30.com/podcast Continue the conversation with me @melissa_hartwig on Instagram. If you have a question for Dear Melissa or a topic idea for the show, leave me a voicemail at (321) 209-1480. Do the Thing is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better.  Check out the other Onward Project podcasts, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Side Hustle School, and Happier in Hollywood. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell your friends to Do the Thing!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Ellen Vora (she/her) is a board-certified psychiatrist, medical acupuncturist, and yoga teacher who takes a functional medicine approach to mental health. Today’s discussion is a treasure trove of practical, no-cost actions you can take NOW to improve symptoms of depression without pharmaceutical intervention. From diet to sleep, time in nature to breathwork, tapping to Reiki, Dr. Vora empowers you to see how just a few small habit changes can make a huge difference in your mental health. (The show notes for this one are extensive, so be sure to visit whole30.com/podcasts after you listen.) Continue the conversation with me @melissa_hartwig on Instagram. If you have a question for Dear Melissa or a topic idea for the show, leave me a voicemail at (321) 209-1480. Do the Thing is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better.  Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Side Hustle School, and Happier in Hollywood. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell your friends to Do the Thing!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this two-part episode, Melissa (she/her) gives an update on her ten-month “I’m not drinking right now” experiment, sharing all of the surprising ways that not drinking alcohol has positively impacted her life, and why she’s still not calling herself “sober.” She also explores part two of the “judgment” discussion from Episode 10, providing a framework to help you see other people’s judgment in a different way, and teaching you how to drop it for good.Continue the conversation with me @melissa_hartwig on Instagram. If you have a question for Dear Melissa or a topic idea for the show, leave me a voicemail at (321) 209-1480. Do the Thing is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better.  Check out the other Onward Project podcasts-- Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Side Hustle School, and Happier in Hollywood. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell your friends to Do the Thing!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Nicole LePera (she/her) is a holistic psychologist and founder of the Mindful Healing Center in Philadelphia; and trained in clinical psychology at Cornell University and the New School. Today, we talk all things boundaries: what they are, why we need them, how to set them, and how to hold them. We also share stories from our own lives that illustrate why setting boundaries is so darn hard, what a truly effective boundary sounds like, and Nicole’s number one tip for keeping all of your relationships healthy. Continue the conversation with me @melissa_hartwig on Instagram. If you have a question for Dear Melissa or a topic idea for the show, leave me a voicemail at (321) 209-1480. Do the Thing is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better.  Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Side Hustle School, and Happier in Hollywood.If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell your friends to Do the Thing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices