JOY Unfiltered: Choose Joy on Purpose

Can a daily walk make you happier? In this Joy Lab episode, Rachel Bents shares how a simple Joy Walk turns your everyday route into a science-backed habit for more joy, more creativity, and less stress.

🎯 Which joy habit comes easiest to you? Take the free quiz, What’s On Your Joy Plate?

Drawing from Chapter 8 of Be With: 39 Habits for a Joy-Filled Life, Rachel shows you how to take the walk you already take and choose joy on it, one “delight” at a time. Same path, new eyes.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why walking can boost creative thinking by about 60 percent (yes, even on a treadmill facing a blank wall)
• What a 10-minute walk does for your 3pm slump that a candy bar can’t
• Where “10,000 steps a day” really came from, and how many steps the research actually supports
• How looking for delight on a walk trains your brain to find more joy
• The “naked walk,” and why a unicycling clown proves your phone is stealing your joy
• Your Seven Day Joy Walk challenge
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Inspired by Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights and Jay Shetty’s Think Like a Monk. And if either of them are listening - you both are invited to come on Joy Unfiltered! I would LOVE to have you!

This season is brought to you by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions. They offer salt therapy, red light therapy, sauna, and cold plunge.

✨ Before you go: take the free What’s On Your Joy Plate? quiz to discover your Joy Macros™ (Notice, Allow, Share).

Follow Joy Unfiltered, leave a review, and share this episode with five people: four you love, and one you don’t. Tag @rachel_bents with your best delight of the week.

Have Fun. Live Well. Choose JOY!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How do you stay positive when life falls apart, not once but twice? Sass Schaeffer is a former boxing champion, a former healthcare executive, and the founder of Team Positive. She joins Rachel Bents to share how to build positivity and resilience as a daily practice, so they’re already there when you need them.

🎯 Which joy habit comes easiest to you? Take the free quiz, What’s On Your Joy Plate?, and find out in two minutes:

Sass was laid off twice after 15 years in corporate healthcare. Her home in St. Petersburg, Florida, flooded. She rebuilt, and six months later Hurricane Helene put four feet of seawater in that house. Through all of it, she found that positivity is more than a meme or good vibes. It’s a discipline you can practice, and it can carry you through the hardest seasons of your life. Her core belief is that positivity is a muscle, not a mood.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why you should practice positivity and joy before you need them, the same way you’d get in shape before a health scare instead of after
• The fun daily “rules” Sass made after her layoff: a walk without earbuds, getting to know her neighbors, talking to every cashier, and picking up five pieces of litter, with bonus points for making someone laugh
• How to shrink your daily reps to tiny ones when you’re in a hard season: open the mail, leave the house, talk to one person
• Her bad-day reset: have a cry, grab a snack, shake it out, put on Beyoncé, then get back to work
• Why you don’t have to believe every thought you have, and how to choose joy over fear, even a hundred times a day
• Why asking for help (from neighbors, a therapist, or a coach) is a gift to the people who love you
• How to keep your momentum through the holidays, even when your habits look different
• How Team Positive is making positivity cool again, and why it’s the opposite of toxic positivity
• What’s bringing Sass joy right now

Favorite quotes:

• “Positivity is a muscle, not a mood.”
• “I was ready before I needed it.”
• “If positivity isn’t fun, you’re doing it wrong.”
• “I don’t believe every thought I have anymore.”

Connect with Sass Schaeffer:

• Team Positive
• Instagram: @sassthepositivitychick and @jointeampositive

This season is brought to you by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions. They offer salt therapy, red light therapy, sauna, and cold plunge, all to help you slow down and come home to your body.

✨ Before you go: take the free What’s On Your Joy Plate? quiz to discover your Joy Macros™ (Notice, Allow, Share).

Loved this conversation? Follow Joy Unfiltered, leave a rating and review, and share this episode with five people: four you love, and one you don’t. That one needs it most.

Have Fun. Live Well. Choose JOY!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does outdoorsy really mean, and what if you love nature but also love your hot shower? In this episode of Joy Words, Rachel Bents digs into the word origins of outdoorsy and outsidey and reveals how the words themselves explain two very different ways to enjoy nature.

Take the free quiz: What’s On Your Joy Plate? Find out which of Rachel’s Joy Macros™ (Notice, Allow, Share) comes easiest to you, and which one needs a little love:

In this episode on words, nature, and joy:

• Outdoorsy vs. outsidey: the meaning of each and which one you are
• The etymology of “outdoors” (out of doors) and “outside” (the other side of home)
• Why “outdoorsy” is a surprisingly young word
• How adding “-y” turns a place into a personality
• Fun word facts: where “camp” and “tent” come from
• Why you get to name who you are, plus how to coin your own nature word

This weekend’s challenge: Name your nature word, live it with one dose of nature, and share it with Rachel on Instagram.

“Outdoors is about leaving home behind. Outside is about the other side of home.”

Season 2 of Joy Unfiltered is sponsored by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions, offering salt therapy, red light therapy, sauna, and cold plunge in Minnesota.

Loved this Joy Word? Follow Joy Unfiltered, share it with your favorite outdoorsy friend, and leave a review telling Rachel your nature word.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What is an awe walk, and how can a simple 15-minute walk reduce stress and boost joy? In this Joy Rewire, Rachel Bents guides you through an awe walk, a science-backed mindfulness practice that helps you feel calmer, happier, and more connected. No hiking boots or fancy gear required.

Take the free quiz: What’s On Your Joy Plate? Find out which of Rachel’s Joy Macros™ (Notice, Allow, Share) comes easiest to you, and which one needs a little love.

In this episode on awe, mindfulness, and stress relief:

• What awe is and why it’s so good for your mental health (Dacher Keltner, UC Berkeley)
• The awe walk study: “big smile, small self” and more joy in just 15 minutes a week (Virginia Sturm, UCSF)
• How one minute of looking up at trees made people kinder and more helpful (Paul Piff)
• A guided awe walk using three lenses: Big, Small, and New
• The awe selfie: a fun way to shift your focus from your worries to the world
• How awe walks count toward your 120 minutes of nature a week

This week’s challenge: Take one 15-minute awe walk, snap an awe selfie, and tag @rachel_bentson Instagram.

“Big world. Small self. Big smile.”

Season 2 of Joy Unfiltered is sponsored by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions, offering salt therapy, red light therapy, sauna, and cold plunge in Minnesota.

Loved this awe walk? Follow Joy Unfiltered, share it with a friend who needs to look up from her phone, and leave a review.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Can a dining table hold both joy and grief? Minnesota woodworker Ryan Kuehn of RK Design builds custom live edge dining tables and handmade furniture that carry family memories, legacy, and love for generations. In this bonus episode of Joy Unfiltered, Rachel Bents talks with Ryan about finding joy in your work, reconnecting with childhood creativity, and how a custom table can help families honor the people they’ve lost.

Take the free quiz: What’s On Your Joy Plate? Find out which of Rachel’s Joy Macros™ (Notice, Allow, Share) comes easiest to you, and which one needs a little love:

Ryan is the artist behind the Joy Unfiltered sign you see behind Rachel in every episode. From his shop in Eagan, Minnesota, near MSP Airport, RK Design offers one of the widest selections of live edge slabs in the Midwest, with more than 1,000 slabs and slices and over 50 wood species. Ryan builds custom live edge tables, epoxy river tables, conference tables, countertops, mirrors, and signage for homes and businesses across the Twin Cities.

In this episode on joy, creativity, craftsmanship, and grief:

• How growing up watching his dad build the family dining table shaped Ryan’s love of woodworking
• Leaving corporate burnout behind and finding joy in creative, meaningful work
• Why going back to what you loved as a kid can help you find your joy again
• Nature, wind in the trees, and how the grain of figured wood draws Ryan in
• Letting the wood guide the design: why every live edge slab is one of a kind
• A lightning-struck tree turned into a memorial table for a father who lost his son
• Custom tables that honor family heritage, legacy, and the people we love
• Holding joy and grief in the same space
• “Life is too short to be pulling anchors”: letting go of what weighs you down
• Coaching his son’s high school fishing team and finding joy outdoors as a family
• Built to be used, built to be beautiful, built to last: craftsmanship with integrity

“Life is too short to be pulling anchors.” (Ryan Kuehn)

Connect with Ryan Kuehn and RK Design:

• Website: rkdesignmn.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Call or text: 952-451-7019
• Visit the shop in Eagan, Minnesota
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Season 2 of Joy Unfiltered is sponsored by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions, offering salt therapy, red light therapy, sauna, and cold plunge in Minnesota: (And yes, Ryan built their beautiful live edge front counters.)

Ready to bring more joy into your everyday life? Take the free Joy Macros™ quiz, What’s On Your Joy Plate?

Loved this conversation? Follow Joy Unfiltered, share it with someone who needs a little more joy (or a new dining room table), and leave a review.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How much time in nature do you actually need to feel better? Science says 120 minutes a week. In this episode of Joy Unfiltered, author and speaker Rachel Bents dives into the science of nature and mental health, from stress relief and anxiety to focus, mood, and joy. Drawing on Chapter 6 of her book Be With: 39 Habits for a Joy-Filled Life, Rachel shares why you don’t have to camp, hike for days, or be “outdoorsy” to get the benefits of being outside. You just have to be outsidey.

Take the free quiz: What’s On Your Joy Plate? Find out which of Rachel’s Joy Macros™ (Notice, Allow, Share) comes easiest to you, and which one needs a little love:

If you’re a busy, high-achieving woman who feels stressed, burned out, or stuck indoors, this episode gives you simple, science-backed ways to spend more time outdoors and bring more joy into your everyday life.

In this episode on nature, stress, and well-being:

• Outsidey vs. outdoorsy: why you don’t need to camp to love the outdoors
• The 120 minutes a week of nature research (Mathew White, University of Exeter)
• The “nature pill”: how 20 to 30 minutes outside lowers cortisol, your stress hormone
• Attention Restoration Theory and “soft fascination” (Rachel and Stephen Kaplan)
• How a nature walk reduces anxiety and rumination and improves working memory (Gregory Bratman, Stanford)
• Biophilia, green exercise, and why 5 minutes outside boosts mood and self-esteem
• Why a hospital window view of trees helped patients heal faster (Roger Ulrich)
• The 40-second green microbreak that improves focus at work
• Forest bathing (shinrin-yoku), birdsong, soil bacteria, and friluftsliv
• Simple outdoor habits for busy women, including walking meetings, morning sunlight, and winter nature time

This week’s challenge: The 120 Minute Challenge. Track your time outside every day for seven days and add it up. Most people are closer to 120 minutes of nature than they think.

“You don’t have to sleep outside to belong outside. You just have to actually go.”

Season 2 of Joy Unfiltered is sponsored by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions, offering salt therapy, red light therapy, sauna, and cold plunge in Minnesota.

Connect with Rachel on Instagram @rachel_bents, where a copy of Be With is given away live every night through the end of October.

Ready to bring more joy into your everyday life? Take the free Joy Macros™ quiz, What’s On Your Joy Plate?

Loved this episode on nature and joy? Follow Joy Unfiltered, share it with your favorite outsidey friend, and leave a review.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Your body isn’t the problem. Your clothes are. Former middle school teacher turned TEDx speaker Jenny Zook joins Rachel to talk about changing your relationship with your reflection and bringing the joy back into your closet, at any age, size, shape, or budget.

In this episode:

• How 20 years in the classroom led Jenny to create Style School
• Why personal style is a skill you can learn, not something you’re born with
• The selfie trick that helps you see yourself more kindly than the mirror does
• How to build your “light bulb list” (start with: how do you want to feel in your clothes?)
• Why “goal clothes” need to leave your closet today
• The unlikely story of how Jenny landed her TEDx talk

“Stop letting your clothes bully you.”

Connect with Jenny:

• Check out Jenny Zook to find her TEDx talk and Style School
• How to Dress Your Changing Body - Free Gift
• Join her Style School Spirit Week in January to edit your closet and kick off the new year
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Season 2 is sponsored by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions

Loved it? Follow, share with the friend who stands in front of her closet and sighs every morning, and leave a review.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week’s Joy Word is one Rachel made up, and it’s the heartbeat of her book Be With. Withness is presence as a way of being: fully, wholeheartedly with a person, a moment, or yourself.

In this episode:

• What withness means, and why the world needs a word for it
• The surprising history of “with” (it used to mean against!)
• How withstand, withhold, and withdraw still carry that old meaning
• Three tiny ways to practice withness this weekend
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This weekend’s challenge: Give one conversation your full withness. Phone in another room, eyes up.

“Withness is the invitation to go from against to alongside.”

Season 2 is sponsored bySalt and Light Therapy Solutions.

Connect with Rachel on Instagram, where a copy of Be With is given away live every night.

Loved it? Follow, share with your favorite fellow word nerd, and leave a review telling Rachel what word to dig into next.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Stress climbing? This Joy Rewire gives you a simple, guided practice to tell your brain you’re safe, using your favorite new nerve: the vagus nerve.

In this episode:

• Box breathing, the four-count rhythm Navy SEALs use to stay steady
• The long exhale that presses the brake pedal on stress
• Why humming is a secret calm-down tool
• A 30-second version you can do anywhere, even mid-dinner
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This week’s challenge: Pick one moment today to use The Vagus Reset, then tell Rachel how it felt.

“Rewiring is about reps, not perfection.”

Season 2 is sponsored by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions.

Connect with Rachel on Instagram, where a copy of Be With is given away live every night for 39 night nights.

Loved it? Follow, share with the friend whose shoulders live up by her ears, and leave a review.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You take about 20,000 breaths a day and barely notice one. In this episode, Rachel dives into the science of breath and shows you how to use it, on purpose, to calm your nervous system and make more room for joy.

In this episode:

• The tiny brain cluster that runs your breathing (and why it sounds like a German pastry)
• Why your exhale is the brake pedal for your nervous system
• How breathing like joy can help you feel joy
• The 5-minute cyclic sigh that beat meditation in a Stanford study
• Real-life breath anchors: red lights, doorways, your inbox, and your pillow

This week’s challenge: The Five Breath Joy Challenge. Take one breath on purpose five times a day, and before bed ask, “Where did I feel joy today?”

“Your breath is not just responding to your stress. Your breath is participating in it.”

Season 2 is sponsored by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions: saltandlightmn.com

Connect with Rachel on Instagram @rachel_bents, where a copy of Be With is given away live every night for 39 nights.

Looking for more information about the Joy Macros™? Take the Joy Macros™ Quiz.

Loved it? Follow, share with the friend who’s been holding her breath all week, and leave a review.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.