Most Self-Improved

As minimalist lifestyle coach Dara Zycherman explains, minimalism extends far beyond just decluttering. Discover how minimalism, rooted in mindfulness and self-reflection, can transform not only your physical space but also your mental clarity and confidence. 

Listen as Dara explains the difference between organizing and simplifying, the emotional weight of our possessions, and how our outer environment impacts our inner well-being. Tune in to learn practical tips for starting your minimalist journey and how this mindset shift can lead to a more aligned and fulfilling life.

In this episode:

3:10 Defining minimalism: “Mindfully choosing what you truly want and need”

4:52 The benefits of minimalism: Making your day less chaotic

5:40 The difference between organizing and simplifying

6:17 The impact of your environment on inner world: “If you are in a environment that makes you feel bad, then your inner world is less confident.”

13:30 The “No. 1 question” you should be asking about an object

15:40 Applying minimalism to more than just physical stuff

17:58 Two things you can do to begin your journey

23:17 Getting others who live with you on board with minimalism

29:17 Conclusion and takeaways

More:

For more information about Dara, visit her website or follow her on Instagram. She has also shared her email with our audience, [email protected]

Be sure to subscribe to Most Self-Improved and follow the show on Instagram.

In this episode of Most Self-Improved, hosts Erin Jensen and Bhavana Chilukuri chat with therapist Leah Marone all about adult friendships. 

Leah emphasizes our innate need for connection and the challenges of maintaining friendships as we age. If you’ve been sad about an evolving friendship, don’t worry. Grieving is totally normal, Leah says. And clear, proactive communication can help.

This chat covers evolving expectations of friendships, loneliness, making new acquaintances later in life, and resolving conflicts in a healthy way. 

Tune in for an important conversation that will inspire you to take small, courageous steps in your social interactions. As Leah asks her clients, “What risk are you going to take this week?”

In this episode:

1:07 Meeting Leah Marone, the anxiety expert and former athlete who believes in getting in your emotional “reps” 

2:12 The importance of friendship 

3:18 Modern loneliness and connection

6:26 Navigating friendships in adulthood: Grieving and communication

9:31 How anxiety will fill the space of a changing friendship

12:26 A good friend defined

17:42 Balancing friendships and energy levels

20:56 Maintaining long-distance friendships

23:47 Resolving conflict with friends

26:15 Handling defensive reactions

28:27 When to end a friendship

33:03 Making friends as an adult

35:00 Taking risks to improve social connections

More:

If you’d like to know more about Leah or her work, check out her website. 

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Most Self-Improved hosts Erin Jensen and Bhavana Chilukuri welcome marriage and family therapist Dr. Ilene Cohen for this episode on happiness. 

Discover how a strong foundation built on values and principles, rather than fleeting pleasures, leads to true fulfillment. And learn about the impact of relationships, self-evaluation, and overcoming challenges to achieve lasting joy. 

Whether you're seeking ways to align your behaviors with your values or curious about the difference between instant gratification and genuine happiness, this episode offers deep insights and practical advice to enhance your well-being.

In this episode:

3:00 Introduction of marriage and family therapist, Dr. Ilene Cohen

3:43 A foundation for happiness

5:20 Defining happiness 

9:43 Pillars of happiness

14:08 Tying your happiness to goals: “When the goal is just attached to ‘Because it will make me happy’ that’s where we go wrong”

16:58 How to rethink your goals

More:

For more information on Dr. Ilene, visit her website, check out her books, or her article, Is the Pursuit of Happiness a Source of Unhappiness?

Subscribe to Most Self-Improved and tell us what you enjoyed about this episode on Instagram. 

In this episode of Most Self-Improved, behavioral economist Peter McGraw discusses the benefits of embracing singledom as someone whose identity is independent of their relationship status. He calls it living as a Solo. 

Peter says being single is often “viewed as temporary, viewed as less than. It's like, ‘Oh, I'm sure you'll find your person,’ kind of dinner conversation.” But Peter wanted to alter that perception and examine “what are the opportunities that come from being single and to celebrate this time in life, whether it be for now or forever.”

Drawing from his book released in January, “Solo: Building a Remarkable Life of Your Own,” his podcast, Solo, and personal experiences, Peter outlines the differences between being a traditional single and being a wholehearted, self-reliant Solo. He specifies the four types of singles and offers insights on how to thrive, regardless of your relationship status. Tune in to discover how you can live a fulfilled life as a solo individual.

“The world tends to tell you that there's one way to live,” Peter says. “But really there's not one remarkable life. There are remarkable lives.” 

 
In this episode:

3:16 Meet Peter McGraw: Origins of his interest in single living

5:20 Peter’s experience being single: “I always just felt like a misfit” 

7:10 The difference between being single and Solo living

8:40 The three characteristics of Solos: wholeheartedness, self-reliance, unconventional thinking 

18:22 Designing a meaningful life: The sailboat metaphor for wellbeing

23:27 The four types of singles defined: Some Day, Just May, No Way, and New Way Singles 

More:

For more information on Peter and his work, visit his website. 

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In this episode of "Most Self-Improved,” hosts Erin Jensen and Bhavana Chilukuri chat with goal achievement coach Kristin Burke about the power of consistency in reaching your goals. It’s one of Kristin’s four C's of goal achievers, after all — along with clarity, confidence and courage.

For our audience, Kristin outlines a simple yet effective four-part goal-setting process. She also reveals how we can learn to identify meaningful goals, develop courage by "partying with fear," and implement consistent habits to make your goals a reality.

Join us for a motivating conversation that will leave you equipped with practical tips, like the Friday ritual of reviewing weekly wins and the power of tracking your progress to overcome guilt and stay on course. This episode is perfect for anyone looking to be more consistent and productive in both their personal and professional lives.

In this episode:

6:30 Kristin’s 4-step plan for getting clear on what your goals should be: 

Step 1: Create your longterm vision.

Step 2: Reflection: “There’s so much power in the pause.” 

Ask:

What do you want more of?

What do you want less of?

Step 3: Brainstorm your goals and narrow them down to the most meaningful. 

Simplify and focus on less goals if you’re new to goal setting and achieving.

To help prioritize your goals, rank them from 1-5, with 5 being the most meaningful and 1 the least.

Step 4: Come up with a plan to achieve your goals. 

Ask: 

What are you willing to give up? 

What will your strategies be?

11:12 What do the people who are great at achieving their goals do that others don’t? They have clarity, confidence, courage and consistency. (Each are defined.)

16:46 How to combat the things that derail your consistency: Ditch all or nothing thinking, embrace progress, not perfection. Remember, “Consistency is not 100% of the time.”

19:46 Embrace tracking your goals for success: “We have to move away from shame and judgment and move towards perspective and understanding."

26:46 Advice for the overly-ambitious goal setter 

30:53 How to know if it’s time to give up on a goal? Perform goal check-ins at the end of the month and quarterly

32:33 Silence your negative mental narratives by asking these two questions.

34:00 Kristin’s Friday Ritual: At the end of each week, write down your wins, lessons learned, and 3-4 priorities for next week.

More:

If you’d like more information about Kristin or her teachings, you can visit her website, follow her on Instagram,  and listen to her podcast, Elite Achievement. 

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Hello! Allow us at Most Self-Improved -- hosts Bhavana Chilukuri and Erin Jensen -- to reintroduce our podcast. While we launched in September 2023 as a podcast book club devoted exclusively to personal growth titles, we've pivoted to an interview format in which we talk to experts in the wellness space seeking answers to questions like, "Where the heck do I make friends as a thirty-something?" "Do I really want to have kids?" "How do I make the most of my morning?"

Speaking of, "morning routine" has become one of those buzzy phrases, like "gut health" as of late. The pressure to live up to those getting up at 3 a.m. to work up a sweat and then cold plunge, or begin your 25-step skin care routine begins the moment we open up our eyes now. Or at least that's how it can feel (and more power to the people able to accomplish these things!).

But our morning routines should not be thought of as a to-do list, says Kerry Biskelonis, owner of Reset Brain and Body, which offers its clients therapy and coaching services.

“It’s so important not to listen to the noise about what you should be doing," Kerry says in the Season 2 opener of Most Self-Improved. "We go on social media, we go on TikTok and it’s, ‘This is the best morning routine! And these are the things you need to do!’ And it’s so overwhelming, and there’s way too much that we’re consuming.

"And what you’re going to stick to is the thing that comes from within," she continues. "So the more that you get in touch with that, the more it’s going to feel that you can be consistent because it’s authentically driven.”

Furthermore, Kerry says we should reframe the morning routine as a sacred hour which, when done consistently, reaffirms, "I matter. I am a priority. My wellbeing matters. I am worth my own time.”

In this episode:

Intro: The new Most Self-Improved format explained. It's like our podcast got bangs!

3:05 Welcome therapist Kerry Biskelonis to the podcast

5:13: Reframing the morning routine as a “sacred hour” for yourself. Kerry says it’s not a to do list but “a sacred hour in which you are queuing to yourself I matter.” 

7:34 Benefits of a sacred hour. Kerry acknowledges, “If I don’t take care of myself, I am not good to other people.”

8:35 How to fit in your sacred hour with a spouse and kids: “No one will ever give it to you — ever!" Kerry says. "You have to really grab it.”

10:28 Organizing your sacred hour and the two questions to help you decide what to include.

16:01 The 90-second trick to overriding that urge to do what’s comfortable in order to meet your goals 

20:49 How routine helps us embrace “the magic of the monotony.”

27:04 Tapping into your authentic self 

More:

For more about Kerry's practice, visit her website or the office's Instagram.

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Naturally a podcast named Most Self-Improved is returning with a few, well, improvements!

Though the show launched in September 2023 as a book club podcast exclusively reading personal growth titles, your hilarious, relatable and never-afraid-to-be-vulnerable hosts have gotten rid of the required reading.

Going forward, hosts Bhavana Chilukuri and Erin Jensen will interview therapists and experts in the wellness space to help answer questions plaguing them and their fellow Millennials: “How do I make friends as a thirty-something?” “Do I really need a 25-step skincare routine?” “How do I truly know if I want kids?”

Episodes drop every other Thursday after the premiere on June 6.

Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Do you have a vision of who you’d like to be in 2024? Perhaps it’s someone who consistently works out, reads, or eats a more balanced-diet? Perhaps this version of you is one you’ve imagined for a long time, but for whatever reason you haven’t been able to make it a reality. In light of the New Year, we’re reading James Clear’s “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” which might help you be the person you’ve wanted to be, that you know deep down you are. And good news: to get there you only need to consistently do small things. 

“Success is the product of daily habits — not once in a life time transformations,” Clear writes. 

In our final episode of the series, we’ll learn how to make good habits stick through habit tracking, accountability partners and the ever important and mind-blowing Goldilocks Rule, which says that humans experience peak motivation when attempting tasks that aren’t too difficult or too simple. 

Clear also emphasizes the importance of getting comfortable with boredom.

“The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom,” he writes. “Professionals stick to the schedule; amateurs let life get in the way. Professionals know what is important to them and work toward it with purpose; amateurs get pulled off course by the urgencies of life.”

“When a habit is truly important to you, you have to be willing to stick to it in any mood,” he continues. “There have been lots of days I’ve felt like relaxing, but I’ve never regretted showing up and working on something that was important to me … The only way to become excellent is to be endlessly fascinated by doing the same thing over and over. You have to fall in love with boredom.”

More:

Buy “Atomic Habits” and read along.  You can download a free chapter via his website. 

Are you accepting our first Most Self-Improved challenge? Tell us what habit you’re adopting or dropping on Instagram, @MostSelfImproved. 

Reading schedule: 

Episode 1: Chapter 1-7 

Episode 2: Chapter 8 through Ch 14 

Episode 3: Chapters 15 through 20

Do you have a vision of who you’d like to be in 2024? Perhaps it’s someone who consistently works out, reads, or eats a more balanced-diet? Perhaps this version of you is one you’ve imagined for a long time, but for whatever reason you haven’t been able to make it a reality. In light of the New Year, we’re reading James Clear’s “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” which might help you be the person you’ve wanted to be, that you know deep down you are. And good news: to get there you only need to consistently do small things. 

“Success is the product of daily habits — not once in a life time transformations,” Clear writes. 

He reminds readers: “We all deal with setbacks but in the long run, the quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits. With the same habits, you’ll end up with the same results. But with better habits, anything is possible.”

In last week’s episode, we covered ways to make good habits as obvious as possible. This episode, we’re sharing Clear’s advice for making them attractive and easy.

More:

Buy “Atomic Habits” and read along.  You can download a free chapter via his website. 

Are you accepting our first Most Self-Improved challenge? Tell us what habit you’re adopting or dropping on Instagram, @MostSelfImproved. 

Reading schedule: 

Episode 1: Chapter 1-7 

Episode 2: Chapter 8 through Ch 14 

Episode 3: Chapters 15 through 20

Do you have a vision of who you’d like to be in 2024? Perhaps it’s someone who consistently works out, reads, or eats a more balanced diet? Perhaps this version of you is one you’ve imagined for a long time, but for whatever reason you haven’t been able to make it a reality. In light of the New Year, we’re reading James Clear’s “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones,” which might help you be the person you’ve wanted to be, that you know deep down you are. And good news: to get there you only need to consistently do small things. 

“Success is the product of daily habits — not once in a life time transformations,” Clear writes. 

He reminds readers: “We all deal with setbacks but in the long run, the quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits. With the same habits, you’ll end up with the same results. But with better habits, anything is possible.”

In the first episode of a three-part series, we’ll introduce Clear’s four-step process for building better habits, the role identity plays, and the powerful influence of your environment. Clear also shares a game-changing secret about self-control. 

More:

Buy “Atomic Habits” and read along.  You can download a free chapter via his website. 

Are you accepting our first Most Self-Improved challenge? Tell us what habit you’re adopting or dropping on Instagram, @MostSelfImproved. 

Reading schedule: 

Episode 1: Chapters 1 through 7 

Episode 2: Chapters 8 through 14 

Episode 3: Chapters 15 through 20