For the past couple of months, the MUD\WTR fam has been exploring the power of Atomic Habits by James Clear. We’ve read together and shared our successes and struggles with habit change. Today, we’re celebrating the culmination of our first-ever book club. We’re joined by MUD\WTR’s mental health advisor Raghu Appasani, who reminds us that regardless of how much progress we’ve made on our goals, we should hold ourselves with kindness and ask ourselves not just who we want to be but also, “How do I want to feel?”

If you dig this podcast please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and helps a bunch.

For weekly stories visit Trends w/ Benefits and sign up for our newsletter.

Stalk us on Instagram.

Reach out and send voice memos to [email protected].

James Clear, author of "Atomic Habits," says, "It is human nature to follow the Law of Least Effort." According to Clear, when we choose between two similar options, we "naturally gravitate toward the option that requires the least amount of work." Because we value ease and convenience, choosing the path of least resistance makes sense when cultivating our long-term goals. So take it easy, and let your laziness work for, not against you.

If you dig this podcast please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and helps a bunch.

For weekly stories visit Trends w/ Benefits and sign up for our newsletter.

Stalk us on Instagram.

Reach out and send voice memos to [email protected].

Dreaming can be a form of overnight therapy, helping us creatively problem solve and process difficult emotions. Unfortunately, we chronically disrupt our sleep with too much screen time, alcohol, and caffeine, and not enough sunlight and exercise. Would you like to build better habits so you can tap into the healing power of dreamwork? Then check out today’s pod to help you design your newest rest ritual.

If you dig this podcast please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and helps a bunch.

For weekly stories visit Trends w/ Benefits and sign up for our newsletter.

Stalk us on Instagram.

Reach out and send voice memos to [email protected].

For our hundredth episode I asked myself, “What does the MUD\WTR fam need most right now?” We’re creative, curious and care about our well-being, as well as the world around us. But even with all our mindfulness, we still make mistakes and have vices we haven’t been able to shake. We break our hearts trying to force ourselves to change before we have the time, energy or skillset to make different choices. For this special episode, I want to show you how to be more compassionate so you can stop the self-flagellation and remove any obstacles to being your best self.

What are your life-draining habits? 

What are you not ready to change?

What obstacles can you remove to create a state of readiness for change?

If you dig this podcast please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and helps a bunch.

For weekly stories visit Trends w/ Benefits and sign up for our newsletter.

Stalk us on Instagram.

Reach out and send voice memos to [email protected].

Dr. Jeffrey Durmer knows sleep is of prime importance. As a sleep neuroscientist, neurobiologist and neurologist, he’s an authority on how sleep creates physical, mental and emotional resilience. He says, “If you're going to build a house, you want to build it on the best foundation you can possibly make,” and that means prioritizing healthy sleep. While he works with elite athletes on sleep protocols for optimal recovery, he has plenty of suggestions for the rest of us—including how to create a simple sleep sanctuary and a restful nighttime routine. And by the way, Daylight Savings Time has got to go.

If you dig this podcast please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and helps a bunch.

For weekly stories visit Trends w/ Benefits and sign up for our newsletter.

Stalk us on Instagram.

Reach out and send voice memos to [email protected].

Our consciousness exists within—and is shaped by—space and time, our parents and peers and the larger culture. We can invite ourselves to notice what we include in our awareness, what we leave out and how our contexts impact us. In that awareness, we can develop a value system, which helps us define our sense of self. Once we design where we place our attention, we can shape our experience; then our lives begin to change.

Do you have a consistent reflective practice?

What do you include in your awareness? 

How does what you notice shape your experience of yourself, the past, the present and what you want for your future?

If you dig this podcast please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and helps a bunch.

For weekly stories visit Trends w/ Benefits and sign up for our newsletter.

Stalk us on Instagram.

Reach out and send voice memos to [email protected].

Living in a human body comes with its unique set of limitations. We have the capacity to soar to great heights, but also sink to some serious lows. Sometimes it takes all the energy we have just to get out of bed, shower or feed ourselves. So how do you make yourself feel better when it feels like you can’t do anything? Today’s episode offers some low-effort interventions that can help.

If you dig this podcast please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and helps a bunch.

For weekly stories visit Trends w/ Benefits and sign up for our newsletter.

Stalk us on Instagram.

Reach out and send voice memos to [email protected].

Self-love needs to be a practice before it becomes an embodied state. But where to start? We thought it meant taking bubble baths and eating chocolate, but rituals of ease and pleasure only scratch the surface. So instead of giving you a list of strategies you’ve already heard before, I want to ask you: Who are you? What is love? And why does self-love matter to you? Nobody can answer these questions for you, but I can show you some possibilities.

If you dig this podcast please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and helps a bunch.

For weekly stories visit Trends w/ Benefits and sign up for our newsletter.

Stalk us on Instagram.

Reach out and send voice memos to [email protected].

We know the fungi cordyceps can infect ants and manipulate their behavior. But could cordyceps evolve to control us? That’s the premise of the post-apocalyptic TV drama, “The Last of Us.” The show inspires mycelial horror as a mutant cordyceps infection causes human society to collapse. It flips the script on how we typically think of cordyceps, which is consumed to improve many aspects of health and cognitive performance, including learning capacity and memory. I talk with Matt Held, senior research and development manager at MUD/WTR, to discuss what the show gets right, and what it gets wrong, about this zombie fungus.

If you dig this podcast please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and helps a bunch.

For weekly stories visit Trends w/ Benefits and sign up for our newsletter.

Stalk us on Instagram.

Reach out and send voice memos to [email protected].

Shane Heath—founder and CEO of MUD\WTR—shares a ritual for how to overcome the voice of doubt as well as how to make the most of the 4,000 weeks of life each of us has, on average, on this planet. We also talk about the power of “Atomic Habits” by James Clear as we dive into MUD’s new book club.

If you dig this podcast please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and helps a bunch.

For weekly stories visit Trends w/ Benefits and sign up for our newsletter.

Stalk us on Instagram.

Reach out and send voice memos to [email protected].