No Negative Energy Presents: The "Due To Expire" Podcast with Corey L. Kennard

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Your worst habits might not be “who you are.” They might be warning lights. We talk about emotional health as the real driver of human behavior and why ignoring it can quietly wreck your relationships, your physical health, and your ability to make clear decisions.

We start by busting the myth that the brain runs on pure logic first and emotions second. Drawing on neuroscientist Antonio Damasio’s research, we explain why emotion is the foundation of decision making and what happens when that system breaks down. From there, we get blunt about what our culture teaches us to do: click “remind me later” on stress, anger, and old pain, then act surprised when life feels unstable.

Next, we unpack “emotional debt” and how it hijacks your day-to-day reactions. You’ll hear memorable examples like the vending machine reaction (when small problems trigger big blowups), the procrastination paradox (avoidance as anxiety management), and the somatic strike (when your body becomes the megaphone for emotions you won’t voice). We also frame behavior as a dashboard: rage, numbing, overworking, and perfectionism often point to fear, isolation, or fragile self-worth.

To close, we lay out a practical path to emotional agility: label emotions with precision (“name it to tame it”), create a half-second gap between trigger and response, and treat yourself with real self-compassion so you recover faster and regain control. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs the reminder, and leave a review. What dashboard light have you been trying to tape over?

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Everyone is grinding, but grinding is not the same as winning. If hard work were the deciding factor, the busiest people in the world would always be the best, and we all know that’s not how performance works. Today we unpack what actually creates a competitive edge when everyone around you is already putting in effort: precision, intentionality, and mastering the invisible margins.

We walk through the psychology of the split second using the OODA loop (observe, orient, decide, act) and why the fastest performers often “start sooner” because they recognize patterns and cycle decisions faster. Then we connect that to Quiet Eye research, a practical way to think about focus in a distracted world: scattered attention versus a steady gaze on the target that matters. If you’re chasing goals in business, sports, or life, this is a reset for your performance mindset and your daily priorities.

From there, we get real about recovery. Rest is not weakness, it’s a competitive weapon, and tools like heart rate variability (HRV) can help you understand whether you’re actually ready to perform or quietly running on empty. We also talk systems and environment design, the aggregation of marginal gains, and why willpower fades fast if your defaults are working against you. Finally, we close with vibrational visualization, resonance, and the “next play” philosophy: you get a short window to learn, reset, and move forward before the moment is gone.

If you want more episodes on high performance, decision-making, and building real momentum, subscribe, share this with a friend who’s stuck in the grind, and leave a review. What’s the one 1% change you’re going to make today?

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Indecision is not neutral. It is a silent drain on your time, your energy, and your confidence, and it keeps you stuck in the hallway staring at doors you never open. We start with a blunt truth: not choosing is still a choice, and the longer you delay, the more mental bandwidth you burn replaying the same unanswered question. If you feel decision fatigue, overthinking, or analysis paralysis creeping into your work and personal life, this conversation gives you a clean way forward.

We walk through the psychology of decision making using simple, usable ideas from cognitive psychology, including Daniel Kahneman’s two systems of thinking. You will hear why your brain leans on shortcuts, how availability bias and loss aversion can make you overly cautious, and why clarity on core values can cut through the noise fast. We also explore satisficing, the “good enough” approach that frees you from perfectionism while protecting your focus for the decisions that actually matter.

Then we get practical: how to set decision deadlines, how to isolate fear by naming the worst-case scenario and your recovery plan, and how to build a “decisiveness muscle” by making low-stakes daily choices quickly. The goal is not reckless speed, it is confident movement with a commitment to learn and adjust. If you are ready to stop waiting for certainty and start building self-trust through action, listen now, subscribe, and share this with someone who is stuck. After you listen, leave a review and tell us: what decision are you finally giving a deadline?

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What if you woke up every morning with a fresh deposit of 86,400 seconds and whatever you didn’t use vanished at night? That’s not a thought experiment, it’s real life, and it changes how we think about productivity, stress, and what “success” actually means. We walk through why time isn’t money but it’s a close cousin, and why the deeper issue for most of us isn’t a lack of time. It’s spending our best hours on the wrong things.

We dig into a powerful reframe: stop trying to manage time and start managing energy. Using ideas from peak performance research and ultradian rhythms, we talk about why 90-minute focus cycles matter, how diminishing returns sneak up on you, and why “eat the frog” works when willpower is highest. You’ll also hear a blunt take on busywork: making something efficient doesn’t help if it shouldn’t be done at all.

From there, we tackle procrastination and the psychology of “later.” We break down why avoidance is often emotional, how a “now bias” shrinks the gap between thinking and doing, and how a simple time log can expose distractions, time leaks, and the tasks you keep dodging. We also call out the multitasking myth, explain the switching cost that destroys deep work, and make the case for monotasking and real presence.

We close with an audit of your social and mental real estate, the power of saying no, and why breaks, health, and values alignment are not optional if you want work-life balance without burnout. If this helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. What’s one change you’ll make with your next 86,400 seconds?

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The room is changing while you read this: the light shifts, your coffee cools, your body updates itself cell by cell. When we live like things should stay fixed, that constant motion starts to feel like a threat and we respond by gripping harder. We recorded this Due To Expire session to challenge that reflex and to offer a calmer, stronger alternative: learning to meet impermanence with presence instead of control.

We talk about why humans cling to comfort, routines, relationships, youth, beliefs, and even familiar suffering and how that resistance quietly turns into anxiety, disappointment, and inner friction. We explore impermanence across philosophy and spirituality, then bring it down to earth with simple images you can feel: the fragile vase, the beauty of a sunset because it ends, and the Kintsugi idea of honoring cracks as part of a thing’s story. This is mindfulness for real life, not a detached pose. It’s about awareness, adaptability, and choosing what matters while everything keeps moving.

A pivotal story ties it together: a king asks a wise sage for something that can steady him in both triumph and disaster. The answer is a gold ring engraved with four words, “This too shall pass,” and we unpack why that reminder can soften pride, lift despair, and restore perspective. You’ll leave with practical ways to practice non-attachment, observe nature’s cycles, notice small daily impermanences, and create space for what’s next. If this helped, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s going through a change, and leave a review with the one thing you’re ready to let go of.

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Most people spend decades climbing, then call it a life. Elizabeth Coplan spends four decades in Fortune 500 marketing and high-stakes law firm PR, then makes a sharper turn: she uses those same skills to build Grief Dialogues, a theater-driven movement that invites people to look straight at death, grief, and love without flinching. 

We talk about the compounded losses that changed her path, including the moment she realized how quickly coworkers and friends can shut down when grief enters the room. From that silence, she writes plays that become an unexpected key: audiences laugh, cry, and then stay to talk, often longer than the performance itself. We dig into why the stage works as an empathy generator, what caregivers most often regret, and why acceptance near the end of life can make mourning less chaotic for the people left behind. 

Elizabeth also shares how her commissioned project “Honoring Choices” tackles end-of-life planning and advance care conversations, and why she adapted it across cultures, including African American and Spanish-language versions. Then we zoom out to the bigger theme of reinvention after retirement: how she finds her second act by asking what brought her joy at 13, what it takes to fund and run a nonprofit, and why she refuses to let “grief” become a softened, hidden word. We close with a practical preview of immersive theater, where the audience has agency to move, reflect, and connect, including upcoming Detroit dates and how to find tickets. 

If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s carrying loss, and leave a review so more people can find these grief, end-of-life, and second act stories.

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Monday is coming every single week, whether we feel ready or not, and that’s exactly why we stop treating it like an enemy. We talk about the real roots of Monday dread and why “living for the weekend” quietly steals your life one week at a time. If you’ve ever felt that heavy, anxious pull on Sunday night or struggled to get out of bed, we name what’s going on and give you a way forward.

We break down disania and the most common drivers behind the Monday morning blues: job dissatisfaction, sleep debt, lack of weekend recovery, stress that never powers down, and even tension with coworkers or leadership. Then we shift into practical, doable fixes that help you feel more in control. Planning your week ahead reduces uncertainty, and creating “Monday meetups” adds connection and joy where you least expect it.

The biggest lever is gratitude, and we make it concrete: don’t reach for your phone when you wake up. Take a mental inventory of a few things you appreciate, and consider saying it out loud to lock it in. To build a consistent morning routine, we share three tools that reinforce a healthier mindset: gratitude journaling with real specifics, mindful meditation with supports and digital resources, and positive affirmations that you actually believe. We also cover neuroplasticity, stress reduction, and why affirmations work best when they’re backed by aligned action.

If you’re tired of dreading Mondays, listen now and choose one practice you’ll start tomorrow morning. Subscribe for more, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s the first change you’re willing to make this week?

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You can spend years swiping, dating, and overthinking who likes you, then still feel empty when you finally “find someone.” I’m Corey Kennard, and I’m challenging the whole chase with one cold truth: you can’t build a skyscraper on a foundation of sand. If you don’t like the person you’re coming home to every night, the one in the mirror, it’s almost impossible to fully receive the love you say you want.

We walk through a practical self-awareness framework for dating and relationships: identifying your strengths (what energizes you and comes naturally), owning your weaknesses without getting defensive, and naming your desires with tools like journaling and a vision board. From there, we get serious about non-negotiables. These are your deal breakers, the values and boundaries that protect your peace. We also separate needs vs wants so you stop making compromises that quietly drain your self-respect.

Then we address the part most people skip: emotional baggage. We talk about how past wounds turn into triggers, control, fear of abandonment, intimacy issues, and unhealthy comparison and how to unpack it through real processing and self-healing. I share three anchors to keep you steady: patience (healing takes time), responsibility (a partner can’t fix you), and presence (mindfulness keeps you from projecting the past onto the present). We finish by defining what healthy love looks like trust, communication, mutual respect, support, healthy independence, growth, and actual joy and why your environment matters, including cutting off toxic negativity.

If you got something from this, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s tired of repeating the same relationship cycle, and leave a review so more people can find the work.

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You already know life is finite, but most days we live like joy can wait. We’re wired to postpone happiness until some future milestone finally gives us permission to feel good, and that belief quietly steals the only time we actually have: right now. We push past surface-level positivity and get practical about the art of being happy, treating happiness as a trainable skill instead of a lucky mood.

We unpack what happiness really means using clear definitions and memorable quotes, then connect it to measurable outcomes: better physical health, greater longevity, stronger relationships, and even higher productivity at work. There’s also a story from a windowless office that proves a point most self-help books miss: a small moment of shared laughter can crack open a heavy day and change how people relate, collaborate, and cope.

From there, we lay out science-backed strategies drawn from positive psychology and behavioral research: gratitude that actually sticks, savoring good moments without waiting for the other shoe to drop, and self-compassion that replaces constant self-criticism. We talk relationships, kindness, and how to show up when people share good news, plus the biology of happiness through exercise, endorphins, and food choices that support mood. We also explore attention restoration theory and why time in nature can restore focus through “soft fascination,” then close with the deeper layer: meaning and purpose as the backbone of lasting well-being.

If you want practical habits for happiness, mental health, and daily resilience, hit play, subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review with the one change you’re making this week.

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Your day can be over before it starts, and the culprit is usually a glowing rectangle on the nightstand. We talk about why grabbing your phone right after waking flips your brain into a reactive state, pulls you into cognitive tunneling, and drains the attention you need for deep work, creativity, and leadership. Along the way, we break down the hidden “focus tax” of interruptions, the dopamine craving cycle behind notifications, and why multitasking is not a skill so much as a productivity trap. If you’ve been searching for a calmer morning routine, better focus, and real time management that actually holds up in the real world, this one is built for you.

I share a simple shift that changes everything: “no screen 60.” You’ll hear a story of what happens when someone stops letting news alerts and inbox demands set the emotional tone of the morning, and why the first hour has outsized impact on mood and memory. Then we build a practical morning script with three pillars: a few minutes of mindfulness or meditation to steady the nervous system, a short dose of movement to reset stress chemistry, and one “big rock” priority that you finish before email gets a vote.

We also borrow a powerful idea from aviation, the sterile cockpit rule, to show how to protect the most critical part of your day. We connect it to the Pareto principle and the jar of life so you can schedule the work that matters before busywork crowds it out. If you’re ready to stop being the janitor of distractions and start being the architect of your life, press play, then subscribe, share this with a friend who wakes up scrolling, and leave a review with your biggest morning distraction.