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If the shower is the only place you ever have a good idea, you do not have a creativity problem. You have a doing trap problem. And you are not the only one.

In this episode, I break down the brain science behind why your creative network goes quiet when you live in constant execution mode and what it actually takes to wake it back up. We talk about the default mode network, why your best ideas show up when you finally stop pushing, and a Stanford study that explains why walking can unlock creative thinking in a way your desk never will.

If you have been feeling stuck, scattered, or strangely blank when you try to think deeply, this episode gives you the neuroscience and the practical steps to start accessing your best ideas again.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

Timestamps:

(00:00) - The shower as executive boardroom: where Alli's best ideas were born

(02:08) - Living in constant motion and the locked-office-building brain

(03:41) - Accidentally creating conditions for good thinking in the margins of your day

(04:41) - What the "doing trap" is and how it shuts down your creative network

(05:43) - The attic analogy: where creativity lives in your brain

(06:53) - The default mode network explained (the most important thing your brain does)

(08:08) - Cognitive inhibition: why your brain closes the creative door

(09:00) - The Stanford walking study that changed everything

(11:06) - Why scrolling and podcasts aren't actually rest

(12:35) - How Alli engineered every quiet moment out of her day (and didn't even notice)

(13:31) - The darkroom analogy: and the word "Selah" that's been there all along

(14:38) - The two moves: walks without your phone and a pre-work pause

(18:14) - This week's recommendation: go get a DEXA scan

Links to great things we discussed: 

I hope you loved this episode! 🎉 Don't forget to hit that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so you’re always in the loop. And hey, while you're at it, why not pop over to our YouTube channel and check us out? If you're feeling the love, leave a review and sprinkle some stars. Your support truly means the world to me! Take care, and keep shining bright! 

xo,

Alli

Join the  Uplift Community App TODAY! 

Have you ever quietly wondered if the way you hear from God or connect with him is somehow wrong? Maybe it feels too loud, too unconventional, or too far outside the quiet time Bible journal template you think real Christians are supposed to follow. Hosanna Wong surveyed more than 1,000 people around the world and asked them two simple questions about their relationship with God. What she discovered will genuinely surprise you, and it might finally give you permission to stop chasing a spiritual standard that God never asked you to meet.

Hosanna is a bestselling author, international speaker, and spoken word artist. Her newest book, Uncomplicated, is one of the most freeing and clarifying books on faith I have read in years. She is back on the show because so many of you asked for her, and I will be honest, I took notes. There is a story about a woman in Florida and a bird that I will never forget. You will know it when you get there.

What You Will Learn in This Episode

Timestamps:

(00:25) – What Hosanna's 1,000+ interviews were really trying to discover

(01:21) – The two questions she asked every single person

(01:30) – The 6 roadblocks almost all of us share (and why that's actually comforting)

(03:27) – Why expectations may be the umbrella over every other roadblock

(04:53) – The lie the enemy uses against the people who want to please God most

(05:49) – Why so many women said "I know this is weird" about the way they connect with God

(09:12) – The second question: what unique way have you found to encounter God?

(09:30) – Introducing the 7 worship personalities: the "praise-onalities"

(10:54) – Praise-onality #1: The Recreationalist

(11:08) – Praise-onality #2: The Beholder of Beauty

(11:16) – Praise-onality #3: The Soul Fire

(12:18) – Praise-onality #4: The Sacred Space Seeker

(13:09) – Praise-onality #5: The Interior Expert

(13:38) – Praise-onality #6: The Thoughtsmith

(14:07) – Praise-onality #7: The Artist of People

(26:23) – The bird story. You need to hear the bird story.

(31:26) – Why God made us all so wonderfully and uniquely, and what that means for how he pursues us

(38:41) – The product Hosanna texted all her friends about

(40:43) – Where to find Hosanna and why you need Uncomplicated

About Hosanna Wong

Hosanna Wong is an international speaker, bestselling author, and spoken-word artist helping everyday people experience God for real. Widely known for her spoken word piece, “I Have a New Name,” Hosanna shares in churches, conferences, prisons, and other events around the world, reaching across various denominations, backgrounds, and cultures.

Born and raised in an urban ministry on the streets of San Francisco, Hosanna later packed her life into suitcases and traveled to churches and other ministries throughout the United States to share about Jesus through spoken-word poetry. During those years without a permanent home, she began speaking and creating resources to serve the local and global church.

Hosanna currently travels and speaks year-round and serves on teaching teams at churches throughout the United States. She and her husband, Guy, serve together in various ministries equipping people to experience and share God’s love in their real lives.

Hosanna is the bestselling author of How (Not) to Save the World, You Are More Than You’ve Been Told, and What God Says About You.

Links to great things we discussed: 

If your home could use a little more beauty and a gentle reminder of God's steady love, this tea towel is such a lovely place to start. The O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go hymn tea towel from Little Things Studio brings truth and comfort right into the heart of your kitchen. It feels like a quiet breath of peace in the middle of the everyday. Little Things Studio has a way of turning beloved hymns into art you actually use, and this one is especially meaningful.

I’m grateful to co-own Little Things Studio, a joyful, woman‑owned small business in Nashville, TN. Every piece is designed with intention and crafted with care. We hope you feel the heart behind it. Whether you visit our shop or browse from home, you’ll find American-made goods created with love to bring beauty into daily life. Come visit us or shop online today to bring a piece of joy home!

I hope you loved this episode! 🎉 Don't forget to hit that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so you’re always in the loop. And hey, while you're at it, why not pop over to our YouTube channel and check us out? If you're feeling the love, leave a review and sprinkle some stars. Your support truly means the world to me! Take care, and keep shining bright! 

xo,

Alli

Join the  Uplift Community App TODAY! 

You know those symptoms you keep brushing off? The reflux you treat with Tums. The neck tension you blame on sleeping wrong. The brain fog you chalk up to a busy season. What if none of it is what you think it is?

In this episode, Alli shares the story of 2017, when her body started sounding alarms she refused to hear, and what shifted when she finally paid attention. She walks through ten low-grade symptoms high-achieving women normalize, explains the science behind why stress shows up physically, and gives you practical tools to start asking better questions about what your body is trying to say.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Timestamps:

(0:11) - The season Alli's body was screaming, and she wasn't listening

(2:50) - What happened when she finally made the decision her body had been asking for

(3:19) - Why disciplined women are the most likely to ignore their symptoms

(3:57) - Common vs. normal: the distinction that reframes everything

(4:52) - Introduction to the 10 symptoms we dismiss

(5:21) - The "I'm just busy" symptoms: sleep disruption, brain fog, getting sick constantly

(6:21) - The "I'm just getting older" symptoms: neck tension, hair loss, cycle changes

(7:59) - The "I just have a sensitive system" symptoms: gut issues, headaches, jaw tension, heart palpitations

(10:15) - The biology behind why stress shows up in the body

(12:13) - What to do with all of this: practical next steps

(12:50) - How to do a body audit

(14:44) - When to see a doctor vs. when to sit with what you already know

(14:58) - The one question to sit with this week

(15:57) - Recommendation of the week: treadmill laptop stand

Links to great things we discussed: 

I hope you loved this episode! 🎉 Don't forget to hit that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so you’re always in the loop. And hey, while you're at it, why not pop over to our YouTube channel and check us out? If you're feeling the love, leave a review and sprinkle some stars. Your support truly means the world to me! Take care, and keep shining bright! 

xo,

Alli

Join the  Uplift Community App TODAY! 

Somewhere between the vision you have for your life and your actual Monday, things get complicated. You push harder, make a new plan, or quietly wonder if something is off. But what if the issue is not effort at all? What if the framework you need has been inside you the whole time?

That is exactly what Dr. Henry Cloud unpacks in this episode, and it will reshape the way you think about goals, leadership, and why brilliant, capable people with great intentions still get stuck.

Dr. Cloud is a clinical psychologist, a New York Times bestselling author of more than 45 books, including Boundaries, and one of the most trusted voices in leadership and human performance. For three decades, he has been in the room with Fortune 500 CEOs, elite athletes, and top performers, helping them understand why progress stalls and how to regain momentum.

His newest book builds a performance framework straight from the architecture of the human body. It turns out God designed the most sophisticated achievement system ever created, and it is already in you.

What You Will Learn in This Episode

Timestamps:

(3:18) - Dr. Cloud explains what he means when he says the human body knows best

(4:12) - The factor analysis of all leadership and performance research (it collapses into 5 categories)

(4:42) - The faith question: Did God design laws of performance the way there are laws of physics?

(5:13) - "He did start a business. And he called it a body."

(5:52) - Ephesians 4 and the guiding metaphor for the whole framework

(7:07) - The five components, introduced

(8:00) - Component 1: Vision (what only the human prefrontal cortex can do)

(8:56) - Component 2: Engaging the talent your vision actually needs

(09:35) - Component 3: Strategy and plan (and why doing a lot of stuff without a plan fails)

(12:30) - Component 4: Measurement and accountability

(13:01) - Component 5: Fix it quickly (why patterns become identity)

(15:05) - Why no one builds something significant alone

(16:30) - The neuroscience of the "observing ego" and why getting above your work matters

(19:48) - AI, blind spots, and why a machine can't tell you what you can't see in yourself

(20:35) - Why everyone has a business plan, and no one is executing

(25:04) - What adjusting the right way actually looks like (it's not pushing harder or quitting)

(28:06) - The 80/20 rule applied to your activities: only 20% of what you're doing actually moves the needle

(29:31) - Ask "why didn't we do it?" before "do more of it."

WATCH ALLI  ON YOUTUBE

Links to great things we discussed: 

xo,

Alli

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You walk into a room and forget why you went there. You start a sentence and lose the word halfway through. And somewhere in the back of your mind, there is that quiet fear: Is something wrong with me?

Here is what I want you to hear. You are not losing your mind. You are losing your bandwidth. Your brain is carrying more than it was designed to hold, and the forgetfulness you are noticing is not declining. It is overloaded.

In this episode, I break down what is really happening in your brain, why memory loss and brain fog show up during stressful seasons, and how to reclaim your mental clarity again.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

Timestamps:

(0:00) – Introduction: You're not losing your mind, you're losing your bandwidth

(4:15) – Your brain's "post-it note" is full: the short-term memory limit explained

(5:33) – How stress hormones physically disrupt memory formation

(6:38) – The invisible mental load and decision fatigue that burns through your brain before noon

(8:27) – The hormone piece nobody is talking about: estrogen, perimenopause, and brain fog

(9:50) – Why this isn't a willpower problem, it's biology

(10:58) – The overview: what's actually driving your forgetfulness

(12:18) – A faith reframe: you were never designed to be the family search engine

(13:52) – Sabbath as a neurological reset, not just spiritual advice

(14:52) – Practical tip #1: Stop making your brain hold what paper can hold

(16:46) – Practical tip #2: Eliminate one area of daily decisions

(18:15) – Practical tip #3: Give your brain actual silence

(20:06) – Alli's recommendation: six prunes a day for bone density (the Penn State research)

(22:16) – Closing encouragement: the fog is feedback, not failure

WATCH ALLI  ON YOUTUBE

Links to great things we discussed: 

I hope you loved this episode! 🎉 Don't forget to hit that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so you’re always in the loop. And hey, while you're at it, why not pop over to our YouTube channel and check us out? If you're feeling the love, leave a review and sprinkle some stars—your support truly means the world to me! Take care, and keep shining bright! 

xo,

Alli

Join the  Uplift Community App TODAY! 

Dr. Glen Jeffery, a leading light researcher at University College London, is uncovering what our modern light environment is doing to our metabolism, aging, blood sugar, and even our vision. His findings are the kind that make you want to walk through your house and rethink every bulb. The science is new, the implications are big, and the solution is far simpler than you would expect.

This conversation is practical, eye-opening, and honestly a little shocking. If you use red light therapy, LED bulbs, or spend most of your day indoors, this is the episode you need.

Timestamps

(0:00) – Introduction: why light is either helping or harming us every day

(2:12) – What's missing from LED light that your body actually needs (The "Red Gap")

(4:23) – How LEDs disrupt metabolism, blood sugar, and accelerate aging

(7:13) – Why this story is so fresh and who's most vulnerable 

(9:23) – Do windows protect you? The surprising answer about infrared-blocking film

(10:56) – Why going outside beats sitting by a window every single time

(12:17) – How to use a red light panel correctly (avoiding the "overdose" effect)

(17:22) – Alli's red light routine: identifying if she is over-exposing herself

(20:43) – Red light masks, open eyes, and what Dr. Jeffery is actually worried about

(24:27) – The red light and collagen myth debunked: Why it's about energy, not just aesthetics

(25:29) – Why red light therapy works best before disease takes hold

(28:12) – Blue light from devices: less scary than we thought, but still worth managing

(31:48) – The halogen bulb swap: practical, affordable, and backed by real experiments

WATCH ALLI  ON YOUTUBE

Links to great things we discussed: 

Take good care of yourself, and keep showing up with joy. Share this episode with a friend who might enjoy it too!

xo,

Alli

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Have you ever had those days where you’re not mad at anyone… you’re just tired? I know that feeling deeply. Tired of being the one who remembers, initiates, adjusts, follows up, explains, and makes everything easier for everyone else. Nothing is technically “wrong,” but the math never quite works out. You’re carrying the emotional calendar, the relational glue, and the spiritual bandwidth for two.

In this episode, I’m diving into what’s really happening underneath that exhaustion in one‑sided relationships—and why your nervous system keeps pushing you to do more instead of asking for support. That tiredness isn't a weakness. It’s data. And it’s pointing you toward a healthier, holier way of relating. I’ll walk you through how to recognize over‑functioning, why “being the bigger person” has kept so many of us small, and how to start shifting the equation without burning the whole thing down.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

Timestamps:

(1:00) - The math of one-sided relationships

(2:32) - The invisible ledger is what a one-sided relationship runs on.

(4:12)- Anxiety Pretends to Be Generosity.

(7:43) - Imbalanced Equation: Your exhaustion isn't a weakness. It's data.

(09:34) - Over-functioning: When we try to play the Holy Spirit in someone else's story

(13:10) - Three Steps to Shift the Equation  

Links to great things we discussed: 

xo,

Alli

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This episode feels different, in the best way. It’s not an interview or a teaching moment. It’s a real‑time look at what God has been doing in my life over the past year, and I’m inviting you right into the middle of it. Not the polished ending. Not the tidy version. The in‑process version.

Because this isn’t just my story. It’s the story of Uplift, the app God asked me to build, and the way He has led me step by step, often in ways I never could have planned. When I look back at the past twelve months, it’s one of those “only God could have written this” seasons.

And I knew you needed to hear it now, not later. So today, my friend Lindsay is joining me, and together we’re sharing the story as it’s unfolding, honest, unscripted, 

Timestamps:

(01:20) - The Way Lindsay and I First Met

(05:04) - The God Story of How He Brought Us Back Together

(11:43) - Lindsay’s Journey and the Email That Changed Everything

(20:00) - Rebuilding Uplift: What God Asked Us to Do Next

(23:35) - The Bigger Vision: Where Uplift Is Headed Now

WATCH ALLI  ON YOUTUBE

Links to great things we discussed: 

I hope you loved this episode! 🎉If you haven’t already, make sure you tap that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you never miss an episode. And yes, we’re on YouTube now too! If the show has been a bright spot for you, leaving a review or a few stars is such a gift. It truly means the world to me.

Take good care of yourself, and keep showing up with joy. Share this episode with a friend who might enjoy it too!

Alli

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If you’ve been doing all the right things showing up, staying responsible, keeping life moving and still feel behind, you’re not alone. That “I should be further along” feeling isn’t a failure signal. It’s a growth signal.

You’re not behind on a checklist. You’re outgrowing a season.

That tension you feel is what happens when the life you’ve built no longer matches who you’re becoming. When you’re ready for more, the familiar starts to feel too small. And pushing harder won’t fix it moving differently will.

Today, we’re breaking down why this feeling shows up, what it’s trying to tell you, and how to step into your next chapter with clarity instead of pressure. You’re not late. You’re right on time for what’s next.

Timestamps:

(02:18) - The 3 Real Reasons You Can’t Shake That “Behind” Feeling

(02:55) - Identity Lag: When Your Life Hasn’t Caught Up to Your Growth

(04:00) - Completion Bias: Why Finished Feels Better Than Progress

(05:20) - Negativity Weighting: Why Your Brain Fixates on What’s Missing

(11:19) - Practical Steps to Finally Stop Feeling Behind

WATCH ALLI  ON YOUTUBE

Links to great things we discussed: 

I hope you loved this episode! 🎉 Don't forget to hit that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so you’re always in the loop. And hey, while you're at it, why not pop over to our YouTube channel and check us out? If you're feeling the love, leave a review and sprinkle some stars—your support truly means the world to me! Take care, and keep shining bright! 

xo,

Alli

Get Your Mother’s Journal TODAY - LittleThingsStudio.com

My guest today is a longtime friend of the show, and every time he joins us, you love him. It’s the brilliant and hilarious Jon Acuff, New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and truly one of the funniest humans walking the earth.

Today, we’re digging into what procrastination really looks like. Not the obvious kind where you’re scrolling instead of working, but the sneaky version that hides inside your productivity. The kind that shows up even when your calendar is full, and you’re checking all the boxes.

Jon breaks down why the thing you keep almost starting is costing you more than you think and how to finally stop circling it and actually move forward. I’m sharing what this looks like in my own life, too, because wow… it hits close to home.

If you’ve ever thought, “Why can’t I just start the thing?” This episode is your new favorite. It’s packed with clarity, encouragement, and practical tools to help you communicate with yourself (and others) in a healthier way. You may want to listen twice.

Timestamps:

(10:44) - When Planning Turns Into Procrastination (And How to Spot It)

(12:54) - The Simple Framework That Helps You Actually Finish Things

(17:09) - The Hustler’s Trap and Jon’s Surprisingly Smart Way to Use AI

(22:23) - Auditioning Your Ideas: When to Keep Going and When to Let Go

(27:41) -  Burned Out or Just Bored? How to Tell the Difference

Links to great things we discussed: 

xo,

Alli