The Motivation Mindset with Risa Williams

In this special episode, Risa Williams is joined by Erica Curtis and Darrin Kagele to talk about ways to make the upcoming season feel Festive, Not Frantic! So often, the stretch between October and December can feel stressful and chaotic to experience, when most of us are trying to find the fun of being with family and loved ones instead. So, what can we do to navigate it in an easier way?

They discuss:

-Simple ways to pause, reset, and reflect upon what it is you want during this time period

-Practicing cognitive flexibility during the holidays to become more clear about what you and your family actually needs

-Learning to practice saying no to things you don't have the capacity for this season

-An easy way to use mantras as a way to remind yourself of what's important

Host: Risa Williams, risawilliams.com, @risawilliamstherapy

Guests: Erica Curtis, therapywitherica.com, Darrin Kagele, darrinkagele.com

***Upcoming Fall Events:

10/23 Risa will be returning to The Huddle at Google Visitor Experience in Mountain View to do a "Find Your Creative Spark Workshop" with Mike Sonksen 

It's a free family workshop - reserve your spot here: https://rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/find-your-creative-spark-a-family-workshop-with-risa-wiliams-and-mike-sonksen ***

Support the show

For info on books, workshops, guests, and future episodes, please visit: risawilliams.com.

*All tools discussed on the show are meant for educational purposes only and not as a replacement for therapy or medical advice.

How do perfectionism tendencies tend to affect our close relationships? How does our own critical self-talk sometimes accidentally spill out onto other people around us? Risa Williams talks to Stephanie Van Schaick about how we can start to notice where we're getting stuck in perfectionistic tendencies in our relationships and how we can develop more cognitive flexibility instead.

They discuss:

-How our perfectionistic "concepts" of what relationships "should be like" sometimes holds us back from seeing the good that's there

-How our own internal self-talk can unintentionally spill out onto others

-A few simple questions you can ask yourself when you're getting stuck in 
"perfectionistic thinking"

***Upcoming Fall Events:

9/14 Risa is speaking at The Whole Wellness Mamas Summit, get a free ticket!

9/20 Risa and Erica will be at the Orange County Children's Book Festival and will be doing a live reading of Max and the Imaginary Tree at 12:45 PM! Free stuff for kids!

10/13 Risa is speaking at the Rockstar Mom Summit on Sneaky Procrastinations

10/23 Risa will be returning to The Huddle at Google Visitor Experience in Mountain View to do a "Find Your Creative Spark Workshop" with Mike Sonksen 

Get free tickets to all events here: https://bio.site/risawilliams or at risawilliams.com ***

Host: Risa Williams, risawilliams.com, @risawilliamstherapy

Guest: Stephanie Van Schaick, stateofbalancementalhealthcounseling.com, @stateofbalanceforlife

Support the show

For info on books, workshops, guests, and future episodes, please visit: risawilliams.com.

*All tools discussed on the show are meant for educational purposes only and not as a replacement for therapy or medical advice.

What’s a sustainable pace that you can maintain for any given project? Risa Williams and guest co-host, Stevon Lewis, talk about finding your own unique pace and accepting your own way of making progress on things. How can we figure out what pace and style works best for us? And how can we better support ourselves during all the phases of progress we go through?

They discuss:

• Factoring in the “unpleasant” parts of any task ahead 
• Learning your own style and how you operate so you can work in a way that works best for your brain and body 
• Finding a sustainable pace you can maintain over time 
• How to accept your own unique way of making progress
• How thinking about predictable problems ahead can help you feel more optimistic and aligned with your goals

***Upcoming Fall Events:

9/14 Risa is speaking at The Whole Wellness Mamas Summit, get a free ticket!

9/20 Risa and Erica will be at the Orange County Children's Book Festival and will be doing a live reading of Max and the Imaginary Tree at 12:45 PM! Free stuff for kids!

10/13 Risa is speaking at the Rockstar Mom Summit on Sneaky Procrastinations

10/23 Risa will be returning to The Huddle at Google Visitor Experience in Mountain View to do a "Find Your Creative Spark Workshop" with Mike Sonksen 

Get free tickets to all events here: https://bio.site/risawilliams or at risawilliams.com ***

Host: Risa Williams, risawilliams.com

Guest Co-Host: Stevon Lewis, stevonlewis.com

Support the show

For info on books, workshops, guests, and future episodes, please visit: risawilliams.com.

*All tools discussed on the show are meant for educational purposes only and not as a replacement for therapy or medical advice.

When you make an everyday mistake, do you tend to beat yourself up unnecessarily and for too long afterwards? Do you tend to view yourself overly harshly if you don't do something "perfectly" or "the right way"? Risa Williams talks to therapist Stephanie Van Schaick about "making mistakes" and some simple mindset shifts to ease us out of harsh perfectionistic thinking when we're feeling stuck.

They discuss:

-How being "perfect" can sometimes get mixed into our identity which causes us to overreact when everyday mistakes happen

-Learning to use the "five year rule" when viewing what's happened

-Collecting data instead of assumptions

-Strengthening our sense of humor to pull us out of overly harsh self-talk

Host: Risa Williams, risawilliams.com, @risawilliamstherapy

Guest: Stephanie Van Schaick, stateofbalancementalhealthcounseling.com, @stateofbalanceforlife

Support the show

For info on books, workshops, guests, and future episodes, please visit: risawilliams.com.

*All tools discussed on the show are meant for educational purposes only and not as a replacement for therapy or medical advice.

How can people use dating apps in a more mindful and intentional way? Risa Williams talks with DBT expert Dr. Marcus Rodriguez about how Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and mindfulness skills can help you approach dating apps with greater self-awareness, confidence, and intention. Instead of getting swept up in the emotional highs and lows of swiping, learn how to stay connected to how you want to feel and what you're actually looking for in romantic relationships.

In this episode, they discuss:

- Why dating apps aren't always designed to lead people to long term relationships

- How your emotional state can shape your experience while using dating apps

-Using mindfulness to notice your thoughts, emotions, and physical reactions as you swipe and interact with matches

-How the DBT skill of Opposite Action can help you act in alignment with your dating intentions

-Why curiosity, asking thoughtful questions, and looking for what's genuinely likable in another person can help you build stronger connections 

Whether you're new to online dating or feeling burned out by it, this conversation offers practical tools for dating with intention.

Host: Risa Williams, risawilliams.com, @risawilliamstherapy

Guest: Dr. Marcus Rodriguez, youthandfamilyinstitute.com, @drmarcusrodriguez

Support the show

For info on books, workshops, guests, and future episodes, please visit: risawilliams.com.

*All tools discussed on the show are meant for educational purposes only and not as a replacement for therapy or medical advice.

We often want to do big and impressive things - but do we ever stop to think about what the cost will be of actually accomplishing those things? Or even all the things we may have to give up or overcome in order to attain them? Risa Williams talks to frequent guest co-host, Stevon Lewis, about the idea of "the cost of good" and how we sometimes form unrealistic expectations about achieving our goals that make us feel frustrated in reality as we work towards them...

They discuss:

-How thinking in "extremes" can set us up for perfectionist tendencies and unattainable expectations

-How adopting a more "balanced" scaled approach can set you up to face future obstacles and frustrations in an easier way

-Why acknowledging what you're getting into before you commit can help you navigate the path ahead with more clarity

-Why we don't have to wait to do big things to feel good feelings

Host: Risa Williams, risawilliams.com, @risawilliamstherapy

Guest: Stevon Lewis, stevonlewis.com, @stevonlewismft

Support the show

For info on books, workshops, guests, and future episodes, please visit: risawilliams.com.

*All tools discussed on the show are meant for educational purposes only and not as a replacement for therapy or medical advice.

Do you find yourself rushing through self-care activities only to feel just as stressed afterward? Why do so many of us struggle to slow down and truly reconnect with ourselves? In this episode, Risa Williams talks with Dr. Lea Didion about simple, everyday self-care practices that can help us become more mindful, present, and intentional throughout the week. 

Together, they explore:

- Practical ways to create moments of calm, reflection, and renewal in our daily lives

-How "slow self-care" can often feel rebellious and counterintuitive in a "hustle culture" society

-Using skin care as a way to slow down and check in with yourself

-Learning to "experiment" with ways to connect with your yourself in "mini-self-care" breaks throughout the day

Tune in for gentle strategies that can help you slow down, reduce stress, and feel more soothed and balanced!

**Big News: Risa and Erica's book, Max & The Imaginary Tree, just received the Finalist Award in the International Book Awards! You can check it out at: risawilliams.com**

Host: Risa Williams, risawilliams.com, @risawilliamstherapy

Guest: Dr. Lea Didian, leadidionpsyd.com, @skintherapy.selfcare

Support the show

For info on books, workshops, guests, and future episodes, please visit: risawilliams.com.

*All tools discussed on the show are meant for educational purposes only and not as a replacement for therapy or medical advice.

Are summer plans throwing you into a frenzy of rushing around to too many things and places? Summer often gets us fired up to do a lot; however, sometimes in all the planning, we're not taking our real energy and capacity into consideration at all. Risa Williams talks to fellow therapists, Darrin Kagele and Erica Curtis, about ways we can get more mindful about slowing down for the summer so we can enjoy being in the moment a little more.

They discuss:

-Tiny ways to get back into the moment so we can notice what's happening around us in the summer

-Taking "micro-rests" or as Darrin calls it, "resting between the rain drops" throughout everyday life

-Asking yourself: "What am I NOT doing this summer?"

-Updating our ideas of what summer "should be" to what summer looks like now for us and our families in this moment

-Finding "pockets of space" in our busy calendars to let things happen spontaneously and let us feel the feelings we want to feel!

Host: Risa Williams, risawilliams.com, @risawilliamstherapy

Guests: Erica Curtis, therapywitherica.com, Darrin Kagele, darrinkagele.com

Support the show

For info on books, workshops, guests, and future episodes, please visit: risawilliams.com.

*All tools discussed on the show are meant for educational purposes only and not as a replacement for therapy or medical advice.

Do you often feel like you're holding up a bunch of spinning plates in the air and if you step back for a second, they will all crash down? Do you feel like you need to hold a million bits of information in your head to the point of weekly exhaustion and burnout? Risa Williams talks to author, Lori Oberbroeckling, about the "invisible mental load" that parents carry and how it can often lead us into overwhelm, exhaustion and burnout.

They discuss:

-How parents (moms especially) are sometimes tasked with carrying around all the information for the week for the whole family as well as all the steps of daily tasks for everyone to complete

-How the "invisible load" increases our exhaustion and often leads to frustration, conflict, and stress

-How to start to delegate tasks to relieve some of the "mental load" and different approaches for doing this

-Risa and Lori share their own "micro-break" tools where you bring down the stress by doing fun activities for five minutes at a time

-How to schedule breaks and space to unwind into your week as priorities for your own wellbeing and self-care

**Risa will be speaking at Lori's Supermom Summit on June 1st as well as at Katie Kimball's Life Skills Now Camp in June and you can sign up for both at the links here:  https://bio.site/risawilliams or at risawilliams.com/writingmedia. Sign up today - it's free!**

Host: Risa Williams, risawilliams.com, @risawilliamstherapy

Guest: Lori Oberbroeckling, secretsofsupermom.com, @secretsofsupermom

Support the show

For info on books, workshops, guests, and future episodes, please visit: risawilliams.com.

*All tools discussed on the show are meant for educational purposes only and not as a replacement for therapy or medical advice.

How can we teach kids and teens everyday life skills in ways that actually stick? In this episode, Risa Williams talks with life skills expert Katie Kimball about a simple three-step approach to help kids and teens build confidence, responsibility, and independence through completing everyday tasks and projects at home.

They discuss:

-Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation tools

-Collaborating as a team on a system and framework for everyday tasks and chores

-Setting up expectations, rewards, and weekly check-ins

-Using gentle questions and compassion as a way to gently guide our loved ones to figure out the next step forward with tasks

-Taking a long-term learning approach by creating consistent weekly habits over many years

-How learning and practicing life skills can reduce our kids' and teens' anxiety

**Sign up now for Katie's Life Skills Now Summer Camp and hear Risa's presentation on Time Tools for Teens as well as 70 other life skills videos by experts on various subjects for both younger kids and teens! It's free and you can access it here: https://raisinghealthyfamilies.com/motivationmindset or at risawilliams.com**

Host: Risa Williams, risawilliams.com, @risawilliamstherapy

Guest: Katie Kimball, raisinghealthyfamilies.com, @raisinghealthyfamilies

Support the show

For info on books, workshops, guests, and future episodes, please visit: risawilliams.com.

*All tools discussed on the show are meant for educational purposes only and not as a replacement for therapy or medical advice.