#129: In the book “Brain Energy,” Dr. Chris Palmer explores the link between metabolism — which includes diet, exercise, environment, lifestyle, and other factors — and mental illness. There is a broad overlap between metabolic disorders and mental illness. In this episode, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Rashad Badr discuss Dr. Palmer’s work, and compare metabolic approaches and cognitive behavioral approaches in treating mental illness.

#128: When people face psychological challenges, they need to fully feel the difficult emotion in order to rise above it. Similarly, important bonds are greatly strengthened by fully feeling positive emotions — in order to second and intensify them. All people can benefit from the practice of mindfulness of the heart, a form of mindfulness that can be practiced all day long.

Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.

#127: Reframing lies at the heart of OptimalWork’s approach. In this episode, Dr Kevin Majeres and Sharif survey some precursors to reframing in the literature and practice of psychology and cognitive behavioral therapy, and what distinguishes reframing from these other approaches.

Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.

#126: You may think that anxiety is an inherent trait, something that cannot be changed, only managed. In fact, it’s a state of training — of a small region of your brain called the amygdala. In this rebroadcast, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss the definite steps you can take, not just to overcome it, but actually to transform it into your best performance.

Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.

#125: In this rebroadcast, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss the importance of rising early to meet the challenges of the day head-on. They present an email from someone who uses OptimalWork asking for advice: whether she should adjust her schedule to be much earlier to accommodate a morning workout. They apply OptimalWork’s approach to this question and examine the results it yielded.

Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.

#124: The New Year provides a unique opportunity for a fresh start. To make the most of this opportunity, approach your resolutions with hope and creativity: hope so that you strive for the highest things (ideals, bonds) and creativity so that you can strategize how to achieve them. In this rebroadcast, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif Younes discuss a broad array of questions related to New Year’s resolutions.

Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.

#123: In this rebroadcast, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss the nature of service. Working with a spirit of service means shaping yourself so that you’re the kind of person who is ready to give cheerfully to all those around you. Although this requires that the work you’re doing be helpful, the essence lies more in the way you do it: with a willingness to form and prioritize bonds with those closest to you.

#122: The classic example of a courageous person is one who can approach the possibility of death in battle. But this case has little to do with work in the modern world. Is courage, then, irrelevant? In this episode, we discuss what courage means in a modern work context and why it is not just relevant, but essential for thriving.

#121: As you start to develop a new habit, you may meet internal resistance. Far from being a sign that you’re failing to build a virtuous cycle, facing internal resistance is actually a sign that you’re on the verge of real progress. Resistance is necessary in order to build true and lasting momentum and connect your new habits to deeper and more meaningful motives.

Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.

#120: Whenever we do something repeatedly, we’ll tend eventually to do it in a rote, automatic way. This even applies to OptimalWork’s core practices: reframing, mindfulness, and challenge. In this episode we show how curiosity can help you overcome this tendency and bring a sense of newness to every challenge you face.

Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com.