On the (roughly) 300th episode of Being Well, Forrest and Dr. Rick share what they’ve learned from the many experts in psychology, personal growth, and mental health they’ve talked to on the show. They explore the importance of individual context, the gap between insight and action, self-honesty and acceptance as the catalyst for change, incremental change vs. sudden breakthroughs, and the role of distress tolerance.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction and two big themes

2:25: Applying generalized information to your individual context

7:50: The importance of insight and where it falls short

9:20: White light moments and the importance of action

13:25: Wants and needs

25:40: Slow and steady effort

29:35: Going to zero and the scaffolding that leads to sustained change

36:15: Distress tolerance, valuing acceptance, and what you know to be true

41:25: The three mechanisms of change

44:25: Reducing inner friction through mental training, and cultivating trust

47:50: How do you want to use your time?

49:10: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

New Program From Rick! If you want to break old patterns and step out of the familiar scripts that hold you back, Rick's Change Your Mind online course is for you. It's a 6-week program starting March 18 designed to help you step out of old assumptions and attitudes and into new, helpful thoughts about yourself and others. Visit RickHanson.net/ChangeYourMind to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.

Sponsors: 

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices