How do you make decisions? Is it from a deep place of knowing and intuition? Or is it merely out of fear? 

Making big decisions (or even small ones) can understandably be stressful and anxiety-inducing. But being stuck in fear-based thinking is a prescription for misery - and for living a life doing stuff you don’t actually want to do. 

This week, Henri Stevenson, Executive Coach and Shapes trainer, joins us to discuss how to stop making decisions based on fear and anxiety. We break down how many of us fall into this pattern and then share simple strategies to get our egos out of the way and base our thinking on freedom and love.

If you want to stop making decisions based on fear and live in alignment with what you REALLY want, listen to our full conversation in this episode of You Are Not a Frog.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Discover how to tell the difference between decisions made from intuition versus fear.
2. Learn how to stop making decisions purely through fear of complaints or criticisms.
3. Find out why being self-indulgent is anything ‘but’.

Episode Highlights

[05:41] Henri’s Journey to Finding a Different Operating System

[10:40] What Ego Is

[14:18] Why We Pay More Attention to Fear-Based Thoughts

[19:11] Investing in Your Self-Growth

[25:05] The Bottom Line of Self-Indulgence

[36:52] How to Decide From a Better Mental Place

[38:18] How to Get Over a Fear Hump

[39:44] Techniques to Overcome Fear

[43:33] What to Do When You’re Completely Overwhelmed

[48:33] Practising Self-Compassion

[49:53] Henri’s Top Three Tips

Resources

• Connect with Henri Stevenson: Website | LinkedIn
• Episode 126: Using Nature to Answer Your Big Questions With Henri Stevenson
• My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD
• Download our free ‘Just Say No’ toolkit
• Find out more about how you can come to our 2023 Off Air Off Grid Retreat! 
• Sign up for Henri's one-day Nourish Retreat happening in PAUS. Cambridgeshire on the 29th of June 2023!
• THRIVE Weekly Planner
• Sign up here to receive a link to the episode workbook and CPD form downloads for each podcast. You can use them for reflection and to submit for your appraisal.

Enjoyed This Podcast?

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Connect With Me

Have any questions? Contact Rachel through these platforms:

LinkedIn: @Dr-Rachel-Morris 

Twitter: @DrRachelMorris

Email: [email protected]

Find out more about our training here.

Mentioned in this episode:

Work Well Live

FrogFest Virtual 2025

We need boundaries. In fact, you might have already set some of your own. But ask yourself: how often do you let those boundaries crumble?

It’s not unusual for professionals in high-stakes industries to give in to other people’s demands, even if it means losing the boundaries they set. That’s not healthy — so why do we do it?

In this Quick Dip, we explore the challenges doctors and other professionals face when trying to enforce their boundaries. The problem isn’t in knowing when to say no or what boundaries to put up. We delve into various real-life scenarios and discuss how power language can help reinforce boundaries effectively.

Stay tuned to this episode if you want to know the problem with boundaries and how to overcome it.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Understand the importance of power language.
2. Learn how to embrace consequences and regain control.
3. Discover how the amygdala can undermine your boundaries.

Episode Highlights

[00:28] Boundaries for High-Stress Professionals

[02:42] The Consequences of Boundaries

[03:55] Embracing Consequences and Regaining Control

[05:49] The Amygdala and its Role in Boundary Setting

[08:46] Problems that Crumbling Boundaries Cause

[09:15] Boundaries are Set for Good Reasons

[10:19] Being in Control

[11:28] Know Why You’re Setting the Boundary

[12:27] Power Language

[14:12] Bearing the Consequences

[16:17] Boundaries Have a Reason

Resources

• Just Say No Toolkit
• We Can Do Hard Things Podcast with Glennon Doyle
• THRIVE Weekly Planner

Enjoyed This Podcast?

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Connect With Me

Have any questions? Contact Rachel through these platforms:

LinkedIn: @Dr-Rachel-Morris 

Twitter: @DrRachelMorris

Email: [email protected]

Find out more about our training here.

Mentioned in this episode:

FrogFest Virtual 2025

No one wants to burn out. When you experience burnout, you might find yourself thinking much more slowly and your productivity drops. Many high-stress professionals often feel guilty and ashamed for struggling with burnout. Unfortunately, the demanding and high-stress environment these days makes burnout much more likely to happen again and again. So what can you do to avoid experiencing burnout in the future?

In this episode, Dr Claire Ashley joins us for a conversation about the very real issue of burnout. We talk about what happens in our brains during burnout. She dives into the 12 stages of burnout and how we can use to recognize when we’re starting to burn out. Find out what you can do so that you can go back to work and how you can change things so you’re healthier and less likely to burn out all over again.

If you want to avoid burnout from repeating, listen to our full conversation in this episode of You Are Not a Frog.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Find out how guilt and shame can become weapons that lead you to burn out.
2. Understand the twelve stages of burnout and recognize if you’re experiencing burnout these days.
3. Learn great tips to prevent burnout in the first place and make sure it never happens again.

Episode Highlights

[03:38] Claire’s Experience with Burnout

[05:12] Why Burnout Happens

[09:21] Guilt and Shame as Weapons Against You

[19:58] How Burnout Affects Work

[24:22] Breaking Out of the Burnout Cycle

[27:40] The Twelve Stages of Burnout

[31:29] Burnout Treatment and Prevention

[35:32] Seeking Help

[39:25] The Change You Can Control

[48:44] Top Tips From Claire and Rachel

Resources

• Associations of physician burnout with career engagement and quality of patient care: a systematic review and meta-analysis
• Tara Brach on Real But Not True: Freeing Ourselves from Harmful Beliefs
• You Are Not a Frog Episode 112: Why We’re Ditching the Term ‘Imposter Syndrome’ with Dr Sarah Goulding
• Laura Hyde Foundation
• Connect with Claire: Instagram | Website | Do Yourself No Harm
• Join Claire’s Facebook group, The Burnout Doctor
• Check out the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management Conference for Rachel’s panel discussion on job crafting.
• Register for the free upcoming training, If I Don’t Do It, No One Will: The Ultimate Guide to Loving Your Limits for Leaders Who Do It All on March 27.
• THRIVE Weekly Planner
• Sign up here to receive a link to the episode workbook and CPD form downloads for each podcast. You can use them for reflection and to submit for your appraisal.

Enjoyed This Podcast?

Write a review and share this with your friends.

Connect With Me

Have any questions? Contact Rachel through these platforms:

LinkedIn: @Dr-Rachel-Morris 

Twitter: @DrRachelMorris

Email: [email protected]

Find out more about our training here.

Mentioned in this episode:

Work Well Live

FrogFest Virtual 2025

What criteria do you use when prioritising the tasks on your to-do list? Do you just put them in the order you get them? Maybe you pick the ones that seem the most urgent?

Here’s an alternative: do the ones that are the easiest first. Not everything worth doing needs to be difficult!

In this quick dip episode, we talk about the reality of our limits. In a high-stress job, getting everything done in one day is nearly impossible. And that's okay! What's important is putting your focus where you can be most effective. You may have heard of the urgent-important matrix for prioritising, but we're taking it up a notch using the impact-effort matrix. We will teach you how to define the impact you want to create and acknowledge the reality of the effort needed to make that impact.

Stay tuned to this episode if you want to know how prioritising your life might require completely different criteria from what you thought.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Learn why prioritising your tasks based on impact and effort can help you be more effective. 
2. Discover how to direct your focus towards things that are easier to do.
3. Understand that you have limited time and energy. Don't waste them on things that won't make you happy or don't make much of an impact. 

Episode Highlights

[00:30] Know Your Limits so You Can Focus

[03:41] What to Focus On

[05:30] Define Your Impact

[08:30] The Reality of Effort  

[09:48] The Effort Impact Matrix 

[10:57] #1 High Impact and High Effort Tasks

[12:41] #2 High Impact and Low Effort Tasks

[13:18] #3 & #4 Low Impact and High Effort Tasks 

[14:08] Rethink Your Prioritising

Resources

• Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeown
• Here are a couple of You’re Not a Frog podcast episodes to check out: 
• Episode 106: How to Stop Worrying When There’s a Lot to Worry About with Caroline Walker 
• Episode 129: How to Cope with Trauma on the Frontline with Dr Caroline Walker  
• Episode 153: Think Differently About Your To-Do List
• Episode 156: How to Change Your Life in 12 Minutes Per Week
• THRIVE Weekly Planner

Enjoyed This Podcast?

Write a review and share this with your friends.

Connect With Me

Have any questions? Contact Rachel through these platforms:

LinkedIn: @Dr-Rachel-Morris 

Twitter: @DrRachelMorris

Email: [email protected]

Find out more about our training here.

Mentioned in this episode:

FrogFest Virtual 2025

Professor Chloe Orkin & Dr Nuthana Bhayankaram of the Medical Women's Federation join us in this episode to discuss sexism in medicine. We share first-hand experiences and explore why it remains a glaring issue today. We then discuss some strategies for action and what we can do to improve things.

If you want to know what the glass ceiling, glass cliff, and glass slippers are and how to avoid them, listen to our entire conversation in this You Are Not a Frog episode.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. How does sexism manifest in the medical world?
2. Learn the barriers to progress for medical women. 
3. Discover what we could do on an organisational and individual level to advocate for equality.

Episode Highlights

[04:01] Sexism in Society

[06:48] Medical Women's Federation

[08:18] The Growth of Representation of Women in Medicine

[10:22] Working in a Male-Dominated Hierarchy

[15:33] On Speaking Up

[17:44] Barriers to Progress for Women

[23:06] Why Women Don’t Apply

[25:38] Women’s Household and Professional Roles

[31:10] What We Could Do on an Organisational and Personal Level

[38:02] How to Deal with Blatant Sexism

[44:01] The Work the Medical Women’s Federation Does

[45:11] Chloe and Nuthana’s Top Three Tips

Resources

• Medical Women’s Federation: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
• The Medical Women Podcast
• British HIV Association
• Connect with Professor Chloe Orkin: Email | Twitter
• Connect with Dr Nuthana Bhayankaram: Email | Twitter
• Register for the upcoming MWF Spring Conference 2023: ‘Empowerment: Driving Change and Development in Medicine,’ which will be held virtually on March 17. This conference is open to anyone interested in equity in medicine. There will be a recorded copy, too, for those who want to catch up afterward. Registration fees: Members: £20, Non-Members: £35, and Students: £5.
• THRIVE Weekly Planner
• Register for the free upcoming training, If I Don’t Do It, No One Will: The Ultimate Guide to Loving Your Limits for Leaders Who Do It All, on March 27.
• THRIVE Weekly Planner
• Sign up here to receive a link to the episode workbook and CPD form downloads for each podcast. You can use them for reflection and to submit for your appraisal.

Enjoyed This Podcast?

Write a review and share this with your friends.

Connect With Me

Have any questions? Contact Rachel through these platforms:

LinkedIn: @Dr-Rachel-Morris 

Twitter: @DrRachelMorris

Email: [email protected]

Find out more about our training here.

Mentioned in this episode:

Work Well Live

FrogFest Virtual 2025

When you're dealing with a stressful situation, your first instinct might be to act immediately to solve it. Unfortunately, acting immediately often means you don't think your actions through. Acting rashly can worsen the situation, making it even more stressful. Fortunately, there's a better way to respond to stress. All you have to do is take a few seconds to press the pause button.

In this quick dip episode of You Are Not a Frog, you'll discover the power of pressing pause in the middle of a stressful time. Rachel shares some of her own difficult experiences and how pausing could've helped her react better. She talks about how our brains can respond to stress and what we can do to ground ourselves and go back to rational human thinking. Face stressful situations as the person you want to be when you use the power of pressing pause. 

Discover how pausing can help you deal with stress when you take a moment to pause with us and tune into this quick dip episode.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Discover how much time you need to pause and deal with stress. 
2. Learn how you can ground yourself back into your parasympathetic nervous system.
3. Find out what the four Ps are and how you can use them to make a plan to pause.

Episode Highlights

[00:36] Backed Into the Stress Zone

[05:22] Taking Seconds to Hours to Press Pause

[07:53] Getting Back Into Your Parasympathetic Nervous System

[10:11] Getting Enough Pause Time

[12:09] The Four Ps Plan

Resources

• Dr Jill Bolte Taylor Ted Talk
• Print or save a Pause Button to help you pause when facing stressful situations.
• Use our You Are Not a Frog CPD Reflection Forms to make your pause plan

Enjoyed This Podcast?

Write a review and share this with your friends.

Connect With Me

Have any questions? Contact Rachel through these platforms:

LinkedIn: @Dr-Rachel-Morris 

Twitter: @DrRachelMorris

Email: [email protected]

Find out more about our training here.

Mentioned in this episode:

FrogFest Virtual 2025

For high-stress professionals like us, one of the biggest obstacles to making a change in our lives or pursuing our great ideas is time. You might feel overwhelmed by the change you want to make or afraid of what other people would say. It's your choice not to let these reasons stop you from changing your life.

Robbie Swale changed his life by using 12 minutes of his week. He joins us in this conversation to discuss an amazing realisation he had: you can achieve so much by taking a little bit of your time. He discusses the challenges of nurturing your great ideas and how to overcome those obstacles. Robbie also dives into the four phases of creating something new and the importance of starting.

Don't let your great ideas go to waste. Learn how to change your life in 12 minutes when you tune in to this episode.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Find out the main excuses your mind can come up with and learn how you can overcome them.
2. Discover how small and steady can help you win the race and achieve great things.
3. You have more time than you think — enough time to start changing your life this week!

Episode Highlights

[03:15] Robbie's Journey of Great Ideas

[08:42] Doing the Same Thing, Differently

[12:13] Great Ideas VS Criticism

[17:31] The Power of the Tortoise 

[25:59] Practice Makes Better Relationships

[29:30] Breaking Down Career Change

[33:41] Keep Going

[36:50] Managing Time for High-Stress Professionals

[39:21] Getting Started

[41:51] Executing Your Great Ideas: Just Start

[45:20] Robbie's Top Three Tips to Start Changing Your Life

Resources

• Check out the Shapes Toolkit for training tips to help manage stress and overwhelm.
• 12-Minute Method Series by Robbie Swale
• Book 1: How to Start When You're Stuck
• Book 2: How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up
• Book 3: How to Create the Conditions For Great Work
• Book 4: How to Share What You've Made
• Smart Passive Income Podcast with Pat Flynn
• Seth Godin
• You Are Not a Frog Episode 154: How to Fix Your Broken Meetings
• The Tim Ferriss Show
• Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Magic Lessons Podcast with Elizabeth Gilbert
• The Coach's Journey Podcast with Robbie Swale
• The 12-Minute Method Podcast with Robbie Swale
• Robbie's writing blog 
• Connect with Robbie: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube | Email

Enjoyed This Podcast?

Write a review and share this with your friends.

Connect With Me

Have any questions? Contact Rachel through these platforms:

LinkedIn: @Dr-Rachel-Morris 

Twitter: @DrRachelMorris

Email: [email protected]

Find out more about our training here.

Mentioned in this episode:

Work Well Live

FrogFest Virtual 2025

As healthcare professionals, we know what we need to do for our physical and mental well-being. So why aren’t we doing it?

Often, the first thing we give up when we get busier is something that makes our lives happier. We've normalised giving up our basic needs to make room for productivity. No one bats an eye at it anymore. But is living your one shot at life like this really worth it at the end of the day?

In this quick dip episode, we talk about the one thing you can do right now for your well-being. The biggest barrier to well-being is not knowledge; it’s setting aside time to do it. It will feel uncomfortable, but we don’t have to give up the thing that makes us happy to make room for busyness. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself burned out before you realise what’s happening.

If you want to know how to start prioritising your well-being as you get busier in life, stay tuned to this episode.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Understand how not to fall into the bottom of the vortex of busyness.
2. Learn the five (or eight!) ways to well-being.
3. Start doing the one thing you need for your well-being.

Episode Highlights

[00:33] The Biggest Barrier to Health and Fitness

[02:03] Vortex of Busyness

[04:03] Stress and Burnout

[05:05] Ways to Well-Being

[06:22] The Three Types of Life

[08:19] The ONE Thing You Can Do Right Now for Your Well-Being

Resources

• 5 Steps to Mental Wellbeing
• TED Talk: The new era of positive psychology | Martin Seligman
• THRIVE Weekly Planner
• Join the Permission to Thrive CPD Monthly Membership Programme for Doctors here!
• Reach out to Rachel at [email protected] 
• Sign up to get your CPD workbook for this episode.

Enjoyed This Podcast?

Write a review and share this with your friends.

Connect With Me

Have any questions? Contact Rachel through these platforms:

LinkedIn: @Dr-Rachel-Morris 

Twitter: @DrRachelMorris

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @drrachelmorris

Find out more about our training here.

Mentioned in this episode:

FrogFest Virtual 2025

Whether we like it or not, meetings are essential in running an organisation. But when was the last time you attended a  meeting without feeling bored? Meetings are supposed to help us get work done more effectively. It's an opportunity for us to raise issues and make important decisions. But despite their importance, very few of them are done well. How, then, can we transform our meetings from bad and boring to helpful and interesting?

Dr Carrie Goucher joins us in this episode to discuss the basics of a good meeting. She also explains how to disagree with other people in meetings while maintaining good relationships. Then, we lay down simple and practical actions making meetings shorter, more productive, and better.

If you want to know how to start running engaging and effective meetings, stay tuned to this episode.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Learn how to plan meetings beyond just hygiene factors.
2. Discover how to engage and encourage people to speak their minds during meetings.
3. Find out the best way to run an effective meeting.

Episode Highlights

[04:16] How Carrie Got into Meetings

[06:07] Planning Beyond Hygiene Factors

[09:57] Carrie’s PhD in Meetings

[15:02] How to Encourage People to Speak Up 

[21:42] Addressing Hierarchy

[24:58] Disagreeing without Criticising

[29:13] ‘Yes, but…’

[34:04] How to Run a Meeting

[38:53] The Four Quadrants of a Meeting Documentation

[42:17] How to Run a Meeting with Time Constraints

[45:11] How to Share Information in an Engaging Way

[48:56] Carrie’s Top Three Tips for Running Good Meetings at Work

Resources

• Take an off-grid You’re Not a Frog retreat with us this coming May. Get a special discount when you book before February 10th.  
• Get 25% OFF of FewerFasterBolder’s Meeting Leaders E-Course!
• FewerFasterBolder's Free Resources to download
• For people changing meetings across a whole department or organisation - listeners can express interest for Meeting Pioneers cohort from March 2023 here
• Download FewerFasterBolder’s Invitation Template and Capture Canvas here for FREE!
• THRIVE Weekly Planner
• Connect with Carrie: FewerFasterBolder | LinkedIn

Enjoyed This Podcast?

Write a review and share this with your friends.

Connect With Me

Have any questions? Contact Rachel through these platforms:

LinkedIn: @Dr-Rachel-Morris 

Twitter: @DrRachelMorris

Email: [email protected]

Find out more about our training here.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Work Well Live

FrogFest Virtual 2025

Do you constantly feel guilty about unfinished tasks at the end of the day? Do you keep finding yourself wanting to improve how you manage your time?

Your to-do list is not a fixed and immovable bucket. It’s a river of opportunities that you have a choice and control over. How would you choose what things to fish out of this river wisely?

In this quick dip episode, we discuss shifting our mindset about our to-do list from a bucket to a river. We only have a limited amount of time in the world. Instead of trying to do the impossible of managing our time, we need to start learning how to manage the opportunities we take. We have the power to choose what we take out of that river. So think differently about what you want to pull out, and choose wisely.

If you want to know how to think differently about your to-do list, stay tuned to this episode.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Understand why it’s impossible to manage time.
2. Learn why you should think differently about your bucket list.
3. Start applying the Four F’s Method in your life.

Episode Highlights

[00:29] Four Thousand Weeks

[02:37] Think Differently About Your To-Do List

[03:55] The Problem with Thinking of Your To-Do List as a Bucket

[06:21] Shifting Your Mindset About To-Do Lists

[07:26] How to Choose What to Pick Up Out of the River

[08:06] Four F’s Method

[15:31] Choosing Wisely

Resources

• Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman  
• OLIVER BURKEMAN: 4000 weeks…it’s all we got in this lifetime, folks! From the Wild with Sarah Wilson Podcast   
• Books by Marshall Goldsmith 
• Episode 15: Eff It Living. An evidence-based way to beat stress and change your life with John C. Parkin
• Episode 130: How to Say F**k It and Become Ridiculously Relaxed (Even about Stuff That REALLY Matters) with John C. Parkin
• THRIVE Weekly Planner
• Join the Permission to Thrive CPD Monthly Membership Programme for Doctors here!
• Reach out to Rachel at [email protected] 
• Sign up to get your CPD workbook for this episode.

Enjoyed This Podcast?

Write a review and share this with your friends.

Connect With Me

Have any questions? Contact Rachel through these platforms:

LinkedIn: @Dr-Rachel-Morris 

Twitter: @DrRachelMorris

Email: [email protected]

Find out more about our training here.

Mentioned in this episode:

FrogFest Virtual 2025