Eric Zimmer, a behavioral coach and recovered addict who now hosts an award-winning podcast, blends spirituality with behavior science. He discusses pairing inner work with outer habits. He frames change as a puzzle, emphasizes self-kindness alongside accountability, offers practical structure-first strategies, and explores the middle way and meaning-making for sustainable growth.
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insights INSIGHT
Decentering Ego Frees Creativity
Creativity often increases when the ego decentrates and self-focused evaluation decreases.
Eric finds improvisation and his best creative work happen when there's a sense of 'me not being there' and less concern about measuring up.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Relieved Of The Bondage Of Self Story
Eric describes 'relieved of the bondage of self' as reducing self-centered perspective to ease suffering.
He compared making molehills into mountains by lying next to them to illustrate how myopia magnifies problems.
insights INSIGHT
Hope Must Accompany Consequences
Consequences motivate change but must be paired with hope for lasting transformation.
Eric credits both a clear view of how bad things were and simultaneous hope as crucial to his recovery from addiction.
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Get Your Copy of Eric's New Book: https://www.oneyoufeed.net/book/
In this episode, I speak with Eric Zimmer— a behavioural coach, podcast host, and writer—whose work blends spirituality with the science of behaviour change. Eric is best known as the host of the award winning “One You Feed Podcast”.
In this conversation, we explore:
— Why lasting change requires both inner and outer transformation
— How to move beyond shame and identity-based thinking
— The power of reframing behaviour as a puzzle to be solved rather than a problem to be fixed
— What it means to be “on your own side”, and how this fuels personal growth
— Why self-compassion and accountability are not opposites—but partners
And more.
You can learn more about Eric’s podcast, membership, and programs at oneyoufeed.net
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A behavior coach, Certified Interfaith Spiritual Director, podcast host, and writer, Eric Zimmer is endlessly inspired by the quest for a greater understanding of how our minds work and how to intentionally create the lives we want to live.
At the age of 24, Eric was homeless, addicted to heroin and facing long jail sentences. In the years since he has found a way to recover from addiction and build a life worth living for himself.
Eric works as a behavior coach and has done so for the past 20 years. He has coached hundreds of people from around the world on how to make significant life changes and create habits that serve them well in achieving the goals they’ve set for themselves.
In addition to his work as a behavior coach, he currently hosts the award-winning podcast, The One You Feed, based on an old parable about two wolves at battle within us. With over 600 episodes and over 30 million downloads, the show features conversations with experts across many fields of study about how to create a life that has less suffering and more fulfillment and meaning.
Guests on the show include scientists, authors, researchers, teachers, thought leaders, spiritual gurus, and public figures and all offer practical, actionable wisdom that listeners can readily apply to their daily lives in order to act their way into a better experience of living.
His story and his work have been featured in the media including TedX, Mind Body Green, Elephant Journal, the BBC and Brain Pickings.
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Interview Links:
— Eric’s website - https://www.oneyoufeed.net
— Get Your Copy of Eric's New Book: https://www.oneyoufeed.net/book/
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