The Wise Effort Show

Give yourself the gift of savoring this holiday season. Diana encourages you to stop running and savor the good in this short meditation. She guides you through savoring practices such as savoring the breath, gratitude, accomplishments, awe, and wisdom. The episode concludes with setting intentions for incorporating savoring into daily life.Related ResourcesGet enhanced show notes for this episodeOrder my book, Wise Effort: How to Focus Your Genius Energy on What Matters Most, and receive special bonus gifts.Want to become more psychologically flexible? Take Diana's "Foundations of ACT" course.Diana's EventsReserve your spot in Diana's Costa Rica retreat in 2026!See Diana at an upcoming eventConnecting With DianaSubscribe for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Leave a 5-star review on Apple so people like you can find the show.Sign up for the free Wise Effort Newsletter.Become a Wise Effort member to support the show.Follow Diana on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Diana’s website.Thanks to the team, Craig and Ashley Hiatt, and Benjamin Gould of Bell & Branch for your beautiful music.

Mary Pipher revolutionized our understanding of adolescent girls with her best-selling book Reviving Ophelia. Since then, Mary has been writing about the skills women need to thrive across their lifespans. Drawing from her own experiences and her extensive work, including 'Letters to a Young Therapist' and 'Women Rowing North,' Pipher discusses the impact of cultural contexts on individuals, the necessity of self-discovery, and how to find rest amidst a midlife meltdown. She also encourages friendship, intention, and gratitude to cultivate happiness, illustrating that it's never too late to develop these life-coping skills.Related ResourcesGet enhanced show notes for this episodeOrder my book, Wise Effort: How to Focus Your Genius Energy on What Matters Most, and receive special bonus gifts.Want to become more psychologically flexible? Take Diana's "Foundations of ACT" course.Diana's EventsReserve your spot in Diana's Costa Rica retreat in 2026!See Diana at an upcoming eventConnecting With DianaSubscribe for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Leave a 5-star review on Apple so people like you can find the show.Sign up for the free Wise Effort Newsletter.Become a Wise Effort member to support the show.Follow Diana on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Diana’s website.Thanks to the team, Craig and Ashley Hiatt, and Benjamin Gould of Bell & Branch for your beautiful music.

Family estrangement is more common than you may think. Most of us don’t talk about our family conflict because we feel shame, stigma, and dread the over-simplistic and judgmental advice, “Why don’t you just forgive them and move on?” Yet, research shows that over ¼ of Americans are estranged from their family members. When estranged, it can feel like an open wound that never heals. In this episode, therapist and trauma specialist Giulia Preziuso shares her story of being estranged from her mother for over a decade and the steps she took to find self-compassion, boundaries, and, eventually, true forgiveness.Related ResourcesGet enhanced show notes for this episodeOrder my book, Wise Effort: How to Focus Your Genius Energy on What Matters Most, and receive special bonus gifts.Want to become more psychologically flexible? Take Diana's "Foundations of ACT" course.Diana's EventsReserve your spot in Diana's Costa Rica retreat in 2026!See Diana at an upcoming eventConnecting With DianaSubscribe for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Leave a 5-star review on Apple so people like you can find the show.Sign up for the free Wise Effort Newsletter.Become a Wise Effort member to support the show.Follow Diana on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Diana’s website.Thanks to the team, Craig and Ashley Hiatt, and Benjamin Gould of Bell & Branch for your beautiful music.

Solitude is part of wellbeing. Alone time allows you to ponder good questions, explore creativity, and consider what it means to be a good human. In this episode, Stephen Batchelor, a former Buddhist monk, shares the art of solitude, what it means to be a secular Buddhist, the value of going against the stream, how to live an ethical life, and the intersection between Buddha and Socrates. Find some time to be alone with yourself and take a listen!Related ResourcesGet enhanced show notes for this episodeOrder my book, Wise Effort: How to Focus Your Genius Energy on What Matters Most, and receive special bonus gifts.Want to become more psychologically flexible? Take Diana's "Foundations of ACT" course.Diana's EventsReserve your spot in Diana's Costa Rica retreat in 2026!See Diana at an upcoming eventConnecting With DianaSubscribe for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Leave a 5-star review on Apple so people like you can find the show.Sign up for the free Wise Effort Newsletter.Become a Wise Effort member to support the show.Follow Diana on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Diana’s website.Thanks to the team, Craig and Ashley Hiatt, and Benjamin Gould of Bell & Branch for your beautiful music.

Explore the concept of creative hopelessness and its role in breaking free from unhelpful patterns. Learn about the significance of personal values and wise effort. Discover how to create space and prioritize oneself. Delve into the conflict between meeting others' needs and self-care. Uncover the power of effort and five questions that generate creative hopelessness and open up new possibilities.

Elisabet Lahti, advocate for harnessing power differently and building Gentle Power, discusses the concept of sisu, a Finnish concept of resilience and perseverance in the face of extreme challenges. They explore the idea of gentle power and how it can enhance performance in physical activities like yoga and jump roping. The speakers also discuss reframing societal definitions of power and accessing our inner life force to overcome challenges. Plus, they delve into preparing for challenges through constructive discomfort and ways to incorporate gentle power and sisu into daily life.

Dalya Sarkees, a social worker and war refugee, talks about her experience growing up in 3 Iraqi wars, the trauma of finding a new identity in the US, and the inner and ancestral resources she leaned on to make the impossible possible. They discuss the power of childhood play, acts of care and compassion during hardships, and the therapeutic value of practicing compassion.

Brad Stulberg, author of Master of Change, discusses excelling amidst change, embracing disorder, fluid identity, and the importance of responding rather than reacting. They explore the tension between goals and enjoyment, reframing expectations, and creating space for self-reflection.

Dr. Emily Sandoz, a prominent psychology professor and director of the Louisiana Contextual Science Research Group, dives into the transformative power of functional contextualism and interbehaviorism. She explains how our personal history shapes present behaviors and discusses the importance of context in achieving meaningful habit changes. Emily emphasizes the need for nurturing environments to resource ourselves, balancing self-care with effective parenting, and offers practical steps for cultivating values-based living that align with our true selves.

Many of us feel overwhelmed with current events, the tragedies in our world, and the business of our lives. In this episode, Diana offers two simple, evidence-based skills to practice when you are overwhelmed. Related ResourcesGet enhanced show notes for this episodeOrder my book, Wise Effort: How to Focus Your Genius Energy on What Matters Most, and receive special bonus gifts.Want to become more psychologically flexible? Take Diana's "Foundations of ACT" course.Diana's EventsReserve your spot in Diana's Costa Rica retreat in 2026!See Diana at an upcoming eventConnecting With DianaSubscribe for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Leave a 5-star review on Apple so people like you can find the show.Sign up for the free Wise Effort Newsletter.Become a Wise Effort member to support the show.Follow Diana on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Diana’s website.Thanks to the team, Craig and Ashley Hiatt, and Benjamin Gould of Bell & Branch for your beautiful music.