The Wise Effort Show

Back from a family retreat at Plum Village Monastery, Dr. Diana Hill shares the top 6 lessons she learned. You don’t have to go to a monastery to find peace of mind because, as Thich Nhat Hanh teaches, “Happiness is here and now.” In this episode, Diana offers you practices to wake up, engage with the world more mindfully, and find a little more space in your day to enjoy your 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.

Dr. Jud Brewer started off curious, and he continues to apply that curiosity in all that he does as a mindfulness researcher, psychiatrist, and writer. In this episode, Diana Hill explores Dr. Jud’s career path and uncovers the key mindsets he applied to keep his work meaningful and interesting. Listen in to learn how the power of wise effort, interest curiosity, and kindness can transform your career and your life’s impact.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.

Dr. Rhonda Merwin, an Associate Professor at Duke University and an expert on eating disorders, joins to discuss the hidden costs of perfectionism. They explore how perfectionism can lead to burnout and missed opportunities in life. Rhonda emphasizes the importance of flexibility and values in navigating this rigidity. The conversation includes practical strategies for self-awareness, emotional attunement, and prioritizing intrinsic motivation. They also highlight the necessity of playfulness to combat anxiety and foster a more fulfilling work-life balance.

Shantum Seth is a dharma teacher ordained by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, who leads pilgrimages in the footsteps of the Buddha. In this episode, Shantum Seth shares about the power of spiritual pilgrimage, how to bring compassion into our everyday life, the ethics of the Eightfold Path, and how to cultivate moments of awakening.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.

This real play is like stepping into a therapy room with Dr. Diana Hill. Diana demonstrates how to view your problems as an interconnected network of biological, sociocultural, and psychological factors. The DSM is limited when it comes to looking at the complexity of human beings. It lacks individualization, tends to medicalize your problems, overemphasizes symptom reduction, and does not guide well which direction to go. Instead, you can explore the many factors that interact to create your problems so that you can intervene more effectively. Diana walks you through how to do this yourself.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.

Want less drain and more love in your long-term relationship? Becoming psychologically flexible with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can help you get present, refocus on your relationship values, and find deeper connection. In this conversation, Dr. Diana Hill and Dr. Russ Harris explore five things that drain your relationship, the traps of being right and blaming, a powerful skill to ground you when you are overwhelmed with emotions, and strategies to act with love, so you can get the love you want.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.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an evidence-based therapy that helps you transform and heal your wounded and protective parts. In this “real play,” Dr. Richard Schwartz demonstrates IFS on Diana Hill’s “binger” and “restrictor” parts. He guides Diana in separating and dialoguing with her inner parts and helps her respond with compassionate and courageous self-leadership. They then unpack and debrief the exercise and connect IFS with Buddhist principles.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.

According to Dr. Shelly Harrell, soulfulness is a healing, transformative depth of experience that brings us into our interconnected presence. In this special Juneteenth episode, Diana and Dr. Harrell explore the wisdom of African-centered traditions that bring us a more soulful way of living. Dr. Harell shares how she came to soulfulness, the relationship between mindfulness and soulfulness and the role of soulfulness in liberation from oppression-related trauma.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.

How do we keep our hearts open in our complicated and loving relationships with our parents, especially with our dads? In this “real play” episode, Diana steps out of interview mode and into conversation with her long-time friend Isa Hendry Eaton. Isa shares how she found forgiveness for her late father and how she continues to practice heart-opening in relationships with her teenage kids, friends, and mom. Diana shares how to apply a simple three-step process of building Wise Effort in relationships with curiosity, flexibility, and wise action.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.

According to Kimberley Wilson, our brains are in trouble. Your brain needs certain nutrients for membrane fluidity, to send messages from one cell to another, and to manage inflammation. However, your brain may not be getting the nutrition needed to thrive across your lifespan. In this episode, Diana Hill talks with Kimberley Wilson about eating to maximize brain health and how we can intervene at the policy level to support healthy brains across our community.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.