Stop Wasting Your Energy — Here’s What to Do Instead (with Dr. Diana Hill)

The podcast explores strategies for deploying energy more effectively to avoid feeling stuck, especially at the start of a new year. Clinical psychologist Dr. Diana Hill uses the analogy of a bird trapped indoors to illustrate how humans often repeat ineffective behaviors. She introduces the concept of "wise effort," aligning energy with values to increase vitality and intrinsic motivation. Key strategies include cultivating curiosity through journaling, embracing discomfort by practicing radical acceptance, and working with one's thoughts using the "wise speech" framework—asking if a thought is kind, true, timely, and helpful. Additionally, the importance of embodiment and tuning into the body's signals via the HEART acronym (hunger/fullness, emotions, activity, rest, tension) is discussed, along with watching out for "energy frenemies," strengths that become detrimental when unchecked.