PODCAST · education
Better Mind, Better Life!
by Eric Wilbanks
The strength and ability to improve any area of your life isn't in your circumstances: it's in your mind! When we improve the way we think, we can improve our lives. Better mind, better life!Each week, Eric combines insights from psychology, theology, and more into a short-form (5-10 minutes) motivational podcast to give you practical, useful tips that will not just change the way you think, but that will literally change your life. Follow @ericwilbanks or visit www.EricWilbanks.com to learn more about Eric.
Episodes
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Life Lessons from a Truly Iconic Arcade Game
I want you to take a little trip down memory lane with me, back to those golden years between elementary and high school. My “golden years” were iconic in more ways than one. Recently I was thinking about some of the things that defined those years for me, and I realized that—believe it or…
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Is ‘Speaking Your Truth’ the Most Powerful Tool You Have?
Chances are, either you yourself, someone you know, or at the very least, someone you’ve read or listened to, has used the phrase “your truth” or “my truth.” And the first time you heard someone use one (or both), you probably found yourself a little confused. But over the past few years, those...
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Why Are You Even Here?
I recently heard an Instagram influencer (meaning he has 2.6m followers) who said, “You were MADE for greatness! You were BORN for greatness. You weren’t made for average or ordinary.” So, what exactly does it mean to be GREAT … a great man, a great woman, a great parent, a great friend, a great...
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What Is Gaslighting and Why It Should Matter To EVERYONE
There’s a new, uber-powerful buzzword in town, and its name is “Gaslighting.” In fact, it’s hard to jump on the internet or turn on the TV or radio without someone mentioning either being gaslit or complaining about this or that person gaslighting others. But as is often the case with buzzwords,...
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Is "Be Yourself" Good Advice … or Not?
Apparently, this is a debate that has raged for some time in the psychological community. I think it’s an interesting topic. (I think what’s even MORE interesting is what this particular topic has to do with Easter! I’ll also touch on that in this episode.) It certainly is a topic that has become...
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Good leaders do THIS, but don’t do THAT
What is it that really sets good leaders apart from everyone else? Now, I’ll admit that I’m no expert on the matter, but I’ve got a few … uh, decades, of learning and observation under my belt. And while it may very well be true that there are “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” (H/T to J-Max)…
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Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?
According to the site Quote Investigator, an anonymous filler item in a Plainfield, New Jersey newspaper in September 1936 included the following quote: They say hard work never killed anyone but some of us are just naturally apprehensive and timid and don’t like to take chances. It's funny…
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How to Move from Loneliness to Belonging, Pt 4
This is the fourth and final installment of a mini-series exploring the continuum of loneliness and belonging. In part 1, I talked about loneliness, how disturbingly common it is, and how it can wreak havoc in our lives. In part 2, I went over Self-determination theory and how it might relate to...
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How to Move from Loneliness to Belonging, Pt 3
This is part 3 of a mini-series exploring the continuum of loneliness and belonging. In part 1, I talked about loneliness, how disturbingly common it is, and how it can wreak havoc in our lives. In part 2, I went over Self-determination theory and how it might relate to belonging and community.…
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How to Move from Loneliness to Belonging, Pt 2
This is part 2 of a mini-series exploring the continuum of loneliness and belonging. In part 1, I shared why psychologists say loneliness is an “awful, noxious psychological state” that—if left unchecked—can wreak havoc in our lives. (What’s more, it is a disturbingly common problem.) In this...
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How to Move from Loneliness to Belonging, Pt 1
Everyone—you, me, your friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors, and even celebrities—gets lonely. It’s a nearly universal experience. It’s also nearly universal to not be super clear on why we feel lonely, how serious that can be, and how to move out of loneliness, especially if we feel...
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The Tale of Two Abrahams and Why You NEED to Know It!
One of the most fundamental questions that can be asked about human behavior is “why”? Why do we do what we do, in the exact time and way we do it? And why do we stop?!? These are typically questions of need and motivation. We all have needs, but what exactly are those needs? Better yet, how…
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Using the DISC to Better Understand Yourself and Others
Why do you do the things you do … in the specific ways and manners in which you do them? Why do you like the things you like? Why do certain things always capture your attention while others get ignored? Setting spiritual issues and influences aside (for the moment), the basic answer to these…
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Enneagram, Pt 2: Sacred, Satanic, or … Something Else?
In a podcast that claims to focus on exploring the very best insights of psychology THROUGH the lense of Scripture, it was inevitable that I would eventually want to explore something called the Enneagram. This is part two of the two-part mini-series. In the previous episode, I explored the…
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Enneagram, Pt 1: Sacred, Satanic, or … Something Else?
In a podcast that claims to focus on exploring the very best insights of psychology THROUGH the lense of Scripture, it was inevitable that I would eventually want to explore something called the Enneagram. This is a two-part mini-series. This first episode looks at the history of the tool and…
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This Is My Manifesto. This Is Who I Am.
I've had a lot of time to think about this episode. It is a massive departure not only from a typical episode of this podcast, but a massive departure from my personal style. I am very introverted, and thus a very private person. I rarely (if ever) bare my soul in public. But I am making this...
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Your Stressed-Out Brain and the False Promise of Relief
When you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or down, what do you do—what do you turn to—to feel better? There’s an 80s song by the band Fleetwood Mac that describes what many of us do … probably far too often. As Jim Beviglia says, writing for American Songwriter, the song's narrator “decides to…
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How to Have a Top Gun Mind
When Top Gun: Maverick hit the theaters, it was a MUST see for my wife (who loved the 80s version). And after I saw the extended trailer showing some of what they went through to film actual plane footage, I was definitely intrigued. Now having seen it, I have to say that it was incredible. The...
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One Brain, Two Minds: The Angel and Devil on Your Shoulders
There’s a fairly well-known TV trope—especially in cartoons—that pops up when someone is wrestling with temptation; two miniature versions of the character’s self, an Angel and a Devil, sit on each shoulder and try to pull the character in different directions. Psychologists often say it this…
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A Lesson from History’s Most Successful Founder and Trailblazer
Years ago, Michael Jackson sang, “You Wanna Be Startin’ Something!” I still have no idea what the song itself actually means, but I do know this: Starting something new can be both exhilarating and terrifying. It’s exhilarating because it’s an opportunity to blaze new trails, even if they are…
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The Opportunity Principle and the Science of Regret
In the previous episode of this podcast, I suggested that instead of thinking of regret as a “universal negative emotion,” it could be far more helpful to think of it as a psychological earworm—the brain continuously reminding us that there is an unfinished task or unresolved issue or goal. On…
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Don't Let Regret Become the Song That Never Ends
There’s a book out, maybe you’ve read it or at least heard of it. It’s by superstar author Daniel Pink and it’s called the Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward. The ideas in it are interesting and could be helpful for some, but—as is often the case with ideas from the world of...
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My Daughter Wrote This Episode and Now I’m a Little Salty
My daughter—like her brothers before her—is turning into a great thinker and communicator. At age 16 she earned her first chance to compete in a regional speech and debate tournament. So, being a communications professional myself, I did what professionals sometimes do best: I “borrowed” one of…
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The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
The opening paragraph from Dickens’ from A Tale of Two Cities reads, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of…
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A Better Mind Better Life Framework for Interesting Times
Generally speaking, the term “framework” means a structure or system of rules, guidelines, and boundaries that are used to govern a process, decision, or specific goal. Businesses use frameworks to help ensure that the products or services they deliver are consistent and aligned with the company...
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4 Common Thinking Traps and How to Escape Them
In this episode of Better Mind, Better Life, I share what psychologists say are four common thinking traps (a.k.a., cognitive distortions) that we all struggle with—two that are people focused and two that are situation-focused—and how we can clear up our thinking and break free from those...
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Better Mind, Better Life Trailer
The strength and ability to improve any area of your life isn't in your circumstances: it's in your mind! When we improve the way we think, we can improve our lives. Better mind, better life! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please take a few seconds to answer the super brief Better Mind, Better Life Listener...
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To Build Resilience, Learn Your ABCs
Authors and professors Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatté say the very heart and soul—the foundation of resilience—is “the simple realization that our emotions and behaviors are created not by events themselves but how we interpret those events.” So they recommend “Learning Your ABCs” as the first...
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GRIT - Four Ways We Use Resilience
Here’s the hard news: More than 50 years of scientific research has demonstrated that where you and I fall on the resilience curve—our natural reserves of resilience—affects practically everything. But here’s the good news: With practice, anyone can grow resilience. And if you increase your...
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To Have Effortless Resilience You Need Effortful Practice
“Baseball is 90% mental, and the other half is physical.” Even if you aren’t a baseball fan, you’ve at least heard the name of the ‘comedian’ who said it: Yogi Berra. Yogi was entertaining, both on the field as one of the greatest catchers in baseball history, and off the field because of his...
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The Brain Process That Can Build or Destroy Resilience
You may not realize it, but there is a very sophisticated factory in your brain, and it has the ability to help build your resilience … or even destroy it. I’m going to attempt to explain, in the fastest, simplest terms possible, how that works and why it matters for us both today and for the...
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The Philosopher’s Stone and the Alchemy of Resilience
Despite the fantastical title, this is NOT an episode about an upcoming Harry Potter or other fantasy-related book. This episode is about resilience, plain and simple. But it is also a peek inside the overlapping space between fantasy and reality, and it starts LONG ago, in ancient times and...
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Sometimes Life Kicks You When You're Down
I have a story you NEED to hear. But I also need to warn you: You aren’t going to believe that it’s true. You will feel compelled to research it yourself, to try and “fact-check” it because you’ll say, “No way this really happened. Not a chance.” So feel free to fact check. Because here’s the...
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An Important Life Lesson from the Characters in Cobra Kai
For the past 3 1/2 years, friends have been telling me that I *REALLY* should watch the new Cobra Kai series, so I finally decided to give it a go. Yeah, the 80s music is awesome, as are the 80s flashbacks, but what REALLY stood out to me are the characters and the important—even critical—life...
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The 5 Principles of Growth That You Shouldn’t Ignore
Question: Is our ability to change, grow, and improve governed by any specific, recognizable laws or principles? More specifically, are there BIOLOGICAL principles of growth that can at least hint at or even point us to some principles for NON-biological (emotional, mental, spiritual, etc)…
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Synchronize Your Clocks ... Your Future Depends On It!
Happy New Year! Are you ready for the FUTURE? No, not the future that requires 1.21 gigawatts of power and a DeLorean time machine running 88mph. I'm talking about the future you RESOLVE to embrace! But—and here's the really good part—you can forget about coming up with New Year’s resolutions or...
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Christmas Encounters of the Angelic Kind, Part 3
Do you remember where you were and what you were doing the moment you first learned about: The 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001? Hurricane Katrina in 2005? The deaths of Osama bin Laden and Steve Jobs in 2011? Brexit (or Trump) in 2016? The Global COVID Shutdown of 2020? History is full of iconic,...
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Christmas Encounters of the Angelic Kind, Part 2
We’re in the midst of a three-part miniseries titled “Close Encounters of the Angelic Kind.” In the previous episode we looked at the first of three angelic encounters mentioned by the Gospel of Luke—all of which are connected to Christmas and the birth of Christ and each with a message that...
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Christmas Encounters of the Angelic Kind, Part 1
In the late 1970's Steven Spielberg introduced the world to a cinematic portrayal of one man's obsession with UFOs. In Close Encounters of the Third Kind, electrician Roy Neary (played by Richard Dreyfuss) is prepared to give up his life to pursue the truth about what he saw. The movie is...
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The Remarkable Story of the Real Santa Claus
Santa Claus is surely one of the most beloved figures of modern times. But did you know that he was perhaps even more beloved long before he acquired a fur-trimmed red suit, a big round belly, and nine flying reindeer to pull his sleigh? Believe it or not, the jolly Old St. Nick we know and love...
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The Amazing Story of the Christmas Tree
It’s difficult to imagine Christmas without decorated trees. But do they have any “redeeming” value for Christians? And how did the idea get started in the first place? I think the answer to the first question is a resounding YES! The answer to the second question is a LITTLE bit longer. Believe…
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This Is Your Brain On God
In the previous episodes I talked about #gratitude and #Thanksgiving as the gateway to peace. I looked at the fascinating science behind gratitude as well as what the Bible has to say on the subject. I specifically referenced Philippians 4:4-7 which says "In every situation, through prayer and...
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12 Things the Bible Says to Be Thankful For
For several years, many of my Facebook friends have participated in the activity of making a daily post to identify their thankfulness for something or someone. That’s fantastic! A number of years ago, I started the “Let’s Say Thanks” campaign on Facebook and each year try to get a few more…
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Gratitude is the Gateway to Real, True Peace!
In the previous episode, season 1, episode 39, I did my best to give you a brief (and, hopefully, fascinating) look at 30 years of psychological research on the subject of gratitude, a virtue which psychologists say may very well be the most important virtue a human can have. In this episode, I...
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Gratitude: The One Virtue That Can Transform Your Life
I know this probably sounds like a bunch of marketing, clickbait hype, but it isn't at all. After 30 years of research and countless numbers of peer-reviewed studies, psychologists are finally agreeing with writers throughout the ages who argue that gratitude may very well be the most important...
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The 8 Dimensions of Leadership
Are you a "one-dimensional leader"? More importantly, how would you know if you were (or weren't)? This is the fourth and final installment in a series of episodes talking specifically about leadership. In this episode, I want to make one simple argument about leadership, taken from the world of...
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The 5 Phases in the Making of a Leader
Beginning in the 80s, Dr. J. Robert Clinton and his students began a massive study of leaders: historic, biblical, and contemporary. At the time of the original publication of Clinton's book, The Making of a Leader, in 1988, they had researched 500 case studies. Over the next 15 years, they...
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The One Thing That Seems to Matter Most in the Making of a Leader
I’m in the middle of a series of episodes talking about leadership. My goal is to offer you some ways of thinking about the subject that both encourage and challenge you with a unique (or, at least less familiar) perspective. In a previous episode I mentioned that life can be complicated and...
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What Your Pumpkin Flavored (ANYTHING!) Can Teach You About True Leadership
For this and the next few episodes of Better Mind, Better Life, I want to tackle the subject of leadership, and, HOPEFULLY, offer you some ways of thinking about the subject that both encourage and challenge you with a unique (or, at least less familiar) perspective. For starters, it's possible...
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When Life Feels Like a Maze, Change Your Mindset!
Life can often feel very much like a maze. It feels like each day is filled with difficult choices—left or right—in which the consequences of those choices seem complex beyond comprehension. Will this help or hurt? Will it cause me to win or lose? Will I sink or swim? And some choices, once we’ve...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The strength and ability to improve any area of your life isn't in your circumstances: it's in your mind! When we improve the way we think, we can improve our lives. Better mind, better life!Each week, Eric combines insights from psychology, theology, and more into a short-form (5-10 minutes) motivational podcast to give you practical, useful tips that will not just change the way you think, but that will literally change your life. Follow @ericwilbanks or visit www.EricWilbanks.com to learn more about Eric.
HOSTED BY
Eric Wilbanks
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How many episodes does Better Mind, Better Life! have?
Better Mind, Better Life! currently has 83 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Better Mind, Better Life! about?
The strength and ability to improve any area of your life isn't in your circumstances: it's in your mind! When we improve the way we think, we can improve our lives. Better mind, better life!Each week, Eric combines insights from psychology, theology, and more into a short-form (5-10 minutes)...
How often does Better Mind, Better Life! release new episodes?
Better Mind, Better Life! has 83 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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You can listen to Better Mind, Better Life! on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Better Mind, Better Life!?
Better Mind, Better Life! is created and hosted by Eric Wilbanks.
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