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The Wise Effort Show

The Wise Effort Show

Dr. Diana Hill 193 episodes Nov 9, 2026

The Wise Effort Show with Dr. Diana Hill is a podcast about living wisely and putting energy into what matters most. It targets high achievers feeling burned out, offering guidance on sustainable, fulfilling living. The show blends science with spirituality and contemplative practices, covering physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. It encourages listeners to avoid burnout and savor the good in life.

Episodes

Ennui: What to Do When You Can't Find Joy
Ennui: What to Do When You Can't Find Joy Nov 9, 2026 20:44 Have you ever felt flat, even when life is good? The sky is blue, you got what you wanted, and you still can’t seem to feel it. That’s ennui, a listless, lost-interest kind of flatness we all move through. In this Sangha talk, I share why we go flat and what to do when you can’t find joy: stop faking it, find a yes in a sea of nos, listen for the sounds of joy that are already here, wake up your n
Joy Is a Risk Worth Taking with Kelly McGonigal
Joy Is a Risk Worth Taking with Kelly McGonigal Nov 2, 2026 01:00:51 What if joy isn't something you wait for until life gets easier, but the very thing that helps you get through it? Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal joins me to talk about her new book, Joy Is a Risk Worth Taking, and how small moments of joy remind us that life is worth living, that we belong, and that good things are still possible. We talk about how joy and grief live side by side, why joy
Scattered: Five Ways to Find Your Way Back
Scattered: Five Ways to Find Your Way Back Oct 21, 2026 14:28 Have you ever felt scattered: your attention in one place, your feelings in another, your motivation somewhere out of reach? I came home from leading a retreat at Esalen feeling just like the grass I saw scattering its seeds across the hillside on the drive up. In this episode, I share five ways to find your way back when you feel scattered, from expanding your space to connecting the dots, and wh
Endings: How to End Things That Are Difficult to End
Endings: How to End Things That Are Difficult to End Sep 16, 2026 18:18 What do you do when you know something needs to end, but you can't quite let go? This episode gives you the psychological science behind why endings are so hard, plus a six-step practice for moving through them with more ease. Drawing on the concept of the "action crisis" — that push-pull of doubt, confusion, and rumination we feel when we're clinging to something past its time — Diana walks throu
It's Your Turn To Live a Larger Life with NPR's Alison Aubrey
It's Your Turn To Live a Larger Life with NPR's Alison Aubrey Sep 7, 2026 57:10 Have you hit a wall in midlife and started wondering if it's too late to build something bigger? This episode gives you concrete, science-backed practices for answering that question and reclaiming the life you actually want. Diana talks with NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey, author of Your Turn: How to Create a Midlife You Love, about what it took for her to move from decades of striving a
The Space You Need
The Space You Need Aug 24, 2026 18:40 After a client checked in on her wellbeing following a newsletter that said she felt overwhelmed, Diana reflects on how modern life collapses the space we need to know what fuels us versus drains us. She shares creating space through an “energy audit,” moving commitments, stepping back from Instagram, and hiring help, alongside preparing for an emotionally significant talk at her son’s prestigious
Sometimes These Things Happen & Other Lessons From Plum Village
Sometimes These Things Happen & Other Lessons From Plum Village Aug 3, 2026 29:24 Dr. Diana Hill shares how retreat helps clarify where your energy is aligned or depleted, drawing on her family’s annual week at Plum Village, a Buddhist Monastery founded by Thich Nhat Hahn. When you go on retreat, you come back to yourself and things become more clear for you about how you want to use your energy, about where you're off track, where you're out of alignment. Listen to this episod
The Dark Side of Control
The Dark Side of Control Jul 17, 2026 22:59 Do you get grippy, anxious, or self-critical when life doesn’t go the way you planned? In this Secret Sangha episode, I explore the paradox and dark side of control—sparked by what happened at a private dinner after my Tell the Truth Salon event with Dan Siegel. Drawing on Dan’s ABC motivational systems (agency, belonging, certainty), we unpack how control spirals show up as rumination, self-blame
How to Be a Decent Human When Someone Is Not Decent to You With Dr. Joseph Ciarrochi
How to Be a Decent Human When Someone Is Not Decent to You With Dr. Joseph Ciarrochi Jul 6, 2026 57:25 On The Wise Effort show, Diana Hill talks with Dr. Joseph Ciarrochi, a researcher in process-based therapy and ACT, about self-righteous anger and how to stay honest and kind when others aren’t. They explore the psychology of getting “hijacked” in conflict, describing outrage and being right as an addiction (experiential attachment) distinct from experiential avoidance, with different intervention
The Atlas of Emotions With Eve Ekman
The Atlas of Emotions With Eve Ekman Jun 22, 2026 47:01 Dr. Diana Hill interviews contemplative social scientist and emotion researcher Dr. Eve Ekman, senior fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and co-creator (with her father Paul Ekman) of The Atlas of Emotions, a tool requested by the Dalai Lama to help people understand how emotions arise and are experienced. They discuss why “emotion regulation” can miss the larger richness of emoti
Dare to Live What Is True
Dare to Live What Is True Jun 15, 2026 19:57 Are you feeling disconnected from what you know is true for you—and overriding it anyway? In this live-recorded Wise Effort episode, Diana Hill explores “truth” (personal, collective, spiritual, and scientific) and how it’s often simple, close, profound, or even hard to accept. She shares ways truth emerges through rough initiations, deep listening to the body and intuition, unexpected states of c
Inside Information About Your Brain with Dr. Jud Brewer
Inside Information About Your Brain with Dr. Jud Brewer Jun 1, 2026 55:44 Do you feel stuck in worry loops that drain your energy and pull you out of the present moment? In this episode of The Wise Effort Show, Dr. Diana Hill talks with neuroscientist and psychiatrist Dr. Judson Brewer about “inside information” on the brain—especially the default mode network and how self-focused rumination and worry activate the posterior cingulate cortex. They explore new, encouragin

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