JOY Unfiltered: Choose Joy on Purpose

Can a daily walk make you happier? In this Joy Lab episode, Rachel Bents shares how a simple Joy Walk turns your everyday route into a science-backed habit for more joy, more creativity, and less stress. 🎯 Which joy habit comes easiest to you? Take the free quiz, What’s On Your Joy Plate?Drawing from Chapter 8 of Be With: 39 Habits for a Joy-Filled Life, Rachel shows you how to take the walk you already take and choose joy on it, one “delight” at a time. Same path, new eyes. In this episode, you’ll learn:Why walking can boost creative thinking by about 60 percent (yes, even on a treadmill facing a blank wall)What a 10-minute walk does for your 3pm slump that a candy bar can’tWhere “10,000 steps a day” really came from, and how many steps the research actually supportsHow looking for delight on a walk trains your brain to find more joyThe “naked walk,” and why a unicycling clown proves your phone is stealing your joyYour Seven Day Joy Walk challenge Inspired by Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights and Jay Shetty’s Think Like a Monk. And if either of them are listening - you both are invited to come on Joy Unfiltered! I would LOVE to have you! This season is brought to you by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions. They offer salt therapy, red light therapy, sauna, and cold plunge. ✨ Before you go: take the free What’s On Your Joy Plate? quiz to discover your Joy Macros™ (Notice, Allow, Share). Follow Joy Unfiltered, leave a review, and share this episode with five people: four you love, and one you don’t. Tag @rachel_bents with your best delight of the week.Have Fun. Live Well. Choose JOY! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How do you stay positive when life falls apart, not once but twice? Sass Schaeffer is a former boxing champion, a former healthcare executive, and the founder of Team Positive. She joins Rachel Bents to share how to build positivity and resilience as a daily practice, so they’re already there when you need them. 🎯 Which joy habit comes easiest to you? Take the free quiz, What’s On Your Joy Plate?, and find out in two minutes:Sass was laid off twice after 15 years in corporate healthcare. Her home in St. Petersburg, Florida, flooded. She rebuilt, and six months later Hurricane Helene put four feet of seawater in that house. Through all of it, she found that positivity is more than a meme or good vibes. It’s a discipline you can practice, and it can carry you through the hardest seasons of your life. Her core belief is that positivity is a muscle, not a mood. In this episode, you’ll learn:Why you should practice positivity and joy before you need them, the same way you’d get in shape before a health scare instead of afterThe fun daily “rules” Sass made after her layoff: a walk without earbuds, getting to know her neighbors, talking to every cashier, and picking up five pieces of litter, with bonus points for making someone laughHow to shrink your daily reps to tiny ones when you’re in a hard season: open the mail, leave the house, talk to one personHer bad-day reset: have a cry, grab a snack, shake it out, put on Beyoncé, then get back to workWhy you don’t have to believe every thought you have, and how to choose joy over fear, even a hundred times a dayWhy asking for help (from neighbors, a therapist, or a coach) is a gift to the people who love youHow to keep your momentum through the holidays, even when your habits look differentHow Team Positive is making positivity cool again, and why it’s the opposite of toxic positivityWhat’s bringing Sass joy right nowFavorite quotes:“Positivity is a muscle, not a mood.”“I was ready before I needed it.”“If positivity isn’t fun, you’re doing it wrong.”“I don’t believe every thought I have anymore.” Connect with Sass Schaeffer:Team PositiveInstagram: @sassthepositivitychick and @jointeampositive This season is brought to you by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions. They offer salt therapy, red light therapy, sauna, and cold plunge, all to help you slow down and come home to your body. ✨ Before you go: take the free What’s On Your Joy Plate? quiz to discover your Joy Macros™ (Notice, Allow, Share). Loved this conversation? Follow Joy Unfiltered, leave a rating and review, and share this episode with five people: four you love, and one you don’t. That one needs it most. Have Fun. Live Well. Choose JOY! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does outdoorsy really mean, and what if you love nature but also love your hot shower? In this episode of Joy Words, Rachel Bents digs into the word origins of outdoorsy and outsidey and reveals how the words themselves explain two very different ways to enjoy nature. Take the free quiz: What’s On Your Joy Plate? Find out which of Rachel’s Joy Macros™ (Notice, Allow, Share) comes easiest to you, and which one needs a little love:In this episode on words, nature, and joy:Outdoorsy vs. outsidey: the meaning of each and which one you areThe etymology of “outdoors” (out of doors) and “outside” (the other side of home)Why “outdoorsy” is a surprisingly young wordHow adding “-y” turns a place into a personalityFun word facts: where “camp” and “tent” come fromWhy you get to name who you are, plus how to coin your own nature word This weekend’s challenge: Name your nature word, live it with one dose of nature, and share it with Rachel on Instagram. “Outdoors is about leaving home behind. Outside is about the other side of home.” Season 2 of Joy Unfiltered is sponsored by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions, offering salt therapy, red light therapy, sauna, and cold plunge in Minnesota. Loved this Joy Word? Follow Joy Unfiltered, share it with your favorite outdoorsy friend, and leave a review telling Rachel your nature word. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What is an awe walk, and how can a simple 15-minute walk reduce stress and boost joy? In this Joy Rewire, Rachel Bents guides you through an awe walk, a science-backed mindfulness practice that helps you feel calmer, happier, and more connected. No hiking boots or fancy gear required. Take the free quiz: What’s On Your Joy Plate? Find out which of Rachel’s Joy Macros™ (Notice, Allow, Share) comes easiest to you, and which one needs a little love. In this episode on awe, mindfulness, and stress relief:What awe is and why it’s so good for your mental health (Dacher Keltner, UC Berkeley)The awe walk study: “big smile, small self” and more joy in just 15 minutes a week (Virginia Sturm, UCSF)How one minute of looking up at trees made people kinder and more helpful (Paul Piff)A guided awe walk using three lenses: Big, Small, and NewThe awe selfie: a fun way to shift your focus from your worries to the worldHow awe walks count toward your 120 minutes of nature a week This week’s challenge: Take one 15-minute awe walk, snap an awe selfie, and tag @rachel_bentson Instagram. “Big world. Small self. Big smile.” Season 2 of Joy Unfiltered is sponsored by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions, offering salt therapy, red light therapy, sauna, and cold plunge in Minnesota. Loved this awe walk? Follow Joy Unfiltered, share it with a friend who needs to look up from her phone, and leave a review. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Can a dining table hold both joy and grief? Minnesota woodworker Ryan Kuehn of RK Design builds custom live edge dining tables and handmade furniture that carry family memories, legacy, and love for generations. In this bonus episode of Joy Unfiltered, Rachel Bents talks with Ryan about finding joy in your work, reconnecting with childhood creativity, and how a custom table can help families honor the people they’ve lost. Take the free quiz: What’s On Your Joy Plate? Find out which of Rachel’s Joy Macros™ (Notice, Allow, Share) comes easiest to you, and which one needs a little love: Ryan is the artist behind the Joy Unfiltered sign you see behind Rachel in every episode. From his shop in Eagan, Minnesota, near MSP Airport, RK Design offers one of the widest selections of live edge slabs in the Midwest, with more than 1,000 slabs and slices and over 50 wood species. Ryan builds custom live edge tables, epoxy river tables, conference tables, countertops, mirrors, and signage for homes and businesses across the Twin Cities. In this episode on joy, creativity, craftsmanship, and grief:How growing up watching his dad build the family dining table shaped Ryan’s love of woodworkingLeaving corporate burnout behind and finding joy in creative, meaningful workWhy going back to what you loved as a kid can help you find your joy againNature, wind in the trees, and how the grain of figured wood draws Ryan inLetting the wood guide the design: why every live edge slab is one of a kindA lightning-struck tree turned into a memorial table for a father who lost his sonCustom tables that honor family heritage, legacy, and the people we loveHolding joy and grief in the same space“Life is too short to be pulling anchors”: letting go of what weighs you downCoaching his son’s high school fishing team and finding joy outdoors as a familyBuilt to be used, built to be beautiful, built to last: craftsmanship with integrity “Life is too short to be pulling anchors.” (Ryan Kuehn) Connect with Ryan Kuehn and RK Design:Website: rkdesignmn.comEmail: [email protected] or text: 952-451-7019Visit the shop in Eagan, Minnesota Season 2 of Joy Unfiltered is sponsored by Salt and Light Therapy Solutions, offering salt therapy, red light therapy, sauna, and cold plunge in Minnesota: (And yes, Ryan built their beautiful live edge front counters.) Ready to bring more joy into your everyday life? Take the free Joy Macros™ quiz, What’s On Your Joy Plate? Loved this conversation? Follow Joy Unfiltered, share it with someone who needs a little more joy (or a new dining room table), and leave a review. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.