Self-Coaching

What does it really mean to waste time? Is watching television wasteful, while meditating is worthwhile? Is resting restorative—or merely procrastination in disguise? In this Self-Coaching episode, Dr. Joe explores why productivity isn’t the true measure of time well spent—and how we instinctively know when we’re consciously choosing how to live and when we’re simply escaping from life.

Anxiety isn’t necessarily a defect—it’s an ancient survival mechanism designed to protect us from danger. Thousands of years ago, the snap of a twig in the jungle might have signaled a predator, triggering an alarm that could save your life. Today, the danger we react to often isn’t happening at all—it’s something we’re anticipating, imagining, or worrying might happen. In this Self-Coaching episode, I explore the difference between instinctual protection and neurotic protection, how our attempts to feel safe can actually strengthen insecurity, and why the twig that once snapped in the jungle can now snap entirely in our minds.

Have you ever known exactly what you should do, only to find yourself doing the opposite? That’s emotional self-sabotage—when insecurity starts calling the shots. In this final episode of my three-part series, I explore how to stay out of the Stream of insecurity-driven thinking, stop treating uncomfortable feelings as facts, and interrupt the habits that keep pulling you back in. The goal isn’t to eliminate the Stream—it’s to learn to live your life standing on the bank.

Recognizing when insecurity has pulled you into the stream is only the beginning. In this episode, we take the next step: learning to step out by refusing to automatically obey insecurity's demands. It's not about eliminating anxious thoughts or uncomfortable feelings—it's about choosing not to be ruled by them. Each time you do, you begin reclaiming something insecurity has been obscuring all along: your authentic self.

Have you ever felt as though your mind has a mind of its own? Over the years, I've come to recognize a simple psychological process that quietly pulls us into anxiety, worry, insecurity, and other emotional struggles. In this first episode of a special three-part self-coaching series, I'd like to share that process with you. Learning to recognize what I call "the stream" may be the first step toward taking back control of your thinking.