Engineering Emotions and Energy with Justin Wenck, Ph.D.

What’s currently renting space in your mind? If you look around and feel like the world is in pure chaos, or you're constantly overwhelmed, or maybe you just feel completely alone even when surrounded by people you love, then you’ve allowed some bad ideas to take up residency. We’ve been taught that when we have a problem, we just need to grind away, hustle harder, and work on the solution until it goes away. But you've probably already worked harder than most people realize, even harder than...

What if fun isn’t something you earn after working hard—but something you start with? In the first episode of the new year, Justin flips the script on productivity, discipline, and “being good” and asks this: 👉 What actually lights you up? Do you ever let yourself enjoy it? Using movies as both a literal love and a powerful metaphor for life, Justin shares: The best and worst movies he saw in theaters last yearWhat those experiences reveal about freedom, creativity, nostalgia, and choiceHow f...

You’re changing—whether you want to or not. The real question is: Are you directing the change, or just getting dragged along for the ride? In this episode, Justin Wenck, PhD, breaks down the difference between unconscious change (which leads to frustration, limitation, and repetition)… and conscious change (which leads to growth, possibility, and enjoyment). You’ll explore how to identify the changes you actually want, how to stop focusing on what you’re running from, and how to become the a...

You might be chasing happiness all wrong—and it’s costing you more than you realize. Justin Wenck, PhD, unpacks the real reasons happiness can feel elusive, even when life looks good on the outside. He breaks down the three essential questions we rarely ask: What does it take to be happy?What does happiness actually mean to you?And most importantly… what even is happiness?If you’ve ever felt like happiness is a moving target—or worse, something you’re not “allowed” to feel—this episode is fo...

Wanting isn’t the problem. In fact, it’s the beginning of everything meaningful in your life. But somewhere along the way, we learned to suppress, shame, or override our desires—until we forget what we even want in the first place. In this episode, I break down three common ways wanting goes wrong, share a few weird/funny stories from my own life (including slapping hams like bongo drums), and guide you back to wanting in a way that feels exciting, intuitive, and safe. In this solo episode, J...

What if your struggles with communication weren’t about skills... …but about beliefs? In this eye-opening episode, Justin goes beyond communication techniques and dives into your relationship with communication itself. If you’ve read the books, taken the courses, or rehearsed the perfect pitch—and still find yourself misunderstood or tongue-tied—this is the episode you’ve been waiting for. ⚠️ Spoiler: If you believe communication is unsafe, complicated, or pointless…Your reality will keep ref...

What if the thing you think is holding you back… is actually the thing that sets you free? We’re talking about structure. The rules. The routines. The shoulds. You might love ‘em or want to burn them to the ground. But here’s the truth: structure isn’t the problem. It’s the kind of structure—and your relationship to it—that determines whether it supports your expansion… or strangles your spirit. In this, I unpack how to consciously create structure that fuels your joy, your creativity, your r...

In this delayed episode of Engineering Emotions & Energy with Justin Wenck, Ph.D., he opens up about a personal bout of severe illness and the deeper lessons that came from it. More than a story about getting sick, this episode dives into what happens when life throws curveballs—and how we can find resilience, growth, and even joy in the moments that don’t go as planned. Takeaways include: How to reframe illness or hardship as an opportunity for deeper rest and insightRecognizing support ...