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Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
25,001 - 50,000 - Monthly Reach
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75,001 - 150,000 - Active Followers
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15,001 - 40,000
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On the show
From 11 epsHosts
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Recent episodes
298. When Abstention Becomes the Measure
May 4, 2026
32m 03s
[Rebroadcast] Going Beyond Outcomes with Growth Goals
Apr 27, 2026
29m 42s
[Rebroadcast] How to Help the Anxious Generation Thrive
Apr 20, 2026
32m 38s
295. The Sacrifice Trap
Apr 13, 2026
29m 02s
294. How Being Right Can Keep You Stuck
Apr 6, 2026
30m 31s
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| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/4/26 | 298. When Abstention Becomes the Measure✨ | temperancewellness+4 | Kevin | — | — | temperancewellness+6 | — | 32m 03s | |
| 4/27/26 | [Rebroadcast] Going Beyond Outcomes with Growth Goals✨ | growth goalsautomaticity+3 | — | Reframer toolOptimalWork | OptimalWork.com | automaticitygrowth goals+3 | — | 29m 42s | |
| 4/20/26 | [Rebroadcast] How to Help the Anxious Generation Thrive✨ | anxietyGen Z+4 | Dr. Kevin Majeres | The Anxious Generation | — | anxietyGen Z+5 | — | 32m 38s | |
| 4/13/26 | 295. The Sacrifice Trap✨ | mindsetperformance+4 | Kevin | OptimalWork | — | sacrifice trapmindset+5 | — | 29m 02s | |
| 4/6/26 | 294. How Being Right Can Keep You Stuck✨ | resentmentjustice+3 | — | — | — | resentmentjustice+5 | — | 30m 31s | |
| 3/30/26 | 293. How to Conquer Scrupulosity✨ | scrupulosityOCD+4 | Kevin | OptimalWork | — | scrupulosityOCD+4 | — | 29m 34s | |
| 3/23/26 | [Rebroadcast] Is All Therapy Bad Therapy?✨ | therapymental health+4 | Dr. Kevin Majeres | Bad Therapy | — | therapyAbigail Shrier+5 | — | 31m 04s | |
| 3/16/26 | 291. OptimalWork Gets Intelligence: AI, Goals, and the Future of the Golden Hour✨ | AIpersonal growth+3 | Sharif | OptimalWork | — | AIgoals+3 | — | 30m 55s | |
| 3/9/26 | [Rebroadcast] Why You Should Stop Labeling People✨ | labelingrelationships+3 | — | — | — | labelingrelationships+5 | — | 29m 35s | |
| 3/2/26 | [Rebroadcast] Harnessing Your Brain’s Predictions to Transform Anxiety✨ | anxietybrain predictions+4 | — | OptimalWork | — | anxietyprocrastination+4 | — | 26m 26s | |
Want analysis for the episodes below?Free for Pro Submit a request, we'll have your selected episodes analyzed within an hour. Free, at no cost to you, for Pro users. | |||||||||
| 2/23/26 | 288: Dynamics of Vitality VI: Friendship & Justice✨ | friendshipjustice+4 | Kevin | OptimalWorkNicomachean Ethics | — | vitalityfriendship+5 | — | 32m 08s | |
| 2/16/26 | [Rebroadcast] How to Navigate Inner Conflict | #287: Why do we sometimes feel like we're at war with ourselves? In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres dive into a therapy approach called Internal Family Systems (IFS), exploring how our mind has various parts — protectors and exiles — which are sometimes in conflict. Approaching these parts with curiosity and compassion paves the way to resilience and growth. IFS offers valuable tools for everyday life and self-therapy. This discussion is geared toward empowering you to apply these learnings to your own internal challenges, fostering a path to flourishing.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
| 2/8/26 | 286. Dynamics of Vitality V: Centered on Justice | #286: In this episode, Sharif and Kevin continue their deep dive into the dynamics of vitality by tackling the most overlooked of the cardinal virtues: justice. Building on their framework linking anxiety, depression, and addiction to different “engines” of human behavior, Kevin explains why justice doesn’t merely fix one problem but reorders the entire system. Through vivid metaphors and clinical insight, they explore why true healing can’t happen in isolation, how serving something greater than oneself restores balance, and why modern ideas of self-care often reinforce the very valleys they aim to escape. The conversation reframes mental health around bonds, responsibility, and the powerful role of giving one’s best to others.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
| 2/2/26 | 285. Dynamics of Vitality IV: The Cardinal Virtues | #285: In this episode, Sharif and Kevin map the ancient framework of the cardinal virtues—prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance—onto the modern “three engines” model of meaning, effort, and attention. Kevin argues that love sits at the core of both emotion and virtue, and shows how different “dark valleys” (anxiety, depression, addiction) have corresponding saddle points where a person can open to reality or close against it. The conversation turns practical as they translate each virtue into a simple question you can ask in the heat of the moment—especially when uncertainty, exhaustion, or craving tries to hijack your next move.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
| 1/26/26 | 284. Dynamics of Vitality III: The Power of Saddle Points | #284: Sharif and Dr. Majeres return to unpack one of the most practical ideas in OptimalWork: valleys, vitality, and the “saddle points” where change actually happens. Kevin explains how anxiety, depression, and addiction are shaped by love misdirected toward relief, and why the moments in between—waking up, starting work, finishing a task—are where everything tilts. They explore how love functions as a kind of gravity, how predicted pain gets people trapped in their heads, and why opening willingly to discomfort for the sake of real bonds is the only path back to vitality. The conversation blends neuroscience, philosophy, and daily work habits into a framework that helps people recognize temptation not as failure, but as a moment of choice.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
| 1/19/26 | [Rebroadcast] Getting Past Shame-Based Motivation | #283: What motivates you to get up in the morning? What motivates you to continue working on a challenging task? Learning how to motivate yourself is essential to true success, but so many people are motivated by a fear of failure, that is, by shame. In this episode, we discuss the relationship between shame and motivation, how to tap into deeper sources of motivation, and how to overcome shame using techniques from Internal Family Systems (IFS). In our next episode, we’ll discuss more in-depth how to apply IFS.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
| 1/12/26 | [Rebroadcast] Overcoming Anxiety III: Incorporating Ideals | #282: Overcoming anxiety occurs in three successive stages. In the third and final installment of a three episode series, we discuss stage three: using adrenaline to achieve maximal growth. Stage one, bronze-work, centers on challenging yourself by engaging triggers head-on, and it has the effect of habituating the fear associated with that particular trigger. Stage two, silver-work, centers on being mindful of the alarm as it’s sounding, and it helps you accept the discomfort associated with triggers in general. Finally, stage three, gold-work, helps you focus on transcendent goals — skills, ideals, and bonds — so that the adrenaline you have brings out your best.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
| 1/5/26 | [Rebroadcast] How to Approach Every Challenge With a Sense of Newness | #281: Whenever we do something repeatedly, we’ll tend eventually to do it in a rote, automatic way. This even applies to OptimalWork’s core practices: reframing, mindfulness, and challenge. In this episode we show how curiosity can help you overcome this tendency and bring a sense of newness to every challenge you face.Find more at https://www.OptimalWork.com. | — | ||||||
| 12/29/25 | [Rebroadcast] Beginning the Year with High Hopes | #280: The New Year provides a unique opportunity for a fresh start. To make the most of this opportunity, approach your resolutions with hope and creativity: hope so that you strive for the highest things (ideals, bonds) and creativity so that you can strategize how to achieve them. In this episode, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif Younes discuss a broad array of questions related to New Year’s resolutions.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
| 12/22/25 | [Rebroadcast] A Cheerful Giver | #279: In this episode, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss some questions received by email about service. Working with a spirit of service means shaping yourself so that you’re the kind of person who is ready to give cheerfully to all those around you. Although this requires that the actual work you’re doing is helpful, the essence lies instead in the way you do it: with a willingness to form and prioritize bonds with those closest to you.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
| 12/15/25 | [Rebroadcast] Overcoming Anxiety II: Develop Daring | #278: Overcoming anxiety occurs in three successive stages. In the second installment of a three episode series, we discuss stage two: using mindfulness to experience the alarm of anxiety. When you focus on the alarm of anxiety, rather than the trigger only, the learning generalizes to all triggers. It also flips the feeling of fear into one of daring, an eagerness to approach the trigger. This sets the stage for you to use your anxiety and adrenaline to achieve peak performance, which is the topic of next week’s episode.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
| 12/8/25 | 277. Dynamics of Vitality II: Valleys and Vortexes | #277: In this conversation, Sharif and Kevin delve deeper into the dynamics of human growth and why progress often feels nonlinear. Drawing from chaos theory, they explore the idea of “valleys” and “vortexes” of anxiety, depression, and addiction—and how a single loving, willing action in the present moment can reverse even the strongest downward momentum. Kevin explains how vitality emerges from embracing challenges rather than seeking relief, and how the same simple move sustains resilience whether someone is studying for finals or facing a personal crisis. This episode offers a practical and empowering map for anyone who wants confidence that they really are growing, even when circumstances get harder.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
| 12/1/25 | 276. Dynamics of Vitality I: Tipping Points | #276: In this conversation, Sharif Younes and Dr. Kevin Majeres introduce the idea of “strange attractors” as a framework for understanding why people can abruptly shift between vitality and states like anxiety, depression, or addiction. Drawing from chaos theory, Kevin explains how meaning, effort, and attention can lock into recognizable behavioral patterns—some virtuous, some vicious—that scale from a moment to an entire life. Sharif and Kevin explore how “signature moves” define each valley, why people can feel stuck even when they're doing everything right, and how small acts of willingness at key transition points (“saddle points”) can redirect the whole system toward vitality. This is the first episode in a series unpacking these dynamics and how to apply them in real life.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
| 11/24/25 | 275. Engines of Enthusiasm III: Attention and the Cortex | #275: In this episode, Sharif and Kevin explore how the cortex and attention form the capstone of motivation and enthusiasm. Together, they trace how meaning (the septum), willingness (the striatum), and focused presence (the cortex) work in harmony to create clarity, silence, and smoothness: the hallmarks of deep attention and flow. Kevin explains why distractions arise, what inner “friction” really signals, and how love and service fuel the brain’s attentional systems. This conversation offers a vivid look at how desire, silence, and love form a virtuous cycle in work and life.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
| 11/17/25 | 274. Engines of Enthusiasm II: Effort and the Striatum | #274: In this follow-up to their discussion on meaning and the septum, Sharif and Kevin turn to the striatum—the brain’s engine of effort and challenge. Kevin explains how our willingness to act depends on dopamine, and how love, purpose, and embracing discomfort transform drudgery into freedom and flow. They contrast this neuroscience-based approach with Stoicism, showing how the key to persistence isn’t suppressing emotion but letting meaningful motivation drive every action.Find more at https://OptimalWork.com | — | ||||||
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