The End of the Day Podcast with Kari Watterson: Using Mindset Work to Live Your Best Life

If you've ever turned down the radio to think, or decluttered before tackling a project or new task, you'll want to learn about house hushing. Coined by home decor author, Myquillyn Smith, house hushing is the act of "quieting" a physical space of visual clutter for 24 hours so the brain can experience what a room could be like without everything in it. Smith calls this "backwards decluttering" because you get to experience the emotional and visual benefit of decluttering right away without the decision fatigue of actual decluttering. The idea is once your brain knows that it's possible to feel peace, calm and order in your space again, it will yearn for simplicity and be very protective and intentional about what gets let back in.
You can see the parallels between house hushing and mind hushing.
By the end of this episode, you'll be itching to use Myquillyn Smith's concept to not only hush your physical spaces but the areas of your life that feel like are always yelling at you.
Imagine what your present and future could be like if you did the work to quiet the noisiest aspects of your life.
Cited in this episode:
Terrence Bradshaw (@xterrencebjr)
Article: "House Hushing and Why You Need It" by Myquillyn Smith of The Nester
-----
The 'Wanting vs. Yearning' Exercise
-----
Original music by JMW
-----
1:1 mindset coaching is for anyone who loves the idea of spending the next 6 to 12 months actively working through the thoughts and beliefs that have been keeping them from living and loving life. Part mindset, part habits, part identity, part self-talk, each week you'll learn tools and concepts that will help you clean up your thinking and deepen your belief in your ability to use your own mind to direct your own life.
If this work feels like exactly what you've been missing, head on over to my website to sign up for my free offering (a 90-minute deep-dive coaching call) so you can experience firsthand how learning to direct your own mind will forever change your life.
You'll walk away from the call with tools and resources that will have you looking at yourself and your life with fresh eyes and an empowered mindset.
How long have you been struggling with the same thoughts and beliefs?
And are you ready to fight for something different?
To book your free call, visit KariWatterson.com.
------
Let's connect:
Website
Instagram: @_thisonelife
LinkedIn

In this final episode of the three-part series, we explore one of the most critical but overlooked steps in personal growth: deciding what to do with what you’ve learned. It’s not enough to expand your awareness or gain new insights—real change happens when you give your brain a clear directive on how you want to move forward.

Through a replay of a screen recording originally shared on LinkedIn, I walk you through what I do after a ChatGPT session to keep the momentum going. This isn’t about accumulating more knowledge; it’s about choosing a focus, creating clarity, and setting the tone for how you’ll apply what you’ve learned in your life.

The episode also touches on how narrowing your focus to what’s actionable and within your control helps filter out the noise, avoid overwhelm, and direct your energy where it can have the most impact.

Key Highlights:

• From Awareness to Action: Why gaining insight is only the first step toward transformation.
• Giving Your Brain a Directive: How to decide what you want to focus on and what to keep in mind moving forward.
• Narrowing the Scope: The power of focusing on what’s actionable to avoid stagnation and overwhelm.
• Using ChatGPT for Momentum: How AI can help spark ideas and clarify your next steps.

---
Links to screen recordings referenced in this episode (originally published on LinkedIn):
-- Episode 76
-- Episode 77
-- Episode 78
---
Recommended resource:
Book | A Handbook for New Stoics: How to Thrive in a World Out of Your Control
by Massimo Pigliucci and Gregory Lopez
---
Intro/outro music by JMW
---
Life isn't meant to feel so hard. See how your thinking is keeping you from the life you want. $39 coaching sessions. To book a call, visit KariWatterson.com.

Website
Instagram: @kari_mindsetcoach
LinkedIn

Last week we talked about harnessing the emotional intensity of your deepest yearning to 'hush' or quiet the areas of your life that are 'yelling' at you, This week we talk about channeling that deep motivation into action and how to avoid the common pitfall of gaining your reward from planning and thinking (and more planning and more thinking) versus from taking actual steps toward the change you want.
If you have a cognitive bias toward thinking versus action, and you feel like you can't get beyond a certain point, this podcast episode is for you.
Cited in this episode:
Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Dr. Kristin Neff
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Dr. Carol Dweck
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Joe Dispenza
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach (also: the Tara Brach podcast on all major platforms)
Dr. J. Russell Ramsay (Psychologist, ADHD expert, speaker, author of several books on ADHD, including Rethinking Adult ADHD: Helping Clients Turn Intentions Into Actions)
The 'Wanting vs. Yearning' Exercise
-----
Original music by JMW
-----
1:1 mindset coaching is for anyone who loves the idea of spending the next 6 to 12 months actively working through the thoughts and beliefs that have been keeping them from living and loving life. Part mindset, part habits, part identity, part self-talk, each week you'll learn tools and concepts that will help you clean up your thinking and deepen your belief in your ability to use your own mind to direct your own life.
If this work feels like exactly what you've been missing, head on over to my website to sign up for my free offering (a 90-minute deep-dive coaching call) so you can experience firsthand how learning to direct your own mind will forever change your life.
You'll walk away from the call with tools and resources that will have you looking at yourself and your life with fresh eyes and an empowered mindset.
How long have you been struggling with the same thoughts and beliefs?
And are you ready to fight for something different?
To book your free call, visit KariWatterson.com.
------
Let's connect:
Website
Instagram: @_thisonelife
LinkedIn

Bruce Lee said, "There are no limits, only plateaus." This is not just an inspirational thought but a truth of life that could shift everything for you when you feel stuck.
Plateaus acknowledge you've done work to get to where you currently are.
They also acknowledge there's more work to do to get where you want to go.
That's it.
Our brains like to complicate and make things very dramatic, especially when we desire an outcome but still wonder if it's possible.
But one of the gifts of being human is our ability to bring awareness to what we're thinking, being able to see what our thoughts are creating, and then recognizing that we have the choice to think something different in order to create a different result.
By the end of this episode, I hope you will see that plateaus are not barriers or ceilings, but simply opportunities to notice and challenge the thoughts that are getting in the way.
-----
Some questions to shift your thinking during these times:
1. Am I really at a plateau?
2. What emotion am I actually trying to avoid feeling?
3. What is the bottleneck? (paired with the focusing question, “What's the One Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”)
4. Where I am hiding? Where am I playing small? Is my goal big enough?
5. What am I not accepting about where I am right now? (aka resisting)
6. Have I really been putting forth the effort?
7. Am I actually managing my mind and thinking on purpose regularly, or do I let my mind wander?
8. What skill might I need to learn?
9. Where can I get help so I can offer my brain different insights & awareness so that my negative thoughts and limiting beliefs aren't the only input in my head?
10. What do I need to stop thinking? What do I need to start thinking? What do I need to stop telling myself? What do I need to start telling myself? What do I believe, or, more importantly, what do I want to believe?
-----
Cited in this episode:
Bruce Lee
Hal Elrod | The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (By 8 AM)
Jim Rohn
James Clear | Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones
Brooke Castillo | The Life Coach School Podcast
Gary Keller & Jay Papasan | The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results
Ethan Kross | Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It
-----
Quotes:
"There are no limits, only plateaus." -- Bruce Lee
"Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal growth, because success is something you attract by the person you become." -- Jim Rohn
"What is the ONE thing such that if you did it everything else would be easier or unnecessary?" -- Gary Keller & Jay Papasan
-----
1:1 mindset coaching isn’t just for athletes or select special people. It’s for anyone who wants to ask more of themselves but knows their thinking is getting in the way.
If this is work you’re excited to do, sign up for my free offering (a 90-minute deep dive coaching call) so you can experience firsthand how managing your mind can bring more peace, happiness, and success into your life.
To book your free call, visit KariWatterson.com.
At the end of the day, we have one life.
How do you want to live yours?
Think about it.
And then, let's get to work.
------
Instagram: @_thisonelife

Motivational quotes are everywhere: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. A well-crafted, well-curated quote can be incredibly powerful.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." -- Wayne Gretzky
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." -- Lao Tzu
"Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become." -- James Clear
Quotes like these remind us who want to be and where we want to go. They give us hope that change is possible. They help us see beyond our current reality. They help us remember why we're doing what we're doing.
Our brains love motivational quotes because they communicate a lot of information quickly, which suits our brains' hardwiring to value efficiency.
But, as with anything, unless we also take steps toward what we truly want, motivational quotes are just words. And if we're not in the right mental and emotional space, or if we're not also taking actual steps toward the change we want, motivational quotes might actually make us feel worse.
In this episode, I talk about using motivational quotes as a mental shortcut -- a heuristic -- to remind us in an instant of the decisions we've already made about where we're going and who we're becoming along the way.
Thanks so much for tuning in.
-----
The following are a few more of my favorite quotes:
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." -- Maya Angelou
“The emotion of fear often works overtime. Even when there is no immediate threat, our body may remain tight and on guard, our mind narrowed to focus on what might go wrong. When this happens, fear is no longer functioning to secure our survival. We are caught in the trance of fear and our moment-to-moment experience becomes bound in reactivity. We spend our time and energy defending our life rather than living it fully.” -- Tara Brach
"We can make ourselves miserable or we can make ourselves strong. The amount of effort is the same." Pema Chödrön
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" -- Mary Oliver
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." -- Carl Jung
"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." -- Marcus Aurelius
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." -- John A. Shedd
"She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails." -- Elizabeth Edwards
"I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning to sail my ship." -- Louisa May Alcott
------
Original intro/outro music by JMW.
------
To learn more about what I do, my coaching philosophy and how to work with me, email me at [email protected] or visit my website at https://kariwatterson.com.
Have an area of struggle you’d love to work through? Book a free 90-minute coaching call and learn some tools that will help you change your life. See website or follow me on Instagram (@kari_mindsetcoach) to learn more.
------
For more mindset tips, resources and insights, you can find me here:
Instagram (@kari_mindsetcoach)
LinkedIn
Medium