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Stop Wasting Your Energy — Here’s What to Do Instead (with Dr. Diana Hill)

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Stop Wasting Your Energy — Here’s What to Do Instead (with Dr. Diana Hill)

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Jan 05
The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Jan 05
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

A lot of us spend our energy on things that aren’t worth it: projects, relationships, or goals that may feel important in the moment but ultimately leave us frustrated and drained. Dr. Diana Hill, clinical psychologist and author of Wise Effort: How to Fo...

Highlights

This episode kicks off The Happiness Lab’s 2026 season with a fresh lens on personal change—not as a matter of willpower, but of *wise effort*: how we consciously direct our finite energy to live more aligned, energized, and purposeful lives.
00:00
Unwise effort can trap us, even when we’re trying our hardest
03:01
Many people keep pushing hard in unproductive ways, leading to exhaustion and learned helplessness
08:58
Curiosity makes experiences rewarding and helps see possibilities to get unstuck
14:38
Values are qualities of action that bring a sense of aliveness
26:16
The things we avoid are usually related to our values
48:04
Energy frenemies are our strengths that become counterproductive when misused

Chapters

Why does trying harder sometimes trap us instead of freeing us?
00:00
What happens when we mistake persistence for progress?
03:01
How can curiosity and journaling help us see new paths forward?
08:58
What makes a goal feel energizing—even before it's finished?
14:38
When should we shake up our routine—and when should we lean into discomfort?
23:06
How does listening to our bodies change the way we choose where to put our energy?
29:05

Transcript

Dr. Laurie Santos: This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. We've all been there. You hold on to a coupon, but forget about it, and suddenly it's expired. Expired in 2012. Dang it. Fortunately, by switching to Geico, you could save about $900 on car in...