We think we knew it all along, but hindsight bias distorts judgment and fuels overconfidence. Armand DiMele and co-hosts Linda and Julian explore the psychology of bad habits, including why elimination is harder than replacement, and how scheduling, rewards, and physical interruption techniques can help.
Focus, not talent, is the biggest obstacle between most people and success. Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and author of The Power of Focus, joins Armand DiMele and Dr. Rachel Hutt to discuss building focus through meditation and will, replacing bad habits, managing toxic relationships, and why unresolved emotions act as a brake on achievement.
Control shapes us from toilet training to adulthood, but the drive to master ourselves and others carries a steep cost. Armand DiMele traces the psychology of control through panic attacks, obsessive perfectionism, and bad habits, arguing that naming fear openly does more good than white-knuckling it.
Every change demands a loss, and Armand DiMele makes that the central argument of this New Year’s Day reflection. Wanting more organization means surrendering some creative chaos; dropping anger means facing the sadness underneath it. He walks through anger, depression, isolation, and petty dishonesty as sites where real change begins, and closes with a set of simple, non-preachy invitations: weep freely, listen without challenging, apologize, be kinder.
Willpower is a finite chemical resource, not a moral virtue. Armand DiMele draws on research by Roy Baumeister to show how blood sugar fuels self-control, why tackling multiple goals at once backfires, and how treating willpower like a muscle allows it to grow over time.
Fireworks to chase evil spirits, 108 gong strikes, color-coded underwear for luck: Armand DiMele traces the surprising origins of New Year’s customs from Japan to Spain to Germany, then turns to why resolutions fail and how small, specific changes outperform grand acts of willpower.
Over-organization at the holidays can itself be an expression of anger, research suggests. Armand DiMele and organizing expert Marsha Ramsland work through practical strategies for gift lists, themed buying, scheduling and teaching children organizational habits, while Armand pushes back on the limits of pure efficiency.
Neatness, noise, light sensitivity, refrigerator raids, toothbrushes: Armand DiMele walks through the unglamorous friction points that sink shared living arrangements. The argument is that couples rush into cohabitation on chemistry alone, then get blindsided by mismatched habits they never thought to discuss.
