The One You Feed | Personal Growth, Emotional Resilience & Purpose

Eric Zimmer

Build resilience. Cultivate self-compassion. Live with purpose. The One You Feed brings conversations with leading thinkers — James Clear, Susan Cain, Tara Brach, and more — to help you navigate life’s challenges and feed your good wolf. No perfection, just direction, insight, and the small, consistent actions that make a meaningful life.

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1,024 episodes
Updated Friday

Episodes1024

Newest first

Aug 18, 2025 · 1 hr 14 min
Be the Change You Want to See with Ukeme Awakessien Jeter
In this episode, Ukeme Awakessien Jeter explores the importance of learning to be the change you want to see. She shares her journey as an immigrant and Black woman in a predominantly white suburb, discussing adaptability, leadership, and civic engagement. She reflects on raising her daughter, building inclusive communities, and the unique leadership strengths immigrants bring. The conversation also touches on feeling overwhelmed in life as Ukeme reminds us that when our days feel full to bursti
Aug 15, 2025 · 1 hr
How to Build a Family Culture That Brings You Closer and Makes You Stronger with Steven Shapiro and Nancy Shapiro Rapport
In this episode, Steven Shapiro and Nancy Shapiro discuss how to build a family culture that brings you closer and makes you stronger. They are a brother and sister duo, educators and creators of the “Our Family Culture” system. Steven and Nancy discuss the importance of intentionally shaping family culture to support children’s emotional well-being and resilience and they share practical strategies for identifying core values, developing shared language, and practicing consistent, meaningful ac
Aug 12, 2025 · 1 hr 4 min
When Success Hides Suffering: Understanding High Functioning Depression with Dr. Judith Joseph
In this episode, Dr. Judith Joseph explains what happens when success hides suffering, and the importance of understanding high-functioning depression. She explores why many people who look fine on the outside are quietly suffering on the inside with something we rarely talk about: anhedonia, the loss of joy, or the loss of ability to feel pleasure. This is an important conversation that highlights this often overlooked and underplayed challenge of high-functioning depression that so many of us
Aug 8, 2025 · 51 min
Why Ethics and Joy Belong Together with Peter Singer
In this episode, Peter Singer explains why ethics and joy belong together. He offers a moral wake-up call as he shares his now-famous “drowning child” thought experiment: if we saw a child drowning right in front of us, we’d act without hesitation. So why do we so often fail to act when suffering is farther away?Peter challenges the idea that ethics is about rigid rules or self-denial. Instead, he argues that living ethically is a path to a more joyful and meaningful life. This conversation expl
Aug 5, 2025 · 1 hr 6 min
The Path to Inexplicable Joy: How Self-Friendship Can Change Everything with Susan Piver
In this episode, Susan Piver discusses the path to inexplicable joy and how self-friendship can change everything. She shares this powerful statement, “I can’t defeat my enemies, but I can strengthen my friends,” which offers a different kind of hope that shifts our focus from fighting battles we can’t win, to caring for the people and communities closest to us. Susan shares what real power looks like, not dominance, but care, and also shares five practical ways to cultivate personal power in ev
Aug 1, 2025 · 1 hr 11 min
Finding Meaning Through Caregiving, Loss, and Writing with Nickolas Butler
In this episode, Nickolas Butler explores finding meaning through caregiving, loss, and writing. At just 20 years old, Nick became his father’s legal guardian after a sudden brain aneurysm — a role he held for 23 years. What began as a family emergency became a long, complex journey that shaped his identity, his values, and his voice as a novelist. In this honest and moving conversation, Nick shares the emotional toll and unexpected wisdom that caregiving can bring, the power of presence, and ho
Jul 29, 2025 · 1 hr 4 min
How to Quiet the Inner Critic and Finally Get Unstuck with Michelle Chalfant
In this episode, Michelle Chalfant explores how to quiet the inner critic and finally get unstuck. She has spent 25 years developing practical tools for working with what she calls the other wolf. Michelle explains why most of us are making decisions from the emotional age of about 13. And she’ll give you the exact process for transforming triggers into growth. Her motto is “I will let nothing or no one disconnect me from myself.” and by the end of this conversation, you’ll know how to make that
Jul 25, 2025 · 1 hr 11 min
From Divorce to Discovery: Nature’s Wisdom for Life’s Transitions with Lyanda Haupt
In this episode, Lyanda Haupt shares her journey from divorce to discovery and nature's wisdom for life's transitions. She challenges everything you might think you know about hope, about walking barefoot on the earth, and what it actually means to feed the good wolf. Discover the six hidden saboteurs that quietly derail your best intentions—like autopilot behavior, self-doubt, and emotional escape. Download our free guide to uncover what’s getting in your way and learn simple strategies to tak
Jul 22, 2025 · 1 hr
Why We Resist Change (and What to Do About It) with Ross Ellenhorn
In this episode, Ross Ellenhorn explores the complexities of why we resist change and what to do about it. As Ross explains in this conversation, “staying the same protects you from the insult of small steps.” He shows us why these tiny steps can sometimes feel insulting and demoralizing. Ross also delves into the fear of raising expectations, the pain of disappointment, and why hope itself can feel threatening Discover the six hidden saboteurs that quietly derail your best intentions—like auto
Jul 18, 2025 · 1 hr 9 min
How to Create Change at Work Without Losing Yourself with Melody Wilding
In this episode, Melody Wilding discusses how to create change at work without losing yourself. She challenges the idea that you’re powerless at work, even in tough cultures. If you’ve ever wondered how to navigate office politics, or if there’s a way to work with integrity even when you’re not in charge, this conversation will give you both practical tools and hope. Get Weekly Bites of Wisdom delivered to your inbox. Every Wednesday, you’ll receive a short, practical email that distills the b
Jul 15, 2025 · 1 hr 8 min
Can Radical Hope Save Us from Despair in a Fractured World? with Jamie Wheal
In this episode, Jamie Wheal explores the question of “Can radical hope save us from despair in a fractured world?” He argues that most of the feel-good positivity we are sold is useless when facing real crises, from climate collapse to meaninglessness. But there is a kind of hope that survives contact with brutal reality. Get Weekly Bites of Wisdom delivered to your inbox. Every Wednesday, you’ll receive a short, practical email that distills the big ideas from different episodes on topics lik
Jul 11, 2025 · 39 min
Is Stress Speeding Up Your Aging? What You Can Do About It Today with Elissa Epel
In this episode, Elissa Epel explores how stress can speed up aging and what you can do about it. She explains telomeres, which are those protective caps on our chromosomes, shorten with stress and poor habits, speeding up aging and disease. She also delves into the science of how thought patterns, diet, and even our response to daily challenges can literally change our biology. Want to stay intentional in your daily life? Sign up for Good Wolf Reminders—free, thoughtful text messages from Eric
Jul 8, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
From “Why Me?” to “What Now?”: A New Approach to Pain and Growth with Scott Barry Kaufman
In this episode, Scott Barry Kaufman challenges us to go from asking ourselves “Why Me?” to “What Now?” as he unpacks a new approach to pain and growth. Scott explains how the real work happens in the messy middle as we unpack the dangers of black and white thinking, and why genuine change isn’t about a single epiphany, but a thousand small choices. If you’ve ever wondered how to hold your suffering without letting it define you, or how to spot the agency that you still have, this episode is for
Jul 4, 2025 · 1 hr 9 min
Purposeful Living: Strategies to Align Your Values and Actions with Victor Strecher
In this episode, Victor Strecher discusses purposeful living and strategies to align your values and actions. Vic shares his imperfect journey back to meaning and to living for what matters most after losing his daughter. He explores what it means to be purposeful versus just having a purpose, how energy and vitality play a role in living out our values, and why purpose isn’t just for the privileged. For the first time in over three years, I’ve got a couple open spots in my coaching practice. I
Jul 1, 2025 · 1 hr
Escape the Goal Trap: Embrace Curiosity and Tiny Experiments with Anne-Laure Le Cunff
In this episode, Anne-Laure Le Cunff, discusses how to go from procrastination to action using the power of tiny experiments. Most advice about self-improvement assumes you know where you’re going, but what if you don’t? Anne-Laure suggests that’s not a flaw, it’s actually the starting point. Her new book, Tiny Experiments, offers a way to explore change without chasing outcomes. In our conversation, we talk about curiosity as a guide, how to stay engaged in uncertainty, and what it means to cho
Jun 27, 2025 · 58 min
The Hidden Cause of Procrastination and How to Finally Move Forward with Taylor Jacobson
In this episode, Taylor Jacobson discusses the hidden cause of procrastination and how to finally move forward in your life. He explores how transformation rarely feels graceful, how repressed emotions shape our behavior, and what it takes to live a life true to your inner compass. It’s a vulnerable, grounded conversation about fear, reinvention, and creating space for what you actually want to give to the world. For the first time in over three years, I’ve got a couple open spots in my coachin
Jun 24, 2025 · 1 hr 7 min
The Quiet Pain of Self-Loathing and Finding the Courage to Face It with Sarah Gormley
In this episode, Sarah Gormley discusses the quiet pain of self-loathing and finding the courage to face it. Sarah had it all – a thriving corporate career, success, and admiration. But beneath was a quiet, relentless self-loathing she couldn’t shake. In her memoir, The Order of Things, Sarah shares the profound turning point at 40 when she finally asked, is this how it’s going to feel forever? She unpacks why therapy isn’t linear, how grief can deepen gratitude, and the freedom that comes when
Jun 20, 2025 · 1 hr 7 min
Why We Stop Noticing What Matters and How to Feel Alive Again with Tali Sharot
Habituation and why we stop noticing what matters
Jun 17, 2025 · 57 min
Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Life: Finding Ease and Clarity with Charlie Gilkey
You're doing everything right, staying productive, chasing growth, keeping up. But what if the discomfort you feel isn't a sign that you need to do more, but a signal to let go? In this episode, Charlie Gilkey and I explore the Tao Te Ching, which is one of my favorite books of all time, but not as a relic from the past, but as a guide for navigating the speed and complexities of modern life, including the rise of AI.We talk about how ancient wisdom can live side by side with new technology and
Jun 13, 2025 · 1 hr 4 min
How to Recognize the Hidden Signs of Burnout with Leah Weiss
A discussion on workplace burnout, how to recognize and recover from it.

The One You Feed | Personal Growth, Emotional Resilience & Purpose

Be the Change You Want to See with Ukeme Awakessien Jeter

How to Build a Family Culture That Brings You Closer and Makes You Stronger with Steven Shapiro and Nancy Shapiro Rapport

When Success Hides Suffering: Understanding High Functioning Depression with Dr. Judith Joseph

Why Ethics and Joy Belong Together with Peter Singer

The Path to Inexplicable Joy: How Self-Friendship Can Change Everything with Susan Piver

Finding Meaning Through Caregiving, Loss, and Writing with Nickolas Butler

How to Quiet the Inner Critic and Finally Get Unstuck with Michelle Chalfant

From Divorce to Discovery: Nature’s Wisdom for Life’s Transitions with Lyanda Haupt

Why We Resist Change (and What to Do About It) with Ross Ellenhorn

How to Create Change at Work Without Losing Yourself with Melody Wilding

Can Radical Hope Save Us from Despair in a Fractured World? with Jamie Wheal

Is Stress Speeding Up Your Aging? What You Can Do About It Today with Elissa Epel

From “Why Me?” to “What Now?”: A New Approach to Pain and Growth with Scott Barry Kaufman

Purposeful Living: Strategies to Align Your Values and Actions with Victor Strecher

Escape the Goal Trap: Embrace Curiosity and Tiny Experiments with Anne-Laure Le Cunff

The Hidden Cause of Procrastination and How to Finally Move Forward with Taylor Jacobson

The Quiet Pain of Self-Loathing and Finding the Courage to Face It with Sarah Gormley

Why We Stop Noticing What Matters and How to Feel Alive Again with Tali Sharot

Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Life: Finding Ease and Clarity with Charlie Gilkey

How to Recognize the Hidden Signs of Burnout with Leah Weiss