Welcome back to the Own It All podcast! I’m thrilled this week to share my conversation with host of the top-rated and much-downloaded self help podcast Unf*ck Your Brain, Kara Loewentheil. Kara is a Master Certified Coach with a B.A. from Yale and J.D. from Harvard Law, and she has been featured in outlets like Marie Claire, Mind Body Green, MSN.com, and The Huffington Post. 

Kara and I talked a lot about perfectionism, thought work, and liberation from the inside out. If your brain could use a little bit of “unf*cking” right now, well, this is definitely the episode for you. Kara even shared a brief step-by-step process you can use right now if you’re trying to neutralize your thoughts.

1. Write down the thoughts — no editing or analyzing!
2. Pick 1 thought and come up with a neutral version of it. Example: transform the thought “My stomach is gross” to the neutral thought “A lot of people have a stomach like mine.”
3. Practice this thought! Repeat it, either aloud or in your head.
4. Make it a habit by using a reminder app, making it a password, or even putting post-it notes around your house.
5. Pay attention to how it feels different in your body over time.

“Women being able to think and feel how they want is what’s going to create everything else we want on the outside. It’s going to create women negotiating for better pay and family friendly leave, and loving their bodies, and enjoying fitness because it feels good. Whatever it is that we want on the outside, we have to do the inside work first. For me, this work is about freeing women to own their lives, but it has to start in our minds.”

Kara, thank you so much for coming onto the show and sharing your insights on thought work with all of us. And thank you to all of you out there listening and sharing the show! If you want to hear more from Kara, check out unfckyourbrain.com or follow her on Instagram. See you next week!