The Mel Robbins Podcast

Try This Today: How to Use Gratitude to Feel Happier & Improve Your Relationships

Mel Robbins explores gratitude as a practical, science-backed tool for rewiring the brain away from negativity and reducing stress, rather than as a superficial positivity practice. Drawing on research studies and expert insights, she introduces three main gratitude tools: an unsent gratitude letter, a three-minute nightly gratitude journal (and morning variations), and a gratitude-focused text chain. Throughout the episode, she emphasizes how small, consistent gratitude practices can improve mental and physical health, deepen relationships, and help listeners reclaim control over their attention and emotional state.

Nov 27, 2025

World Leading Therapist: Why You Feel Stuck in Life & How to Get Unstuck

Mel Robbins interviews psychotherapist and author Lori Gottlieb about how the stories people tell themselves shape their emotions, relationships, and life choices. They explore how these often-unconscious narratives are formed, how they keep people stuck in patterns like self-doubt, anxiety, and people-pleasing, and how to begin editing and rewriting them. Through concrete examples and practical questions, Lori shows how changing your story can change how you relate to yourself and others.

Nov 24, 2025

This One Study Will Change How You Think About Your Entire Life: The Cornell Legacy Project

Mel Robbins interviews gerontologist Dr. Carl Pillemer about the practical life lessons, regrets, and advice he gathered from people in their 80s, 90s, and 100s through his Legacy Project at Cornell. Drawing on hundreds of in-depth interviews, he shares elders' guidance on worry, relationships, work, health, choosing a partner, self-acceptance, and learning to be "happy in spite of" difficult circumstances. The conversation emphasizes acting now on what truly matters, because almost every very old person reports that life feels shockingly short in retrospect.

Nov 20, 2025

How to Deal with Difficult People & Not Get Stressed Out

Mel Robbins explains her "Let Them Theory" as a framework for handling difficult and emotionally immature people, especially within families, without losing your peace or power. She emphasizes that you cannot change other people, only your own responses, and that most adults behave like emotionally overwhelmed children when triggered. Through research-backed insights and concrete tools, she teaches how to accept people as they are, manage your own emotional reactions, set practical boundaries, and create healthier family dynamics.

Nov 17, 2025

The Exact Words You Need to Hear Today If It Feels Like Nothing's Working

Mel Robbins speaks with poet and spiritual teacher Mark Nepo, joined by her husband Chris Robbins, about reconnecting to life, opening the heart, and finding meaning through love, suffering, and everyday ritual. Mark shares stories behind his seminal book "The Book of Awakening," his cancer journey, and his new work on creativity in the second half of life. Together they explore practical ways to honor your gifts, practice self-love, cultivate resilience, and participate more fully in the present moment.

Nov 13, 2025

How to Use AI to Make Money, Save Time, and Be More Productive

Mel Robbins interviews AI expert Allie K. Miller about how everyday people can practically use artificial intelligence to save time, make money, and improve their lives. Allie explains what AI and generative AI are in simple terms, outlines four main ways to interact with AI tools, and shares concrete examples from travel planning and cooking to job searches and caregiving. They also address risks and concerns such as hallucinations, job loss, over-reliance, data privacy, and environmental impact, while emphasizing that learning to use AI now is crucial, especially for women and knowledge workers.

Nov 6, 2025

3 Questions to Ask Yourself to Figure Out What You Really Want

Mel Robbins guides listeners through a three-question framework called the Odyssey Plan, developed by Stanford professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, to rethink their current life trajectory. She uses examples, research, and personal stories to show how visualizing your current path, imagining a forced change, and dreaming without constraints can reveal "unfinished business" and new possibilities. The episode concludes with practical advice on turning these insights into small daily experiments that gradually redesign your life.

Nov 3, 2025

How to Communicate With Confidence & Ease (From Harvard Business School's #1 Professor)

Mel Robbins interviews Harvard Business School professor and behavioral scientist Allison Wood Brooks about the science of communication. Brooks explains her TALK framework (Topics, Asking, Levity, Kindness) for improving conversations in every area of life, along with the critical role of listening and perspective-taking. They discuss practical strategies for topic preparation, asking better questions, managing status and group dynamics, handling interruptions and belittling comments, and shifting unhelpful communication patterns in relationships.

Oct 30, 2025

12 Minutes to a Better Brain: Neuroscientist Reveals the #1 Habit for Clarity & Focus

Mel Robbins talks with cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Amishi Jha about how attention works in the brain and why it is both powerful and fragile. They break down the three systems of attention (selective "flashlight," alerting "floodlight," and executive "juggler"), how stress and chronic demand degrade these systems, and how neuroplasticity allows them to be trained. Drawing on decades of research with military service members, first responders, athletes, and others, Dr. Jha explains why a minimum of 12 minutes of mindfulness practice, four days a week, can stabilize and improve attention, mood, and stress, and she demonstrates practical exercises listeners can start immediately.

Oct 27, 2025

Mayo Clinic Cancer Doctor: 5 Foods That Heal the Body, Starve Cancer, & Prevent Disease

Mel Robbins interviews double-board certified Mayo Clinic physician and integrative oncologist Dr. Dawn Musalem about how lifestyle choices like food, movement, sleep, stress, and love affect cancer risk and outcomes. Dr. Musalem shares research-backed guidance on cancer-fighting and cancer-promoting foods, the impact of exercise, fiber, and sleep on metabolic and cancer health, and why ultra-processed foods and certain additives increase disease risk. She also weaves in her personal story as a stage 4 cancer survivor and heart transplant recipient, offering perspective on acceptance, hope, and finding meaning after a life-changing diagnosis.

Oct 23, 2025

If You're Feeling Overwhelmed, You Need to Hear This

Mel Robbins explains the crucial difference between stress and overwhelm and why confusing the two can contribute to burnout. Drawing on insights from psychiatrist Dr. K and physician Dr. Aditi Noorakar, she outlines a four-step, science-based process: label whether you're stressed or overwhelmed, use a specific breathing technique to reset your nervous system, perform a "brain dump" to offload mental load, and deliberately add a small, chosen challenge to restore a sense of control. The episode emphasizes that stress and overwhelm are biological states, not personal failings, and shows how simple practices can help listeners feel clearer and more in control.

Oct 20, 2025

Feel Better Now: Neurosurgeon Reveals the New Science of Healing Your Body & Stopping Pain Today

Mel Robbins speaks with neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the new science of pain, why chronic pain develops, and how it can often be reduced or prevented. They explore how pain is generated in the brain, the role of factors like sleep, mood, stress, and prior pain experiences, and why movement, meditation, and other non-drug approaches can change the brain's pain circuits. Gupta shares research-backed strategies such as the MEAT protocol, virtual reality, nerve blocks, and pain journaling, along with his wife Rebecca's long journey with chronic pain, to offer hope and practical tools for listeners.

Oct 16, 2025

How to Create a Successful Mindset: The Science of Passion and Perseverance

Mel Robbins interviews psychologist and author Angela Duckworth about grit-the combination of passion and perseverance for long-term goals-and how it predicts success better than talent alone. Duckworth explains the science behind growth mindset, deliberate practice, interest, purpose, and hope, and how each contributes to developing grit at any age. The conversation offers concrete strategies such as sampling interests, practicing deliberately, reframing "should" into "I want to," designing supportive environments, and building small wins to increase agency and resilience.

Oct 13, 2025

It's Not Too Late: How to Transform Your Life at Any Moment

Mel Robbins interviews Rich Roll about how he has radically transformed his life multiple times, from a bullied, approval-seeking kid to an alcoholic lawyer, then to a sober, plant-based ultra-endurance athlete and podcaster. Rich details his descent into severe alcoholism, his recovery, his midlife health crisis at 40, and the sequence of small, contrary actions that allowed him to change course. The conversation focuses on addiction as a spectrum, listening to "knocks" from the universe, prioritizing health, and using tiny consistent actions to change at any age.

Oct 9, 2025

Try It for 1 Week: 6 Small Ways to Bring Back the Happiness, Energy, and Fun

Mel Robbins talks about the growing sense that life is less fun, more curated, and weighed down by stress, and argues that fun is not a luxury but a necessity for mental and physical health. Drawing on research and personal stories, she explains how micro moments of joy and playfulness build resilience and combat burnout, anxiety, and numbness. She then offers six practical ways listeners can deliberately bring more happiness, energy, and fun back into their daily lives.

Oct 6, 2025

Use Your Mind to Heal Your Body With the #1 Harvard Psychologist

Mel Robbins interviews Harvard psychology professor Ellen Langer about her 50 years of research on mindfulness and what she calls mind-body unity. Langer explains how mindlessness underlies many personal and health problems, and how simple shifts in attention, language, and expectations can measurably change physical outcomes like vision, wound healing, blood pressure, and chronic disease symptoms. Through anecdotes and landmark studies, she offers practical ways to question rigid beliefs, reduce stress, and actively notice variability so that people can add more life to their years and influence their own health trajectories.

Oct 2, 2025

This Shocking Truth About Other People Will Change Your Life

Mel Robbins interviews researcher and author Dr. Todd Rose about how our hardwired need to belong drives conformity and how this, combined with social media dynamics, creates "collective illusions"-situations where most people go along with things they privately don't agree with because they wrongly assume everyone else does. Rose explains data showing that people overwhelmingly value relationships, character, meaningful work, and contribution, not fame and status, and that self-silencing to fit in damages both physical and mental health. They explore how authenticity and the simple practices of "let them" and "let me" can dismantle illusions, rebuild social trust, and dramatically improve individual life satisfaction and societal cohesion.

Sep 29, 2025

How to Build the Life You Want (Even When You Feel Overloaded, Exhausted, & Uncertain)

Mel Robbins interviews astronaut and bioastronautics researcher Kelly Girardi about how she went from a coat check job at the Explorers Club to flying a science mission to space. Kelly explains her mindset around expanding what you believe is possible, intentionally designing your reputation, and balancing motherhood with a demanding and unconventional career. She also shares, in detail, her ongoing IVF journey, recurrent pregnancy loss, and why she chooses to be transparent about her struggles in real time to reduce stigma and help others feel less alone.

Sep 25, 2025

The Best Financial Advice You'll Ever Hear

Mel Robbins interviews financial author Morgan Housel about why financial success is primarily about behavior, expectations, and patience rather than income, education, or math. They explore how comparison, moving goalposts, and status-driven spending keep people broke, and contrast that with using money as a tool for independence and contentment. Housel lays out simple, practical habits-like checking your accounts daily, saving something every time you're paid, and investing patiently-that anyone can adopt regardless of starting point.

Sep 22, 2025