246: Amishi Jha: Push-ups for Your Brain (Best of NSE)

No Small Endeavor with Lee C. Camp

Lee Camp

Philosophy, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 556 Ratings

🗓️ 19 January 2026

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is it possible that for half of our waking life, we are not paying attention to what we’re doing? In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, many of us are coming to terms with the fact that our capacity for paying attention is laughably weak. Our work, mental health, and relationships suffer because of it. But what if there was a tried-and-true way to change this, something like “push-ups for your brain?” Neuroscientist Amishi Jha has dedicated her career to studying this question, and the results are in. In this episode, she describes the practice of mindfulness meditation - why it can work for everyone (not just the spiritual folks), and how it only takes 12 minutes each day to reach one’s “Peak Mind.” ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Show Notes, Resources and Transcript⁠⁠ for abridged episode with Amishi Jha⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you to our sponsors: Ka’Chava: Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://kachava.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code NSE for 15% off your next order Boll and Branch: Get 20% off plus free shipping by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BollAndBranch.com/NSE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ AquaTru: Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AquaTru.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use promo code NSE Piper and Leaf: Get a 10% off discount to the Advent Calendar by using my code 'NSE' at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠piperandleaf.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join NSE+⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — our subscriber-only community — for ad-free listening, member-only bonus content, and early access to live show tickets. Your membership helps make No Small Endeavor sustainable. No Small Endeavor: An award-winning podcast that asks what it means to live a good life. Through conversations with leading thinkers across theology, philosophy, psychology, politics, and the social sciences, we explore human flourishing, meaning and purpose, faith and culture, science and religion, virtue and character, community, and the practices that help shape a good life grounded in truth, beauty, and goodness. Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@nosmallendeavor⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host Lee C. Camp: Lee has worked as a professor of theology & ethics for more than 25 years, teaching and writing on topics of faith & politics, inter-religious dialog, and human flourishing at the intersection of theology, moral philosophy, and social sciences. Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@leeccamp ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Lee C. Camp and this is no small endeavor exploring what it means to live a good life.
0:10.8	Half of our waking experience, we are actually not paying attention to the thing we intend to do.
0:18.8	That's a Mishi Jha, psychologist and author of the national bestseller, Peak Mind.
0:24.0	Her research centers around an important question that many of us can all too easily
0:28.5	overlook.
0:29.8	What do we need to do to keep our brains fit?
0:33.8	Today, what her research shows about how to master our attention in such a way that contributes to emotional health and a flourishing life.
0:42.3	These are things we can do privately every day for a short period of time.
0:46.1	Our research suggests as little as 12 minutes a day and profoundly change the way we feel and our capacity to act effectively in the world.
0:55.3	All coming right up.
0:59.7	Hey friends, Lee Camp here. We all need advice, but it's not always clear who to ask, even in
1:05.7	2026, which is why I recommend checking out how to the longstanding advice show and 2026 Amby Award nominated Best Personal Growth Podcast.
1:16.9	No Small Endeavor was also just up for the very same award in that category.
1:20.6	So you know how to must be a great companion to our show.
1:23.4	More than that, How To is back with new episodes and a new host with award-winning journalist Mike Peska.
1:29.6	Each week, Mike tackles a listener question ranging from travel to finance to relationships and beyond
1:35.7	with help from world-class experts who actually know what they are talking about.
1:40.0	Think of it as eavesdropping on someone else's therapy session without a copay or awkward silence.
1:46.0	No questions too big or too specific, like how to protect the elderly from scammers,
1:51.7	or how to give to a good cause and make it count and even how to make a how to podcast.
1:58.5	You've got questions.
1:59.7	They will find some answers. So follow
	...

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