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

The One You Feed

Eric Zimmer

Education, Self-improvement, Religion & Spirituality, Health & Fitness, Buddhism, Mental Health

4.6 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 July 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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.

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Key Takeaways:

The internal and cultural struggle between hope and despair in the context of global crises.
The concept of “radical hope” as a resilient form of hope amidst harsh realities.
The inadequacy of typical positivity in addressing complex real-world problems.
The need for a new “rational mysticism” suitable for the 21st century.
The dangers of failing to establish a stable, shared sense of meaning in society.
The critique of hyper-individualistic and consumer-driven culture in relation to existential risks.
The historical evolution of existential risk narratives and their implications for modern society.
The importance of community and connection in fostering healing and growth.
The challenges of creating secular communities that provide meaningful structure and belonging.
The potential for a revived Western rational mysticism to address contemporary spiritual needs and crises.

If you enjoyed this conversation with Melody Wilding, check out these other episodes:

How to Simplify Your Life and Find More Fulfillment in Your Work with John Kaag

How to Recognize the Hidden Signs of Burnout with Leah Weiss

For full show notes, click here!

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Often we jump to saying, this person is a micromanager.
0:03.4	This person is just a jerk, right?
0:05.6	We throw these labels out.
0:06.8	They're just vague.
0:07.6	They don't know what they want instead of talking about the behavior that defines that.
0:12.5	Because when we stay stuck on the label, the assumption, the accusation that we're making,
0:17.1	sort of closes us off.
0:18.4	We just categorize that person and there's not much problem solving we can do from there, which hurts us in the end.
0:29.0	Welcome to the one you feed. Throughout time, great thinkers have recognized the importance of the
0:38.4	thoughts we have. Quotes like garbage in, garbage out, or you are what you think, ring true.
0:45.3	And yet, for many of us, our thoughts don't strengthen or empower us. We tend toward negativity,
0:51.4	self-pity, jealousy, or fear.
0:56.8	We see what we don't have instead of what we do.
1:00.0	We think things that hold us back and dampen our spirit.
1:02.2	But it's not just about thinking.
1:03.8	Our actions matter.
1:08.2	It takes conscious, consistent, and creative effort to make a life worth living.
1:12.0	This podcast is about how other people keep themselves moving in the right direction, how they feed their good wolf. Most of us want work to feel fair,
1:20.4	collaborative and meaningful, but what do you do when the system isn't built for that? Today's guest,
1:27.4	Melody Wilding, is an executive coach
1:30.5	and the author of Managing Up, how to get what you need from the people in charge. She challenges
1:38.9	the idea that you're powerless at work, even in tough cultures. Early in my own career, I struggled with the belief that my happiness depended on someone outside of me.
	...

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