The Most Effective Strategies to Overcome Anxiety and Build Positive Habits

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

Eric Zimmer, The One You Feed

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

4.5 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 17 April 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this special episode, Eric coaches a listener named Tommy on the most effective strategies to overcome anxiety and build positive habits. Tommy struggles with low-level anxiety, self-doubt, and difficulty acting on healthy intentions. He knows exercise and social connection help his anxiety, but often defaults to avoidance and self-criticism instead. Eric introduces his SPAR framework: Specificity, Prompt, Alignment, and Resilience, to help Tommy create actionable plans and overcome mental hurdles. They also explore self-compassion as a tool for breaking the cycle of guilt and inaction, emphasizing that lasting change requires both structure and kindness toward oneself. Exciting News!!! My new book, How a Little Becomes a Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life is now available! Key Takeaways: Discussion of the challenges in following through on positive behaviors like exercise and social connection. Exploration of internal struggles, including a harsh inner critic and feelings of shame and inadequacy. Importance of creating specific, actionable plans to bridge the gap between knowledge and action. Introduction of the SPAR method: Specificity, Prompt, Alignment, and Resilience. Examination of the cycle of avoidance and guilt related to anxiety. Strategies for setting clear intentions and reducing ambiguity in daily plans. Emphasis on the role of momentum in managing anxiety and maintaining positive behaviors. Techniques for reframing negative self-talk and treating oneself with kindness. Encouragement to focus on small successes and build a supportive environment for change. For full show notes:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you enjoyed this special episode, check out these other episodes: How a Little Becomes a Lot: A Real Coaching Session on Small Changes That Stick How to Create Elastic Habits that Adapt to Your Day with Stephen Guise By purchasing products and/or services from our sponsors, you are helping to support The One You Feed, and we greatly appreciate it. Thank you! This episode is sponsored by: Brodo Broth: Shop the best broth on the planet with Brodo. Head to Brodo.com/TOYF for 20% off your first subscription order and use code TOYF for an additional $10 off. Quince: Refresh your wardrobe with Quince by going to Quince.com/feed for free shipping and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. Rocket Money Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at rocketmoney.com/feed. Pebl – an AI-powered platform that helps companies hire and manage global teams in 185+ countries. Get a free estimate at hipebl.ai Hello Fresh – Get 10 free meals + a FREE Zwilling Knife (a $144.99 value) on your third box. Offer valid while supplies last. David Protein bars deliver up to 28g of protein for just 150 calories—without sacrificing taste! For a limited time, our listeners can receive this special deal: buy 4 cartons and get the 5th free when you go to www.davidprotein.com/FEED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	If I am clear, like the next two hours have nothing planned except me laying on the couch
0:04.8	and reading a book, I can relax into that.
0:07.7	But if I'm unclear, it's where I default into a behavior that it often doesn't feel great.
0:28.5	Welcome to the one you feed. Throughout time, great thinkers have recognized the importance of the thoughts we have.
0:33.9	Quotes like, garbage in, garbage out, or you are what you think, ring true.
0:39.4	And yet, for many of us, our thoughts don't strengthen or empower us. We tend toward negativity, self-pity, jealousy, or fear. We see what we don't have instead of what we do. We think
0:46.7	things that hold us back and dampen our spirit. But it's not just about thinking. Our actions matter.
0:52.8	It takes conscious, consistent, and creative effort
0:55.9	to make a life worth living. This podcast is about how other people keep themselves moving in the
1:01.3	right direction, how they feed their good wolf. We're doing something a little different
1:09.0	today. Instead of an interview, you're going to hear a coaching conversation, a real one, not scripted, not rehearsed.
1:16.6	We did one recently with Brigitte, and many of you really loved it, so today we are back with another.
1:22.1	And the reason I wanted to do this is that so much of what I write about in the book and so much of what I talk about
1:27.7	on the show lives in the space between knowing and doing. We know what would help. We know what
1:35.5	we should do and we don't do it. Not because we're lazy, not because we're broken, but because
1:41.9	something happens in the gap between the plan and the action,
1:46.9	and then something even worse happens afterward in the way we talk to ourselves about it.
1:52.6	That gap is where I think coaching is most useful, not giving someone information they don't have.
1:58.6	Most of us have plenty of information. But working through the
2:02.3	specific, practical, sometimes embarrassingly simple stuff that actually makes the difference
2:08.5	between a day that feels like yours and a day that just kind of disappears. So that's what you're
2:13.9	about to hear. Me and Tommy working through his version of that gap,
	...

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