The Surprising Reason You're Not Actually Behind In Life

The Liz Moody Podcast

Liz Moody

Self-improvement, Education, Mental Health, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2026

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I feel like everyone lately has been talking about “feeling behind in life”, so I decided to recirculate this popular episode at a time when we all truly need to hear it. I share why so many of us feel like we’re ‘behind’—we tell ourselves we should have more money, should already own a home, or should be having babies by now. But what’s happening in our psychology to make us feel this way? And how do we fix it? I answer those questions and share science-backed insights and strategies to help you stop feeling ‘behind in life’ and start embracing where you are. 🎧 What you’ll learn: • The “gold medal syndrome”—a psychological trap that makes Olympic gold medalists still feel inadequate • The "arrival fallacy"—why getting what you want often makes you less happy • Why your messy, non-linear path is actually a key ingredient of a well-lived life • The four-step method to stop comparing yourself to everyone else's highlight reel • How to identify the invisible "shoulds" controlling your life (and break free from them) • What dying people actually regret — and why it's never about the timeline you're stressing over • The secret to finding extraordinary moments in your ordinary, everyday life Check out the previous episode of The Liz Moody Podcast discussed: The Seven-Minute Secret To Happiness That No One Is Talking About with Dr. Dacher Keltner Ready to uplevel every part of your life? Order Liz’s book 100 Ways to Change Your Life: The Science of Leveling Up Health, Happiness, Relationships & Success now! Connect with Liz on Instagram @lizmoody or online at www.lizmoody.com. Subscribe to the substack by visiting https://lizmoody.substack.com/welcome. Buy our cute sweatshirts, conversation cards, and more at https://shop.lizmoody.com/. To join The Liz Moody Podcast Club Facebook group, go to www.facebook.com/groups/thelizmoodypodcast. Use our discount codes from our highly vetted and tested brand partners by visiting https://www.lizmoody.com/codes. This episode is brought to you completely free thanks to the following podcast sponsors: • Puori: go to Puori.com/LizMood and enter code LIZMOODY to get $49 in savings when you get your Puori Grass-Fed Whey when you start a subscription. • Wildgrain: head to Wildgrain.com/LizMoody and use code LIZMOODY for $30 off and free croissants for life. • Masterclass: head to MasterClass.com/LizMoody for an additional 15% off. The Liz Moody Podcast cover art by Zack. The Liz Moody Podcast music by Alex Ruimy. Formerly the Healthier Together Podcast. This podcast and website represents the opinions of Liz Moody and her guests to the show. The content here should not be taken as medical advice. The content here is for information purposes only, and because each person is so unique, please consult your healthcare professional for any medical questions. The Liz Moody Podcast Episode 403. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Liz Moody podcast. Today, we're doing an episode that I need right now,
0:05.7	so I'm making it in hopes that it'll help you too. This is something that I've grappled with a lot
0:10.9	for the last year or two, the idea that I'm behind in life. And because I see everything through that
0:17.6	journalist lens after all of these years, I put on my research hat to
0:21.5	explore. Why do I feel this way? Why do so many of the most successful people that I know
0:27.1	feel this way? What is happening in our psychology and our perceptions and what is all of that
0:32.7	being influenced by? I really didn't want to create like a like a candy mindset episode where I just tell
0:39.3	you and myself that we're not behind in life for 30 minutes and then it feels really good
0:45.1	in the moment when you're listening or when I'm talking. But then as soon as that hit wears off,
0:50.6	we are all right back to where we started. I wanted real science. I wanted real meaty change.
0:58.2	So that is what I created this episode to do. I want to start by just saying again, I often feel like I'm
1:05.3	behind in life. When I say that to people, they're like, but Liz, you're married, you've published
1:10.1	all of these books, you have this successful podcast.
1:13.4	And I am so, so grateful for all of that. But also, I am literally living out of a suitcase. I don't have a house. I cannot figure out how to have a baby timeline-wise in a way that fits in with my career.
1:28.5	My podcast is successful. My books are successful. But I can point to people who are way more
1:33.9	successful, people who are reaching an audience that I wish I could reach. And I say this,
1:40.4	because I think it's important for all of us to internalize that the way that our
1:45.0	life looks to us is so different from the way that it is seen from the outside. We tend to dismiss
1:52.5	our own accomplishments. We tend to build up other people's successes. And I think starting with
1:58.0	that perspective is really important. I also want to say that I thought that
2:02.7	success and wealth would be the antidotes to me feeling behind in life because that's what society
2:07.6	essentially drills into our head from the day that we're born, especially in the U.S. And this is not
	...

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