Episode companion

When life gets heavy, we're often told to push through, stay positive, or find the silver lining. But sometimes that just teaches us to ignore what we actually feel.

In this episode, Michael Perry and Justin Gates explore Inspiration Exposure: intentionally creating small, repeatable encounters with beauty, wonder, presence, and awe.

They unpack how stress, grief, responsibility, and constant productivity can make life feel smaller, why stimulation is not the same as inspiration, and how practices like music, nature, movement, stillness, and simple mindfulness can help us reconnect with life without pretending everything is okay.

In this episode

• Why toxic positivity can become another form of avoidance
• How prolonged stress narrows our experience of life
• The difference between stimulation and genuine inspiration
• Why constant productivity can disconnect us from presence
• How awe, gratitude, and mindfulness become daily practices
• Why small moments of beauty can build emotional resilience

Key takeaways

• Pain and beauty can exist at the same time.
• When life becomes only work, problems, and survival, that narrow experience can start feeling like the whole truth.
• Inspiration is different from stimulation. More content does not always mean more connection.
• Small, repeatable moments of presence can matter more than waiting for one dramatic breakthrough.
• Build your relationship with awe before crisis hits, so you have something familiar to return to when life gets hard.

Try this

If life feels stagnant, notice three small moments each day that move you, even slightly.

If you feel lost or depleted, write down three things you are genuinely grateful for each day.

If you are in crisis, reach for appropriate support first. Then try setting three alarms during the day. When one goes off, use it as a cue to return to the present moment and notice something stable, supportive, or good that exists right now.

Affirmations

• I give myself permission to seek beauty even when I'm in pain.
• I am not avoiding my grief, I am tending to myself inside it.
• My nervous system heals when I let myself be moved.
• I build resilience by turning to wonder, not by pushing harder.
• I am someone who tends to my inner environment with intention.

Journal prompts

1. When was the last time something genuinely stopped you? What did it feel like?

2. Where are you pushing through something instead of feeling it?

3. What would it mean to actively tend to your relationship with beauty?

Keywords

Inspiration exposure, microdosing awe, mindfulness, gratitude, emotional resilience, burnout, grief, finding joy again, toxic positivity, stress, self mastery, personal growth, New Ashla Podcast

Connect

Michael Perry: https://www.facebook.com/michael.perry.18400700/

Justin Gates: https://www.facebook.com/JustinVGates

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@justinvgates

New Ashla: https://newashla.com