You started strong. You saw real progress. Then suddenly... nothing changed. Same effort, zero visible results. So you either quit entirely, panic and do way more of what stopped working, or you assume something's broken with you.

Jon and Josh break down why your brain craves novelty over stability, the three ways people respond when progress goes flat (and why only one actually works), and how a simple 5% adjustment can move you forward without burning out.

SKIP AHEAD:

(05:00) Why plateaus happen: your brain rewards contrast, not stability

(13:00) The three responses to plateaus - abandonment, escalation, and adaptation

(21:00) Mature motivation isn't louder, it's just steadier

(26:00) Boredom is the cost of mastery (and why we've lost tolerance for it)

(32:00) The 5% challenge: one small adjustment to move past what feels flat

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🧠 Visit Inspire Services for mental health resources and support

Ever spend more time perfecting your plan than actually executing it?

That's a cognitive speed bump.

Josh and Jon break down the 5 cognitive speed bumps killing your momentum. These are protective reflexes that keep you stuck planning instead of doing.

Learn how to notice them in real time and take the next imperfect step anyway.

SKIP AHEAD:(02:00) Why momentum erodes through speed bumps, not walls(06:00) Speed Bump #1: Perfection before permission(09:00) Speed Bump #2: Premature optimization(12:00) Speed Bump #3: Over-responsibility(15:00) Speed Bump #4: Emotional forecasting errors(17:00) Speed Bump #5: All-or-nothing thinking(27:00) How to notice and move past speed bumps(37:00) Mini challenge - name it and take the next step

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🧠 Visit Inspire Services for mental health resources and support

The holidays are supposed to be joyful, but for many people, they feel heavy.

Not necessarily with depression, but with expectations, comparison, and the pressure to feel festive all the time.

In this holiday special, Josh and Jon talk about why the season often feels so intense and offer three gentle psychological anchors to help you navigate it: permission to lower the bar, naming what the season actually is for you, and choosing a small grounding ritual.

Most of us don't see the slow drain happening until it's too late. We blame ourselves for being tired, for not bouncing back, for lacking resilience - when really, we're just running on empty without any systematic way to refuel.

Jon and Josh explore the three types of resets that prevent burnout, why "pushing through" is actually self-neglect, and how to use micro-resilience to build sustainable momentum without running yourself into the ground.

SKIP AHEAD:

(00:00) You're not weak - you're running an engine without oil

(04:00) The physiology of depletion, how stress hijacks your executive function

(10:00) The three micro-resilience domains, physiological, cognitive, and emotional resets

(16:00) Micro-resilience in action, the 10% rule, one decision removed, and energy matching

(20:00) Recovery rituals and momentum banking, prepare on good days for your tired future self

(25:00) The 5-day challenge, one depleted area, one small action daily

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🧠 Visit Inspire Services for mental health resources and support

You think you're out of motivation, but what if you're just surrounded by invisible resistance points that make every next step harder than it needs to be?Most of us can't see the friction draining our momentum. We blame ourselves for not starting, not following through, not sticking with it - when really, our brains are just following the path of least resistance. Scrolling your phone has near-zero friction. Going to the gym? High friction. Your life isn't designed around your goals - it's designed around avoiding resistance.Jon and Josh explore the three types of friction killing your productivity, why a cluttered desk does more damage than you realize, and how to use the friction index to rate any task and actually reduce the resistance by 20%.SKIP AHEAD:(00:00) Sometimes you're not out of motivation - you're just surrounded by friction(02:00) What friction actually is: environmental, cognitive, and emotional resistance(07:00) Why friction matters more than willpower (and how it reinforces procrastination)(11:00) The friction index - rate any task from 1-10 and see why scrolling beats the gym(18:00) Five ways to reduce friction: remove steps, pre-decide, prep your environment, add friction to distractions, turn effort into identity(24:00) When friction isn't physical - how shame and fear disguise themselves as logistics(27:00) The 20% challenge: pick one behavior, identify one friction point, reduce it by 20%📧 Sign up for the nonstatic newsletter to never miss an episode🧠 Visit Inspire Services for mental health resources and support

You think procrastination is about poor time management or laziness - but what if you're actually just trying to avoid an uncomfortable emotion?When you say "I'll do it later," you're really saying "I don't want to feel this right now."

We avoid tasks not because we're undisciplined, but because we're managing fear, shame, anxiety, or discomfort. The problem is that short-term relief compounds into long-term anxiety and erodes your trust in yourself.Jon and Josh explore why procrastination is emotion management (not a character flaw), how avoidance snowballs over time, and why starting small rebuilds trust in yourself as someone who can move through discomfort instead of around it.SKIP AHEAD:(01:00) Procrastination is emotion management, not laziness(03:00) The emotional regulation theory of procrastination - why we avoid tasks to escape feelings(05:00) Why your brain rewards avoidance (and how it snowballs over time)(10:00) The emotional cost of avoidance - kicking the can to your future self(12:00) How chronic avoidance erodes self-trust(16:00) Emotional flexibility: how to move when you're feeling stuck(18:00) Why labeling emotions decreases their intensity by 30-40%(24:00) Fear of identity shift - when starting challenges who you believe yourself to be(27:00) Starting as data gathering: "I'm not committing, I'm collecting data"(29:00) Action as a vote for the person you're becoming (inaction is also a vote)(32:00) This week's challenge: name the emotion, shrink the exposure to 5%, replace judgment with curiosity📧 Sign up for the nonstatic newsletter to never miss an episode🧠 Visit Inspire Services for mental health resources and supportP.S. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

You know you need to start. The gym bag is packed, the document is open, and the project is planned. But somehow, you're still not moving.

This has nothing to do with laziness or discipline. Your brain follows psychological physics, and right now it's rewarding you for staying stuck.

Jon and Josh break down why beginnings feel impossibly heavy, how your brain creates an "avoidance loop" that feels like relief but is actually sabotaging your progress, and why waiting for motivation is like waiting for heat before striking a match.

If you've ever avoided doing something for months and then completed it in a few minutes, felt paralyzed before starting something you knew you could do, or wondered why you can't seem to "just do it," this episode reveals the science of starting-and exactly how to make it easier.

SKIP AHEAD:

(04:00) Why dopamine spikes AFTER you start, not before, and why you're waiting for the wrong thing

(09:00) The avoidance loop: how your brain rewards procrastination with instant relief

(16:00) Why procrastination is actually emotion regulation, not time management

(21:00) Design beats discipline: the principle that changes everything

(22:00) The 5 strategies to lower activation energy: 20-second rule, if-then plans, and the 2-minute launch

(32:00) Your mini challenge: one task, 20 seconds less friction, 2 minutes of motion

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🧠 Visit Inspire Services for mental health resources and support

P.S. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

You know you need to make a change, but when you sit down to actually do it, nothing happens.Josh and his brother Jon are relaunching Nonstatic. The podcast started is now shifting to focus on practical psychology to keep you moving forward.This episode explains the change. Josh covers why self-awareness alone doesn't create movement, what momentum mechanics means, and why starting drains more energy than continuing. SKIP AHEAD: (01:00) Why the podcast is changing(05:00) Homeostasis vs. allostasis (10:00) Why knowing you're stuck isn't enough (14:00) Exercise example: one degree of motion (17:00) Upcoming episode topics (27:00) Mental health cost of staying static (28:00) Motion creates clarity, not the reverse📧 Sign up for the nonstatic newsletter to never miss an episode🧠 Visit Inspire Services for mental health resources and supportP.S. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it