Episodes

  • Welcome to Thinking Well & Why

    Welcome to Thinking Well & Why
    Jun 10 2026

    Thinking Well & Why, a new podcast on the Awareness to Action network hosted by Mario Sikora, Lee Fields and Seth “Creek” Creekmore, will tackle critical thinking, reasoning, and intellectual honesty – not as abstract disciplines, but as practical tools for making sense of life. Your biggest obstacle to being right is trying not to be wrong. The same cognitive biases that shape every area of life show up in your Enneagram work. The hosts promise no guarantees, but will offer sharp, direct conversation about the thinking skills worth defending.

    Connect with us:

    Awareness to Action

    Mario Sikora:

    IG: @mariosikora

    TikTok: @mariosikora

    Web: mariosikora.com

    Pod: Enneagram in a Movie

    Pod: The Awareness to Action Enneagram

    Lee Fields:

    Web: enneagrammatic.com

    IG: @enneagrammatic

    Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

    IG: @_creekmore

    Pod: Fathoms | An Enneagram Podcast

    Pod: Delusional Optimism

    Pod: The Awareness to Action Enneagram
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    1 min
  • Why Your Brain Wasn't Built to Think Well

    Why Your Brain Wasn't Built to Think Well
    Jun 11 2026
    In the premiere episode of Thinking Well & Why podcast, Mario, Lee and Creek explore why clear thinking and the Enneagram are inseparable. Our brains are wired for survival in simple environments, not for the complex information landscapes we inhabit today. The hosts discuss how clear thinking applies to the Enneagram, which can become a map of the nine adaptive strategies when used rigorously and with intellectual humility. Mario walks through his framework of clear thinking, listing the five nested obstacles we struggle to see and the five solutions to those obstacles.“I have just always felt that the ability to think well is the key to living a productive life.” -Mario [07:20]“We don’t have to agree on everything, but we need to be playing a similar game, at least, of what it means to have a well thought out theory or a well thought idea. Such that in some ways, we can still disagree, but we have both built a case that these are my reasons, my well thought out reasons, trying to avoid as many pitfalls as possible, etc, etc.” -Creek [23:30]“The Enneagram has helped me see myself more clearly. Helped me see what I do more clearly. It’s given me some patterns to point my inevitable confirmation bias at to recognize myself, and it’s been helpful to see that understanding that can ultimately give me more flexibility in how I choose to behave.” -Lee [29:20]TIMESTAMPS[00:01] Intro[00:55] Meet the hosts[05:01] A framework of clear thinking[09:51] Thinking is not that easy[13:43] Five nested obstacles to clear thinking[20:01] How clear thinking applies to the Enneagram[27:24] The Enneagram and the role it plays[36:11] Final thoughts and takeaways[41:11] On the next episodeRESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEThinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel KahnemanHow to Think Well and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking by Mario SikoraThe Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl PopperConnect with us:Awareness to ActionMario Sikora: IG: @mariosikoraTikTok: @mariosikoraWeb: mariosikora.comPod: Enneagram in a MoviePod: The Awareness to Action EnneagramLee Fields:Web: enneagrammatic.comIG: @enneagrammaticSeth "Creek" Creekmore: IG: @_creekmorePod: Fathoms | An Enneagram PodcastPod: Delusional OptimismPod: The Awareness to Action Enneagram
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    43 mins
  • The Philosophy of Karl Popper

    The Philosophy of Karl Popper
    Jun 26 2026
    In this episode of Thinking Well & Why podcast, Mario, Lee and Creek talk about Karl Popper, a philosopher of science who had some of the seminal ideas in 20th century philosophy. Mario discusses Popper’s theories, such as The Falsifiability rule and growth of knowledge, how they influence the way he thinks about the Enneagram as well as link to the Awareness to Action approach.“For me, Popper’s ideas are at the heart of epistemology. For me, that’s the foundation, the bedrock for how we know what is true and what is not.” -Mario [06:12]“I have spent a lot of my life avoiding error – not that I’m alone in that – but turning making mistakes into happy accidents is a mindset shift, but a useful one where I can grow and adopt just more curiosity generally instead of defensiveness.” -Lee [20:04]“There would be multiple ways to experience this thing and kind of challenging my own narrative of ‘I’m going to fail and I suck at this.’ And turns out, I didn’t entirely suck at it, so trying to reorient of like ‘Hey brain, remember that you thought you’re going to suck and then you didn’t? Let’s reinsert that story into some other situations and see how that goes.’” -Creek [23:07]TIMESTAMPS[00:01] Intro[01:21] Who is Karl Popper[10:51] The Awareness to Action approach[15:27] Context always matters[18:59] Shifting mindsets with making errors[23:36] Learning to love to be wrong[29:20] Iteration in the face of friction[31:49] How it applies to the Enneagram[37:47] Practical work for everyday useRESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEFalsifiability rule by Karl PopperThe Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl PopperPhilosophy and the Real World: An Introduction to Karl Popper by Bryan MageeConnect with us:Awareness to ActionMario Sikora: IG: @mariosikoraTikTok: @mariosikoraWeb: mariosikora.comPod: Enneagram in a MoviePod: The Awareness to Action EnneagramLee Fields:Web: enneagrammatic.comIG: @enneagrammaticSeth "Creek" Creekmore: IG: @_creekmorePod: Fathoms | An Enneagram PodcastPod: Delusional OptimismPod: The Awareness to Action Enneagram
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    39 mins
  • Darwin's Most Important Idea (And Why You're Still Using It Wrong)

    Darwin's Most Important Idea (And Why You're Still Using It Wrong)
    Jul 10 2026

    In this episode of Thinking Well & Why podcast, Mario, Lee and Creek dig into Charles Darwin and the impact of his ideas, specifically to the ATA model and the Enneagram. They discuss Darwin’s actual mechanism – random mutation and natural selection – and why understanding how evolution works without intention or teleology reframes human nature entirely. Mario connects these ideas to his ATA framework and the three instinctual biases. Understanding these forces, rather than fighting them blindly, enables better choices and real compassion.

    TIMESTAMPS

    [00:13] Intro

    [01:06] Charles Darwin and his ideas

    [10:05] Evolution works at every level

    [15:17] Why we’re tying it with the Enneagram

    [18:09] How Darwin influenced the Instinctual Biases

    [25:19] Evolution ties to the concept of strategies

    [31:05] The evolution of ideas

    [39:10] A compassionate way to think about human nature

    [43:02] Practical takeaways

    RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

    • The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
    • On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
    • Harvard Magazine: James Watson and Edward O. Wilson: An Intellectual Entente
    • Charlie Rose: Watson and Wilson on Charles Darwin

    Connect with us:

    Awareness to Action

    Mario Sikora:

    IG: @mariosikora

    TikTok: @mariosikora

    Web: mariosikora.com

    Pod: Enneagram in a Movie

    Pod: The Awareness to Action Enneagram

    Lee Fields:

    Web: enneagrammatic.com

    IG: @enneagrammatic

    Seth "Creek" Creekmore:

    IG: @_creekmore

    Pod: Fathoms | An Enneagram Podcast

    Pod: Delusional Optimism

    Pod: The Awareness to Action Enneagram
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    47 mins