If you want to change your life for the better, these self improvement podcasts are perfect for you. I’m OBSESSED with listening to podcasts that improve my life, so I picked out 11 of the best episodes I’ve heard (all from different self improvement podcasts). They cover 11 different aspects of self improvement, so you can pick and choose based on where you’re looking to grow in your own life.
11 Incredible Episodes from Self Improvement Podcasts
This list will be broken down into 11 different self improvement podcasts with different themes. For each episode, I’ll explain who should listen to it, based on what you want to improve in your life.
I’ll include all of the following topics (in order)…
For when you want to:
- Increase your confidence
- Be happier in life
- Stop trying to control everything/everyone
- Build healthy habits
- Believe that you deserve good things in life (even though you’re imperfect)
- Better understand yourself
- Improve your sleep hygiene
- Set boundaries and get your time/energy back
- Stop worrying about other people’s opinions
- Achieve success in your life
- Balance being childlike and responsible
1. Confidence (Coach Bennett’s Podcast)
When you want to: Increase your confidence
Whether you’re a runner or not, Coach Bennett’s podcast is amazing. As he states in the intro to every episode, it’s about running, but it’s also not about running. It’s about self improvement and life as a whole.
Coach Bennett’s podcast is one of my favorites because it’s consistently inspiring, wholesome, and makes me want to be a better person.
In the Confidence episode, he explains how confidence isn’t just something that you’re born with, you have to work for it. At a base level, it comes down to respect for your own abilities and accomplishments.
You don’t have to believe that you’re going to be perfect all the time to have confidence. You trust yourself enough to know that you’re going to try your best, even when you’re uncertain about the outcome.
In this episode, Coach Bennett discusses confidence in terms of sports, but the lessons can easily be applied to life as a whole too.
2. Life Changing Lessons from the World’s Longest Study on Happiness (The Diary of a CEO)
When you want to: Be happier in life
As humans, do we actually know what is going to make us happy?
Dr. Robert Waldinger doesn’t think so.
In this interview, he details a study on expectations vs. reality when it comes to happiness. In the study, people expected to be unhappy after talking to strangers, but actually ended up happier after doing it.
We’re given messages in our culture that wealth, fame/popularity, and buying the “right things” will make us happy. But this is not the case at all.
Dr. Waldinger claims that human connection is one of the most joyful and energizing things we can do in life.
In addition, work that is meaningful to us can make us happy. But achievement in itself will not.
If you want to better understand the things that make us happy in life, give this podcast a listen.
3. The “Let Them Theory” (The Mel Robbins Podcast)
When you want to: Stop trying to control everything
For those of us who attempt to control everything/everyone in life, this podcast is such a game changer.
It applies to basically anything happening in life that you don’t have control over.
A few examples include: your company doing layoffs, your sister wanting to host Thanksgiving when you normally host it, your friends going on a trip without you, etc.
In any of these cases, when you go into “control mode”, you just say, “let them”.
Let go of control. Stop trying to control other people (because you know, in reality, you can’t). Give people the space to be themselves.
This is a very brief description of what Mel Robbins discusses in this podcast episode. Give the full episode a listen for more detail on how to apply this in your life!
4. build small habits, change your life (inside anna’s mind)
When you want to: Build healthy habits
We all know how difficult changing our habits can be. It’s easy to want to change everything at once and drastically improve your life. But anyone who’s tried to change everything at once knows how this ends.
To change your life for the better, you need to build small habits. Trying out one or two things at a time, seeing how the habit fits into your life, and making changes after trial and error.
This podcast episode shares some awesome tips on healthy habits to try out if you want to improve your overall health and wellbeing.
5. How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome (Pepp Talk Podcast)
When you want to: Believe that you deserve good things in life (even though you’re imperfect)
Imposter syndrome is when you doubt your own accomplishments and have a persistent fear of being exposed as a “fraud”.
It’s when you believe that you don’t deserve the success you see others have because you’re not “good enough”. You constantly compare yourself to others.
The problem with this is that you know everything about yourself (flaws and all) and only really see a highlight reel of other people’s lives.
In this podcast episode, Breeny Lee talks in depth about how to overcome imposter syndrome, build a better self image, and believe that you’re worthy of the things you want.
If you suffer from imposter syndrome and have a hard time believing you deserve good things, this episode is for you.
6. The key to happiness? Know thyself, says Gretchen Rubin (Life Kit)
When you want to: Better understand yourself
Oftentimes when we’re trying to become happier, we focus on the things we need to change in life.
Cutting back on social media, getting outside more, eating healthier, exercising, etc. But how often do we look inwards and focus on who we are at our core?
Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project (a book I adored), says the key to happiness is knowing yourself.
Do you love familiarity or novelty? Are you a morning person or night person? Do you value planning or spontaneity?
These are a few questions she asks which would help you optimize your life for the most happiness.
7. Sleep Toolkit: Tools for Optimizing Sleep & Sleep-Wake Timing (Huberman Lab)
When you want to: Improve your sleep hygiene
I’ve struggled with insomnia for most of my life. Anyone who can relate knows how stressful it feels to not get enough sleep. You’re going through the day like a zombie, stressing about not getting enough sleep (again) that coming night.
That being said, I’ve tried everything when it comes to improving my sleep, most tips being completely useless.
This is one of the best episodes I’ve listened to with tips that actually worked for me. One of the game changers that Dr. Huberman recommends is getting out in the sun first thing in the morning and at sunset. He explains how this (and other tips) can help regulate your circadian rhythms and improve sleep overall.
If you struggle with getting enough sleep, you need to listen to this one.
8. How to Set Boundaries & Stop People Pleasing (Tam Kaur)
When you want to: Set boundaries and get your time/energy back
Tam Kaur is a master of setting boundaries and putting yourself first (in a good way.)
For all my people pleasers out there, you know how hard it can be to put your own needs ahead of the needs of others. You also know how absolutely exhausting it can be to put others’ needs ahead of your own constantly.
If you want to stop bending over backwards for everyone else and get your time & energy back, this is a must listen.
9. Entering Your Villain Era (Make Shift Happen with Samantha Daily)
When you want to: Stop worrying about other people’s opinions
Sticking with the theme of setting boundaries, this podcast by Samantha Daily is giving that same energy.
While the “villain era” idea might just be a TikTok trend that died down a while ago, the themes behind it are so important for people pleasers.
Being in your “villain era” sounds negative, but is actually a really positive mindset to have (if used correctly.) Your “villain era” is how other people might perceive you when you start prioritizing yourself.
It’s a mindset shift to stop worrying about what others will think of you when you put yourself first, and instead actually start taking care of yourself. Fill up your own cup first, since you can’t pour from an empty cup.
10. The 5 Secrets to Success (The School of Greatness)
When you want to: Achieve success in your life
This podcasts episode is a collection of 5 different interviews from incredibly inspiring and successful speakers.
It includes:
- How to work for what you want instead of relying on talent alone
- The importance of loving yourself
- How to manifest success
- Why reflection is important
- Developing a morning routine
I found this entire episode to be enlightening and loved hearing from multiple perspectives on these various self improvement topics.
One of my favorite parts was David Goggins’ explanation of how we get trapped in a box of our expectations for ourselves. He explains that we have the power within us to change our life and other people’s lives, and get past our own limiting beliefs.
11. TLS #11 with Elizabeth Gilbert: Curiosity, Epic Self Compassion, and Creativity (The Lively Show)
When you want to: Balance being childlike and responsible
A writer I love, Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Big Magic, which I’ve read multiple times), joins Jess Lively on this episode of TLS.
In the episode, they discuss passion (and the issues that come along with it), following your curiosity, enjoying the pleasure of inspiration, honoring your creativity, and more.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting your creativity to become your full-time job, but this can ruin the enjoyment of creating in the first place.
If you’re a creative person (which I believe we all are in some way or another), this episode is a must listen.
In Conclusion: Give these self improvement podcasts a listen!
Which podcast is piquing your interest the most? If you listened to one (or multiple), what is the most valuable lesson you learned?
If you have other favorite self improvement podcasts that I missed, share them in the comments!
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