The Most Useful Podcasts for Self-Improvement

“You’re either growing or dying. There’s no middle ground. You can’t hold what you have. That doesn’t work in the- in business. So we grew.” 

– Hugh McColl, former CEO of Bank of America

People have an innate desire to grow. It’s what makes us (okay, me) feel guilty about sitting around on the sofa instead of working on my next project, or going for a run. It’s that desire to grow that tell us not to rest on our laurels, but instead to strive for the next thing.

But that’s hard and that imposed guilt is pretty annoying. I mean, we’re mostly okay, isn’t that enough?

The sheer volume of content human beings create on a daily basis is staggering. Overwhelming actually. And when we are overwhelmed, we tend to shut down. Unfortunately, the antidote for that shutting down isn’t avoidance, it’s leaning into self-improvement. Even if that self-improvement is only happening at the margins.

The Perfect Tool

That’s why podcasts are such a great tool for useful self-improvement. They aren’t monolithic works like books the purport to have all the answers. Quite the opposite. Podcasts are ongoing, intimate, conversations with the audience that evolve over time.

What podcasts do offer is bite-sized chunks of useful information packaged in an informative and entertaining manner. And as the medium grows, the listener and podcaster can grow alongside one another a little bit each installment.

Ultimately self-improvement is pretty subjective, but these are some of the most useful podcasts for self-improvement across some of the most common need areas.

Anxiety

Reports of anxiety have risen steadily over the past several years. This trend has only been exacerbated by living through the COVID pandemic. And while it’s becoming more common, the root causes continue to be elusive. Working on it a little bit each day is generally pretty good advice if you want to get better at anything. Here are some podcasts that will help you get there.

The Anxiety Guy

Dennis Simsek is the Anxiety Guy. Not a professional tennis player. Not the father. He’s the anxiety guy. Because when you’re living with anxiety it can feel that all-consuming.

What makes Dennis’ show useful for self-improvement is watching someone at their peak falter, sort it out, and move forward. People are very good at learning by example and Dennis is an excellent leader by example.

Listen: Apple Podcast | Stitcher | Spotify

Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris

Dan Harris is a peak performer. He’s also a regular guy who had a panic attack live on-air, scaring himself, but also confusing his segment producers.

Dan’s journey is relatable. Panic and anxiety can happen to anyone and they are happening to more people as time goes on.

Dan’s solution is to work around the edges of his life. If you can get 10% happier, you’ll change your life immeasurably across what you thought were unrelated areas of your life. It’s an ongoing goal. A target you’ll continue to aim and fire at, even if you miss the mark sometimes.

And that’s okay.

Side Note The episode of the Joe Rogan Experience with Dan Harris and Sam Harris was some of the best broadcasting you’ll ever hear. 

Listen: Apple Podcast | Stitcher | Spotify

Relationships

We’ve all heard the statistic about half of all marriages ending in divorce. While this statistic is somewhat misleading, the fact remains that relationships, not only marital ones, take a lot of work.

Even if everything is going swimmingly, it takes work to maintain a healthy relationship. Even more work if you’re going to build new relationships in addition to maintaining the ones you have.

Here are some useful self-improvement podcasts to make relationship success a bit more likely.

Nobody Panic

I’m not sure if Nobody Panic is a “self-improvement” podcast per se. Well, it’s billed as a “comedy” podcast, so it isn’t strictly speaking, but it has to be one of the best podcasts for building and maintaining relationships.

Hosts Stevie Martin and Tessa Coates tackle life’s roadblocks with that telltale sharp British wit that makes you wanting more. The back and forth, possibly off-script, noodling through approach makes the likely solutions to intractable problems seem obvious.

You might not find this podcast listed on other “self-improvement” or “self-help” lists, but trust me, this is going to be a show you keep in your weekly rotation.

If you need an episode to get started with, check out “How to Restart a Friendship.”

Listen: Apple Podcast | Acast | Spotify | Google

How To Make Friends Podcast w/ Gemma Scopes

Gemma is of the put your own mask on first school of thought when it comes to relationship building. After all, if you can’t “be your own bestie” first, then how are you going to be fully available to the other relationships in your life?

In order to build relationships on a solid foundation, Gemma covers topics like self-acceptance, why you should stop saying you’re sorry all the time, and the different types of friendships we have in our lives.

In other words, she’s talking about the very subjects we’re quietly ruminating over and letting hold us back.

Listen: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google

Leaps of Faith

We all sit on the sidelines entirely too long in life. We’re waiting for the perfect moment to make a move, or more data to make the perfect decision… We’re waiting for something to give us permission to do what we either want to do or know we have to do.

But sometimes the wrong decision is better than being paralyzed by choice into making no decision at all. Sometimes we need a kick to take the leap of faith and deal with the consequences later.

Here are some extremely useful podcasts to make this common self-improvement desire achievable.

What it Takes

Want to make lasting change? Learn to tell a good story.

The What it Takes podcast takes an intimate look at some of society’s highest performers to figure out what makes them tick. What about their story helped them transcend position and make something extraordinary happen?

More often than not, the catalyst was, and it sounds cliche, taking action. So learn from those who came before you. Stand on the shoulders of average giants.

Listen: Apple Podcast | Stitcher | Spotify

Conclusion

Even when our lives are firing on all cylinders, there’s always room for improvement. Tinkering at the borders of our experience is a great way to make sure we’re always growing. Ask any winning sports team what the key to success is and it’s always around the edges.

Nobody says self-improvement has to be about changing the world. That’s too big an ask. Self-improvement just needs to be about a marginally better you. By that metric, these podcasts are some of the most useful tools for self-improvement around.

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