Latest news with #MelRobbins
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Local bestsellers for the week ended June 1
3. Atria Books 4. Berkley 5. Knopf 6. Doubleday 7. Mariner Books 8 Little, Brown and Company 9. Ballantine Books 10. Pamela Dorman Books HARDCOVER NONFICTION 1. Crown Advertisement 2. Mel Robbins Hay House LL C Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 3. Penguin Press 4. Penguin Press 5. W. W. Norton & Company 6. Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster 7. Scribner 8. The Dial Press Advertisement 9. Random House 10. John Green Crash Course Books PAPERBACK FICTION 1. Ecco 2. Berkley 3. Riverhead Books 4. Berkley 5. Harper Perennial 6. Vintage 7. Harper Perennial 8. Transit Books 9. Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster 10. Random House Trade Paperbacks PAPERBACK NONFICTION 1. Vintage 2. Crown 3. Harper Perennial 4. Michael Finkel Vintage 5. Vintage 6. Haymarket Books Advertisement 7. Knopf 8. Milkweed Editions 9. Matt Kracht Chronicle Book 10. TarcherPerigee The New England Indie Bestseller List, as brought to you by IndieBound and NEIBA, for the week ended Sunday, June 1, 2025. Based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the New England Independent Booksellers Association and IndieBound. For an independent bookstore near you, visit
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mel Robbins's ‘let them' theory is changing lives. These 6 magic words changed hers.
'Let them' is the two-word phrase that Mel Robbins made famous when she wrote a book encouraging people to take control of their own lives by relinquishing judgment of (and from) others. Your friends didn't invite you to dinner? Let them. The car driver in front of you is going too slow? Let them. Your coworker is stepping on your toes at work? Let them — and spend your time doing something productive rather than worrying about it. It's a mantra that's struck a chord with millions around the world, propelling Robbins to household name status in the process. But there's a different phrase Robbins herself uses in her own day-to-day life: What if it all works out? Those are 'six magic words that change everything,' the 56-year-old author and podcast host tells me during a conversation for Yahoo Life's Unapologetically series, where we're set to discuss aging and reinvention. Robbins appears to have a positive outlook on both those things, but it wasn't always this way, and it didn't come overnight. 'Nothing that I teach or that I share online or in the podcast or in books or anywhere came from positive motivation. … I don't know what it is, but I am negatively motivated,' she admits. 'I literally had to learn everything the hard way. I had to just about lose everything that mattered to me. I had to get so sick of my own shit that I was like, There's got to be an easier way.' If you're unfamiliar with Robbins's lore — as I was before accidentally attending the New York stop of her 'Let Them: The Tour' — it's important to know the former lawyer's work in self-help began when she needed it most. At 41 years old, she found herself in massive debt, unhappy in her marriage and abusing alcohol, all while raising three young kids. She struggled with negative thinking until she decided to flip the script. 'If you're going to torture yourself by constantly considering the negative, you owe it to yourself to force yourself to consider the positive,' says Robbins of the six-word question. 'It is magical for anxiety. It's magical for procrastination. It's magical for perfectionism. It's magical for overthinking. It stops you from stopping yourself … and it has absolutely changed my life.' So does she believe in being older and wiser? Not really. But establishing honesty with herself and with others has helped. Here's what she has to say about it. When you recognize that almost everything that you believe was planted in your brain by parents or society or friends or the media, you also have this other epiphany: If my brain was taught to believe this, maybe I should get serious about teaching my brain to believe things that make me feel good instead of making me believe things that don't. That to me is kind of the biggest insight, that you don't have a choice over what's happened in the past and what brought you to where you are right now in this moment. … But you always have a choice from this moment on [in terms of] what you do next and what you say to yourself about the things that have happened. And that is a life-changing realization. That's not just positive thinking bulls***, because I don't think you just say positive things and the world's problems go away. What I'm talking about is intentionally encoding in your mind patterns of thinking that lift you up and make you more optimistic and resilient, which better equips you to deal with the very real issues, problems, challenges and opportunities that you're facing. They don't make things disappear. Your mindset has the power to armor you up in a way so that you're stronger and better equipped at facing what life throws your way. Reinvention in my life has been constant. And reinvention happens in different ways. You can be forced to reinvent yourself because you get fired or you can't pay your bills or you let yourself go and you can't climb a flight of stairs without hyperventilating or you realize you have been in a string of relationships with people that treat you like garbage. … So there are the moments where life forces your hand. For me, it was more an accumulation of things that were not working in my life, an accumulation of a way of going through life that didn't feel good and it finally just boiled over, and I'm like, I have to change, I'm not happy. … When you realize that, like, Wow, I've been depressed for 40 years. I'm kind of tired of feeling that way, that's the only realization that you need to go, There must be a better way. Of the 8 billion people on this planet, someone must have figured out how to go from where I am and what I feel to feeling a little better. And if someone else has done it, then maybe I can take those steps too. I think about life as if we are all on one big, long walk together. You start at mile marker zero, and you end wherever it ends. On the road of life, there are always going to be people that are slightly in front of you and people that are behind you, and not because of age. I think your mile markers mark the time here, but where people are on the road of life in relation to you has to do with whether or not they've gone through something. If you have the kind of mindset where you could learn anything from anyone, there are things that you've gone through that I haven't gone through yet, you're a couple steps ahead of me. And if I have an open mind and open energy, and I'm willing to lean into life and be interested in other people, there are things that you would teach me because you've gone through them and I haven't. The same is true with me. Just because I'm older doesn't mean I necessarily know more. I've certainly made more mistakes, but I look at everybody as somebody that you can learn from, and I personally feel like you are best equipped to help the person you used to be. Oh my god, no. I was a liar, I was a cheater, I was a people pleaser. I would do anything to make you like me. I would pretend I liked the same music you liked. What's interesting is I don't think it naturally comes with age either. I think a lot of people that say they know who they are in their 50s are lying. I think you can figure out who you are at any age if you actually start saying what you really feel and telling the truth and saying, 'I don't know but I can find out' or 'I've never experienced that' or 'I disagree with you.' … I think you can have that realization at 30, you can have it at 25 — but there's so much social pressure. Well, I always find it very jarring that when I was in my 30s, Betty White was on The Golden Girls. She was my age [now]. … I thought 50 would be time to get retired, time to start looking old, time to be irrelevant to society because, you know, it's about the 20-year-old celebrities and we're like the old mayors getting thrown out into the corral. No. It's actually the opposite. I feel like the longer you live, the more you know who you are and who you're not. And that's a very freeing thing. There is this massive kind of leveling up or self-awareness that we all have about the benefits and the importance of taking care of ourselves and understanding that just because you get older doesn't mean you're getting frail or ugly or unwanted or undeserving. … What's exciting about being 50 is that, given the world that we live in, there is so much amazing information about how to make the most of your life, whatever that means for you, no matter what age you are. I think one of the reasons why people are so inspired by what I'm doing is it happened late in life. It's not like I was a public figure in my 20s and then did multiple reinventions and now I'm hosting a podcast — and there's nothing wrong with that. But literally, I'm a woman who has been married 30 years, I've raised three children, I have experienced bankruptcy, depression, anxiety, postpartum depression, the ups and downs. And I have never thought about whether or not I need to be good-looking or better-looking. In fact, our content does better the worse I look because I look like myself I don't give a s*** what I look like. I really don't. … The obsession with beauty is both something that has been shoved at women and something we've allowed ourselves to be consumed by. And it is very liberating to understand that there is power in allowing yourself to be seen first by yourself and then by the world around you. And that doesn't mean you shouldn't look nice at work or dress up for an interview or dress the part. It doesn't mean you shouldn't pull yourself together because it makes you feel more confident. You should absolutely do those things. But it is liberating. Oh, 25 maybe. Although I was really f***ed up when I was 25, so maybe I don't want to go back to that age. I mean, that was pre-therapy, pre-getting the anxiety and childhood trauma under control, pre-diagnosis of ADHD. It's such a cliché, but I think age is more about energy and attitude. There have been periods of my life when I was a lot younger — I was in my mid-30s, for example — and I felt old and life felt heavy and I felt trapped or stuck or just did not know who I was, you know what I mean? So I do think it's really about the energy that you bring to life and the attitude that you have about life. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Hindustan Times
29-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Expert says on Oprah Winfrey's show ‘never sleep with your phone, keep it in bathroom'. Explains why it causes anxiety
Don't pick up your phone the first thing in the morning after you wake up! Your parents have told you this, and you may have also heard many wellness experts stress how important it is to have this particular habit. But have you ever wondered why? Also Read | Doctor shares foods that help burn body fat. Hint: It is also a good source of protein During her appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show, The Oprah Podcast, Mel Robbins, an author and expert on behavioural change, talked about the importance of not sleeping with your phone. She advised people to 'never, ever sleep with their phone', and instead put it in the bathroom. The reason? Let's find out. Mel told Oprah, 'I'm not even going to talk about all the studies about how the phone in the room next to you interrupts your sleep. I'm going to talk about something that happens when you wake up.' She explained why a scenario where the phone is next to you when you are sleeping is harmful to the mind and mental peace. 'So, the phone's next to you, right? You're lying in bed. The alarm goes off, and you pick up the phone. Here you are. You aren't even vertical yet, and you have just allowed the world news and a thousand strangers on Instagram to walk into your bedroom. You're checking emails and text messages, and you wonder why you're stressed out and exhausted. You're not even out of bed, and you have put all this other stuff in your brain, which means you are now the last thing on the list.' A post shared by Mel Robbins (@melrobbins) According to the expert, if you wake up and start scrolling, it activates your stress response. Additionally, it takes longer for you to get out of bed, and it causes anxiety. How does that happen? It triggers the stored trauma in your brain. Mel explained, 'Anxiety is higher for people in the morning. If you grew up in a traumatic household or experienced abuse, poverty, bigotry, or racism when you were little, you had a chaotic experience. If you're waking up in the morning and the first thing you experience is anxiety, it is a sign of stored trauma. That's why a lot of people have anxiety first thing in the morning. It's stored trauma.' Also Read | Nutritionist shares 3 essential eating hacks if your gut is always upset Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
Irish Independent
27-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Everyone's talking about: The ‘Let Them' Theory – can it really change your life for the better?
Social media has become a popular source of mental health advice for busy people who want quick, digestible tips. Wellbeing influencers and coaches have grown huge followings online. One of the biggest names in this industry is the American author and podcast host Mel Robbins.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Stimulating your vagus nerve could help you live longer. A top scientist shares 3 easy things he does to activate his.
The vagus nerve is essential to many bodily processes, including digestion and a steady heart rate. Stimulating it could help prevent or stop chronic inflammation in the body, which is linked to disease. An inflammation expert meditates and takes cold showers in the hope they will activate the nerve. Psychotherapists, yoga teachers, and self-help types such as Mel Robbins have been talking about stimulating the vagus nerve as a way to "reset" the nervous system and calm anxiety for years. But growing evidence suggests it could do far more for our health: By helping keep inflammation at bay, the vagus nerve could be the key to living a longer, healthier life. In our modern world, "inflammation has replaced infection as the greatest threat to healthful human longevity," Dr. Kevin Tracey, a neurosurgeon, inflammation researcher, and the president and CEO of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, writes in his new book "The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes." Non-infectious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, which Tracey described to Business Insider as "diseases of inflammation," were responsible for three-quarters of deaths worldwide in 2021, according to the World Health Organization. And that figure doesn't take into account the one in 15 Americans affected by autoimmune diseases, which research indicates stem from chronic inflammation, each year. The vagus nerve is made up of 200,000 nerve fibers, which run from the brainstem, down each side of the neck, to the gut — touching almost every organ in the body. It helps turn on the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for putting the body in a "rest and digest state" (the opposite of "fight or flight") and is crucial for several automatic bodily processes, including digestion, reducing blood pressure and heart rate, breathing, mood, and immune function. Neuroscientists are still working to uncover the role of each nerve fiber. They know that vagus nerve activity, known as vagal tone, reduces heart rate, for instance, but they don't know which of the 200,000 fibers are behind that mechanism. The Food and Drug Administration approved a vagus nerve stimulation device, which is similar to a pacemaker and implanted into a patient's neck, to treat epilepsy in 1997 and depression in 2005. But it's also being studied as a therapy for several inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis. In 1998, Tracey and his team at the Feinstein Institute became the first to discover this link. When they stimulated the vagus nerves of mice with a handheld stimulator, it reduced their inflammation, measured via levels of inflammatory biomarkers, in their blood by 75%. There's ample content online claiming you can stimulate your vagus nerve through things like cold showers, breathing exercises, body tapping, and applying pressure around the neck. But the reality is, the science to prove that any of these hacks work just isn't there yet, Tracey said. "It's probably a good thing. But can we say for certain we understand how it all works? No, not yet," he added. Still, Tracey believes in his own data and that of his colleagues, so he does most of these things just in case they can help prevent chronic diseases. "It's a Pascal's wager," he said. He shared three things he does regularly in the hopes of stimulating his vagus nerve and reducing inflammation. Tracey turns the water temperature to cold for the last two to three minutes of his daily shower. He does this because cold exposure triggers the body's fight-or-flight response, which evidence suggests can suppress inflammation. Studies suggest that after the initial shock of the cold ramping up the heart beat, the parasympathetic nervous system is then activated, slowing down your breathing and heart rate. This suggests the vagus nerve is activated by cold exposure, however, any role it has in reducing inflammation is still unclear, Tracey wrote. Tracey works out for 30 to 45 minutes around five times a week. He does a mixture of cardio, weight and resistance training, stretching, and yoga. Everyone knows that exercise is good for you, but you may be surprised to learn that scientists don't fully understand the mechanisms behind the health benefits, Tracey said. Take running: we know that over time it reduces resting heart rate and increases heart variability (the time in between heartbeats), which indicates the heart is working efficiently. It's possible that this is a result of exercise increasing vagal tone, because it is responsible for slowing the heart down, but more research is needed to confirm this. Whether this turns out to be true or not, working out regularly is a no-brainer investment to make in your health. "Strength training preserves muscle mass, improves metabolic function, and prevents injuries. Aerobic exercise, such as walking, cycling, or swimming, enhances cardiovascular health and endurance," Tracey said. Tracey meditates for ten minutes most mornings, often using apps like Headspace. Early research suggests that meditating can reduce inflammation, but more is needed, Tracey said. A 2022 meta-analysis that reviewed 28 randomized controlled trials involving 4,638 people found that those who meditated had fewer inflammatory biomarkers in their blood compared to those in control groups. It's possible that meditation could increase vagus nerve activity, which in turn reduces inflammation, Tracey said, but we lack direct proof. Regardless, he has found that regular meditation has enabled him to be more present and less reactive to things he can't control. Read the original article on Business Insider
