Nine to Thrive: The Well-Being Podcast

About Nine to Thrive: The Well-Being Podcast

Welcome to Nine to Thrive: The Well-Being Podcast, where we explore what it means to thrive and flourish in this complex world we are living in.. Join Julie Fischer, Positive Psychology Practitioner, Coach and Well-Being Advocate for meaningful and lively conversations with experts, thought leaders, authors, business leaders and more. We dive into the “un-well-being crisis” we are experiencing as a collective, and share tools and strategies that foster increased mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and financial well-being. Ready to connect with a community of people who strive to thrive? Tune in every other week for inspiration, insight and maybe what feels like a nudge from a friend to keep moving, keep uncovering and keep transforming yourself, your life and your sense of well-being.

Publisher

Julie Fischer

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Dec 2023

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

73 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Oct 2026

   Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: A conversation with Dr. Marilee Adams

   Guest: Dr. Marilee Adams, author and pioneer of inquiry-based coaching and leadership EPISODE DESCRIPTION When the world feels complex or scary, we tend to narrow our thinking into rigid, binary judgments — and lose access to nuance, choice, and possibility. Dr. Marilee Adams, author of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life, joins Julie to unpack the Learner and Judger mindsets, the Choice Map that shows how we fall into — and can climb out of — reactive thinking, and why the questions we ask ourselves shape everything from our relationships to our physical health. ABOUT MY GUEST Marilee Adams, Ph.D. is an award-winning author and pioneer in the fields of inquiry-based coaching, leadership, and organizational effectiveness. She is the author of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 14 Powerful Tools for Leadership, Coaching, and Results, which has sold over half a million copies in 25 languages. Her work focuses on showing people how to ask themselves the best questions to help themselves thrive, both personally and professionally. WHAT WE COVER How Marilee developed Question Thinking and the Choice Map, starting with a spontaneous flip-chart exercise The two core mindsets: Learner (open, curious, creative) and Judger (closed, defensive, demeaning) — and why both are normal Why awareness is the first step, and how the body often signals which mindset you're in before your mind catches up The Choice Map: the fork in the road, the “Judger pit,” and the many off-ramps back to Learner Why Judger is our biological default — and why that's not something to judge ourselves for Self-compassion and giving yourself time before trying to “fix” a reaction Low-stakes vs. high-stakes triggers, and how to recognize which one you're in The cumulative cost of a Judger-dominant inner life — physiologically, emotionally, and relationally Curiosity as a healing, connecting force — and why you can't be angry and curious at the same time Thank you for listening. We are so happy you found us. If you enjoyed today’s episode, follow Nine to Thrive: The Well-Being Podcast so our new episodes are automatically delivered to your favorite podcast feed, and please share it with a friend! Reviews and ratings matter <3 We would be so grateful if you left a 5 star rating and a few words about what you liked (or loved) about this episode. Want more tools and strategies for thriving and flourishing? -Check out Julie’s website and subscribe to her monthly newsletter here -Follow Julie on Instagram or LinkedIn CONNECT WITH MARILEE Website (Check out the Choice Map download here): [ Purchase your copy of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life

2. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Beyond Willpower

   EPISODE DESCRIPTION Muscling through was never the answer. In this solo episode, Julie unpacks why willpower is a poor foundation for lasting change — at work, in our health, and in the goals we keep setting and quietly abandoning — and walks through four things that matter far more: the environment we build around ourselves, the identity we reinforce with every small action, whether a goal is genuinely ours, and how we treat ourselves when we inevitably slip. WHAT WE COVER Why the “try harder” story about change is wrong — and why willpower gets too much credit Environment over willpower: James Clear's systems thinking and Angela Duckworth's new book Situated, including her Three Box Model and the idea of situational agency Identity-based change vs. outcome-based change Autonomous vs. controlled motivation, and the question: is this goal actually mine? The “what-the-hell effect” — why self-compassion after a slip predicts a faster comeback than self-criticism Four questions to sit with this week REFLECTION QUESTIONS Where are you relying on willpower to fight an environment that's working against you? Is the goal you're chasing actually yours, or borrowed from someone else's expectations? What's one small environmental change you could make this week to take some of the daily fight off your shoulders? The last time you slipped, how did you talk to yourself? What would self-compassion have sounded like instead? Thank you for listening. We are so happy you found us. If you enjoyed today’s episode, follow Nine to Thrive: The Well-Being Podcast so our new episodes are automatically delivered to your favorite podcast feed, and please share it with a friend! Reviews and ratings matter <3 We would be so grateful if you left a 5 star rating and a few words about what you liked (or loved) about this episode. Want more tools and strategies for thriving and flourishing? -Check out Julie’s website and subscribe to her monthly newsletter here -Follow Julie on Instagram or LinkedIn

3. 

   15 Sept 2026

   You are Never too Old and It’s Not too Late to Thrive with Ilene Berns-Zare, PsyD, PCC

   It's never too late to change, pick up something new, or deepen a relationship. Ilene Berns-Zare — psychologist, coach, and author of You're Not Too Old and It's Not Too Late: Weekly Practices of Meaning, Mindfulness, and New Possibilities at Midlife and Beyond — joins Julie to talk about reimagining the second half of life with more curiosity, resilience, and possibility. We dig into what resilience actually means at midlife and beyond, how to question the negative labels our culture attaches to aging, and the daily practices — strengths, gratitude, connection — that support thriving in any season. WHAT WE TALK ABOUT Resilience as a series of realizations, understandings, and choices — not a one-and-done trait Building resilience like a muscle, and why over-rescuing can interrupt that process in the people we love Questioning the negative labels and stereotypes our culture assigns to aging Reframing language: “growing older” instead of “getting old,” “seasoned” instead of “over the hill” Using your character strengths — including the free VIA strengths survey — instead of focusing only on what's wrong Hope theory, agency, and pathways thinking applied to midlife and beyond Self-compassion, flexibility, and adjusting timelines as life circumstances shift Daily gratitude practices, including the “three good things” exercise Thank you for listening. We are so happy you found us. If you enjoyed today’s episode, follow Nine to Thrive: The Well-Being Podcast so our new episodes are automatically delivered to your favorite podcast feed, and please share it with a friend! Reviews and ratings matter <3 We would be so grateful if you left a 5 star rating and a few words about what you liked (or loved) about this episode. Want more tools and strategies for thriving and flourishing? -Check out Julie’s website and subscribe to her monthly newsletter here -Follow Julie on Instagram or LinkedIn More about Ilene: Ilene Berns-Zare is a life and leadership coach, psychologist, educator, and author who helps people navigate their lives with resilience, meaning, mindfulness, and well-being. She's the author of You're Not Too Old and It's Not Too Late: Weekly Practices of Meaning, Mindfulness, and New Possibilities at Midlife and Beyond, and writes the blog Flourish and Thrive on Psychology.com. Her work focuses on helping people flourish by bringing mind, body, and spirit into flow with their strengths, purpose, and potential. Website - https://ibzcoaching.com/ Blogs - http://ibzcoaching.com/blog Psychology Today-  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/ilene-berns-zare-psyd LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilene-berns-zare-psyd-pcc-cec-9062a39b/ Blue Sky Social - @ileneberns-zare.bsky.social

Who has been a guest on Nine to Thrive: The Well-Being Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Celi Arias
• Emiliya Zhivotovskaya
• Megan Megenson
• Kathryn Goetzke
• Diane Dreher

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

18 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

11 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 37 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

45

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

71

Contact Nine to Thrive: The Well-Being Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Nine to Thrive: The Well-Being Podcast