A Conversation with Shauna Niequist (Best of)

·38 min·3 clips

Shauna Niequist reveals why you can't connect with someone while comparing yourself to them.

Emily P. Freeman introduces the episode as a conversation with writer Shauna Niequist about decision-making and living intentionally. Shauna opens by elaborating on her statement that you can either connect or compare, but not both, explaining how comparison consumes interior focus. The discussion shifts to spiritual practices, with Shauna listing cooking, walking, dancing, and snuggling as unconventional ways to cultivate presence. She describes cooking as a tactile practice that reconnects her with her body and spirit, often starting with chopping an onion. Shauna details walking as a healing practice, citing her therapist's advice that grief is somatic and must be physically walked out. She also mentions dancing at a wedding as a joyful reconnection with the body after pandemic isolation. Emily asks about journaling as a spiritual practice, and Shauna emphasizes its centrality in her life for processing emotions and clarifying desires. Shauna recounts how journaling revealed her unhappiness with a busy speaking career, leading to difficult conversations and life changes. Emily references Shauna's guided journal 'Present Over Perfect', which uses prompts to facilitate self-discovery rather than instruction. Shauna shares advice she gave to friend Laura Tremaine about allowing oneself to stay in bed during heartbreak, tailored to their shared background of constant activity. The conversation turns to decision-making, with Shauna advocating for making fewer decisions by reducing clutter and planning ahead to create space. Shauna announces her new book 'I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet', inspired by moving to Manhattan and embracing a beginner's mindset. She reveals her next right thing is to become a fiction writer, despite lacking experience. The episode closes with Shauna's quote from 'Present Over Perfect' on the sacredness of the present moment.

As heard by us

A warm, reflective conversation about leaving autopilot and choosing from presence, values, and a more personal sense of direction.

The episode approaches decision fatigue as more than a productivity problem. Emily P. Freeman opens the door to a wider question about making a life, while Shauna Nequist describes the familiar drift of living on autopilot, pushed along by fear and caffeine.

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Why you'd press play

If comparison is crowding out connection, let Shauna Niequist help you step off autopilot and back toward presence.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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