The Food Medic - S9 E1: How to stop procrastinating and overcome self-sabotage

Episode Date: January 9, 2023

The Food Medic is back with season 9!I'm joined by Nawal Mustafa, a cognitive neuroscientist and a psychological health educator who goes by the name @thebraincoach on social media. Nawal's interests focus on understand the relationship between human behaviour, cognition and brain function and she's currently a PhD candidate in clinical neuropsychology at the University of Windsor, Canada.In this episode: Self-sabotage: why we do it and breaking the cycle Why we procrastinate and how to stop it Endless to-do lists and productivity guilt Gaining confidence and avoiding imposter syndrome Research-backed ways of improving productivity This season, the ‘Ask Dr Hazel’ bonus episodes continue. If you’d like to submit a question on anything related to health, fitness, nutrition or women's health, please send your voice recorded question to info @thefoodmedic.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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a credit card that can get you unlimited free grocery delivery and the most PC optimum points on everyday purchases. The PC Insider's World's Elite MasterCard, the card for living unlimited. Conditions apply to all benefits. Visit pcfinancial.ca for details. Hello and a big welcome back

to a brand new season of the Food Medic podcast. I'm your host as always, Dr. Hazel Wallace. I'm a medical doctor, nutritionist, author and founder of the Food Medic. I can't believe I'm saying this, but welcome to season nine of the podcast and a big welcome back to those who've been here listening from the start and a big welcome to those who are joining for the very first time. So if you're new around here I absolutely recommend you take time to go back and browse through previous seasons as we have had some great guests and great episodes and I know I say this each season but I promise you you are in for a treat with the lineup we have for this season with guests like Noelle Mustafa, Lane Norton, Grace Beverly, David Birtwistle, Adrian Herbert, and many, many

more. Now, if you do love the podcast, make sure to subscribe if you haven't already, so you are the first to hear about any new episodes. This season, we're also going to continue our mini episodes of Ask Dr. Hazelel where I answer your burning questions. If you would like to submit a question to the podcast on any topic related to health, fitness, nutrition or women's health, please send your voice recorded questions to info at thefoodmedic.co.uk Today I am joined by someone who I followed online for many months now and I gain so much from her content so I'm really excited to speak to her. Noelle Mustafa is a cognitive neuroscientist and a psychological health educator. You might know her on Instagram as

The Brain Coach as that's how I found her. If you don't follow her already go and do it now before we start because she shares so much valuable evidence-based information about neuroscience and mental health. In this episode, we cover self-sabotage, procrastination and confidence building. Perfect topics to start your year off on the right foot. It's a brand new year and naturally many of us are setting goals and resolutions for 2023 and one of my resolutions is to be more consistent with my bedtime routine so that I can set myself up for better sleep and recovery overall. One tool I'll be using to help me with this is my

Whoop. Many of you will know I'm a huge fan of Whoop already and I've recently joined their scientific advisory board but if you haven't heard of WHOOP before let me quickly explain. WHOOP isn't just another fitness tracker. WHOOP is constantly measuring important metrics and vital signs like resting heart rate, heart rate variability, activity levels and sleep performance. The WHOOP algorithms then process all of these inputs to provide you with personalized recommendations and coaching feedback to help you accomplish your goals, whatever they might be. So if you're setting some goals, whether it's preparing for your first half marathon or like me, trying to get more sleep, WHOOP are here to help each and every member in

their community set and smash their goals and resolutions for 2023. If you're interested in improving your health and overall performance, you can go to join.whoop.com slash thefoodmedic to get started. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. I have been following your Instagram page for the last couple of months and love the content that you put out there. And I think how you distill quite complex ideas and topics into really shareable and bite sized pieces of information. I absolutely love. And I just thought you would be the perfect guest for this time of the year. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, it's been a few years

since I've been posting this bite-sized information and the response has been quite overwhelming. So I'm happy and grateful to have that community. Yeah, absolutely. I'd love to start there. If you could tell us a little bit about your journey and how you came to be the brain coach on Instagram. For sure. So currently, I'm actually a neuropsychology resident here in Canada, completing my doctorate. It's a seven year commitment of postgraduate training. So a long time and I think midway through, right after I finished my master's, I kind of started becoming more serious about my career. And I was like, OK, I need to I know I want a private practice. And I know that pamphlets and brochures don't work anymore to actually get our private practice out there.

So I need to have an online portfolio. And I was like, well, I use Instagram a lot. So maybe the best way to kind of put myself out there in a professional way would be through Instagram. And I started posting information that I was kind of learning through my graduate training as well. So it was kind of a win-win because not only was I taking that information and creating posts on it so for other people to benefit from, but I was actually also relearning that information. So it turned out to be a win-win. More importantly, though, I think once I started creating this online portfolio on social media, I started to realize that there were a lot of applicable strategies that I was

learning in grad school through my training that I had no knowledge of growing up. And if I had that information with me, I could have seen a profound effect in my growth early on. So that led to more of a passion to just get this information out there for people who may not have access to mental health care the way that, you know, I had at this point. So I think there were a variety of reasons. And so I started this page in 2019, August, and it kind of just blew up. And I think, again, the pandemic was sort of a perfect timing for this type of information to go out. So the response was quite significant. And, you know, it was just something that I wanted to do, just knowledge dissemination in a bite-sized way. But

I never thought that I would reach so many people with my content so I really feel grateful to have built this community of millions at this point yeah absolutely it's a huge platform I didn't realize how that it was only 2019 when you had started which is amazing um to see how much has grown and how many people resonated but I think you're so right in that never has mental health been more topical in the last two years which is a great it's great that people can access more information online but I would love to dive into a few of the topics actually that you talk about on your platform, largely around like goal setting and procrastinating and getting in our own way. And obviously, when this podcast goes out, it's the

new year and lots of people are making New Year's resolutions. What are some common things that you think get in the way from people reaching their goals? Yeah, there's a multitude of reasons, honestly. And I think if I had to pinpoint some of the most common ones, the biggest one would be a fear of failure. And this is often rooted in perfectionistic tendencies. So perfectionists often equate failure to kind of failure in achieving their goals or mistakes even as a lack of their own self-worth. So their identity is very much tied to their achievements. And if you approach the world in that way, it's going to really inhibit you from achieving certain goals. And you might even set unrealistic expectations of yourselves because you

consider yourself as someone who is going to achieve a lot and then get disappointed sort of after the fact when you realize, oh my gosh, this was actually not doable for me. And the perfectionist in you can get paralyzed. So that's one. And another is when we set goals, I think a lot of the time we focus on the end result rather than the process or the journey of accomplishing that goal. And realistically, we're spending a lot of time in that journey part rather than the end result. And you'll notice that if once we start to work on a goal and after our hard work, we achieve it, that achievement, it only lasts for a short period of time. So it's not actually quite significant as compared to, you know, working towards that goal and feeling rewarded

over and over once you reach a milestone. So that's another thing. So just thinking about the end result. And then lastly, not being clear enough about your goals. So this is a huge, huge thing that we talk about in cognitive remediation as well. So a lot of the time, people set a goal, but it's so vague that there's no guideline or blueprint on how to actually accomplish that goal. So something that really works is the SMART goal technique. And this is, you know, making the goal specific. So that's the S for SMART. Measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-focused.

You need to hit all those things to be able to have a goal that's clear enough for you to start working towards. So if you're not clear enough about your goals, I think that's a huge, huge barrier for a lot come to my mind that that's one of the reasons why people aren't reaching their goals but now that you've said it it's so true that we really get in our own way and we self-sabotage the concept of self-sabotage was quite new to me in the last couple of years and we talk about it a lot but I would love to just pick that apart. What is self-sabotage and what are some ways that people typically get in their own way? Yeah, I think perfectionism is one of the key ways that we will keep reasons why we end up self-sabotaging. Just to define what self-sabotage is, it's basically when your behavior and thoughts prevent you from accomplishing your goals. So one part is that fear of failure because that's part of that

mindset that you have, right? There are other ways that we tend to self-sabotage as well. So one of the main ones is just having negative beliefs about yourself. So these beliefs tend to control your choices and decisions. If you don't feel confident in your abilities to do something, it's going to be very, very hard for you to go out there and actually take action on that specific goal. Another thing is the opposite of that. So not challenging yourself enough, so not getting outside of your comfort zone. And a lot of the research tells us that if we slightly push ourselves beyond our capacity, beyond our limit, that's when new connections form in the brain. And that's when we start to learn something in a way that makes us feel more confident in our abilities. So, you know, if you are having these negative beliefs about yourself

and they are really overwhelming in terms of controlling your choices and decisions and you're really feeling paralyzed, it might be really important for you to just push yourself outside of that comfort zone little by little to see how far you can get. And that's going to build your sense of confidence. And then lastly, I think making excuses for yourself. So for your maladaptive and unhealthy behaviors, despite knowing that they are not good for you. And one of the big things that I can think about here is procrastination, right? So we tend to procrastinate, we know we have to get something done,

but we still end up seeking that immediate gratification rather than that long-term reward of just, you know, working on whatever needs to get done and feeling those rewards after the fact. These are the various ways we do tend to self-sabotage. And I think awareness would be really, really important to understand why we do, why we behave this way. And if we are aware that we're doing it, or now after listening to this podcast, someone is aware that they're doing that, how can we change it? How can we stop it from happening? Yeah, this one is a tough question, because I think individual differences would really play a role here. Awareness can be very, very powerful. And that is the first step. But the next step is the commitment to change that behavior. And

whatever you're self-sabotaging in, I think at some point, you kind of get tired of your own stuff. And you're just like, okay, I need change. And I need to figure out why my patterns are being repeated in a way that leaves me feeling dissatisfied. If there are small ways that you can kind of build a habit that leads to less self-sabotage, that's the first step that I'd encourage. So maybe, you know, you just, if you have to, for me, for example, it's very easy to kind of get busy with life and being in residency rotations, doing my dissertation at the same time, and also trying to manage social media, it can be a lot. And it's very easy to just let go of goals around social media and building a career through there. So one of the ways that

I feel like I need to really be accountable is wake up really early in the morning and spend an hour or two figuring out content and just planning for social media. And if there's ever a time where I start to stay up late and not take care of my sleep hygiene, then I'm not able to wake up early enough. Right. So that is a form of self-sabotage. And I consider that for myself as a self-sabotage pattern. And so I try my best to really focus on my sleep hygiene and sleep on time, have my alarm clock that says it's time for bed, get ready, start your nighttime routine and, you know, wake up early. So I think that accountability component is really, really important. Absolutely. And you mentioned

procrastination as one example. For me, I think how I self-sabotage is through procrastination. And it could be around something that I really want to do or a goal that I am trying to build on and I'm really excited about. But I think it's perhaps the fear of failure that causes me to procrastinate. But what are some reasons? Why do we do it around things that we actually want to do? Yeah, I think so. You know, when something is so important to us, when we really want to achieve it, that fear of failure can be very significant. And it can, you know, if we're unable to manage our feelings around that fear and try to overcome it through just reframing, cognitively reframing our thoughts even,

it might be very tough for us to go for that specific goal, just to take action. But in general, procrastination, just to define it from a broader perspective, it's that intentional delay of action, right? Despite recognizing that that delay will lead to negative consequences. So a lot of the time people know that they want to do something, but they are intentionally delaying that action. So it is a form of self-sabotage and it tends to reduce the time available to complete a task, obviously. And it's associated with then stress and lower performance

and potential harm to just our psychological health because then we start to sort of become more critical about ourselves and negative emotions run pretty high. And many people do think that procrastination is kind of a time management issue or maybe something to do with laziness. But that really is not the case. Many high performance can actually attest to this because many high performing individuals tend to procrastinate. So it's not really laziness and it's not time management because a lot of the time people are scheduling things and have a very neat calendar that they go by. Studies have

actually found that procrastination is more of a self-regulation problem. So it's that frontal area of the brain that uses our executive functioning skills, right? So we procrastinate when we are unable to regulate our emotions or when we have little self-control. So both of them are a way of self-regulation. And if we're not able to regulate our emotions or regulate our actions, that is when we tend to procrastinate. So, you know, part of that emotion component is that fear of failure. So if we're unable to regulate that fear of failure, we're going to feel paralyzed and sort of step back from the action that we need to take. what are some strategies that people should consider is it like diving deeper and wondering why we're doing it and having awareness or is it about catching yourself when it happens I think both catching yourself is really the first step and it's again that awareness component right like if we don't have insight into our behaviors and actions it really, really tough to address it. But once you are aware,

I think to address procrastination, we want to focus on regulating our emotions in an effective way. And this can be really tough for people who maybe didn't grow up with talking about their feelings or understanding what emotions are. One way we can do this, though, is by just challenging our unhelpful thoughts. And again, that awareness is very important. So maybe once you realize, okay, I'm procrastinating on this, I don't know why. So I need to figure out what's going on. So try to think of doing that task. And as you think about doing that task, what thoughts come up? Is it, oh, this task is going to be too boring, or, you know, I'm not going to do a good enough job. What are the thoughts that are coming to mind that are unhelpful? And these unhelpful thoughts,

from a cognitive behavioral therapy perspective, these are called cognitive distortions in psychology. And examples of unhelpful thoughts that I think may be rooted in procrastination might be something like catastrophizing, right? So, you know, this is too hard. I will never be able to do well on it. Or another one is should statements. So, you know, I should be more responsible. My carelessness is the reason why I'm procrastinating and I'm not performing well. These thoughts, realistically, we all have them, but at the same time, they can be really damaging to our mindset and our ability to, you know, move forward. I think one more example of a cognitive distortion that may lead to procrastination is overgeneralizing things. So

because a task might be too challenging, you might say to yourself, you know, no matter how hard I try, I always put things off and it's not really going to be any different this time. So I've just, this is just how I am. And you generalize yourself in that category. And you can just imagine that that's going to be sort of making an excuse to not do the thing that you need to get done. But if you're able to identify these thoughts I think it's a great way to then reframe them into something that's more realistic something that can be more encouraging for you just like how you would support a friend who was having these thoughts. So kind of flipping on its head in terms of like how we speak to each other or how we speak to ourselves, really.

You gave us some examples of like unhelpful thoughts or unhelpful thinking. What would be an example of like a positive way of reframing it if it does happen. Yeah, so, you know, just to maybe look at the overgeneralizing thought example, you know, no matter how much I try not to, I always keep putting things off. And it's not going to be any different this time. So if we take that thought and make it into something more realistic, I think one thing to consider is you can't predict the future. You don't know if it's going to be different this time. So how can you say that and try to believe that, right? So a way to reframe that is, well, I don't know, maybe it will be different this time. Maybe I will be able to achieve and accomplish the goal that I have set out for myself. And then, you know, try to maybe approach it in a problem solving way.

So what can I do to make sure that I can achieve this goal? Instead of just putting your hands up and be like, I give up, this is going to happen again, and it's just not going to be for me. So it's more about, you know, encouraging yourself and trying to have a game plan, a strategic way to actually accomplish that, that task. And that's just a small way that you can reframe your mindset by just reframing your thoughts. Yeah, absolutely. And kind of on the other side of the coin, then, is the whole idea of productivity, which is like really topical. And I do want to get into that in a minute. But I sometimes can be guilty of setting myself too long a to do list. And then I get such guilt at the end of the day, when I've not ticked that off. Can we chat about productivity guilt?

Yeah, productivity guilt is something that I also experience quite a lot. And I think one of the things that I've learned is that once I get to that point, and I become aware, okay, I'm starting to feel guilty about not getting everything done today, I really have to come back to the strategies that I know work with productivity guilt. But just to define this for people who may not know what productivity guilt is, it's really a mindset of feeling bad when you are not working hard. So you're not, you know, achieving your goals or doing something that benefits you in your career. right? So it often tends to lead to intrusive thoughts about how you never complete tasks on time, you are not good enough because you're just not doing

a good enough job, or that, you know, you just didn't get much done in the day. And that's a huge problem for you. And it's funny because we come up with all these things ourselves. We come up with our own tasks, we come up with our own goals and then when we don't see ourselves achieving them to the most optimal level, we sort of criticize ourselves for it. So it's really all in our mind and we're building these problems by our actions and how we think of those actions. So this guilt to be constantly doing something can actually feel really draining and exhausting and it may even lead to a state of paralysis. So if you feel like, you know, you're not able to check off everything on your to-do list, you may start to sort of regress in your ability to

plan and strategize your goals because it can feel discouraging. It can feel like, you know, you're just not doing a good enough job. So why does it even matter? So I think one of the ways that I kind of ground myself is re-evaluating my expectations. So really looking at are my expectations realistic for the day? And I tend to have a really poor perception of time. So I will list out like 10 things in the day and I'll be like, yeah, I can get this within two hours. I can get this done within two hours. I can get this task done within 15 minutes. And while I sit there and try to actually complete that task, it takes me double the time. And so I think that organizing my time in a way that results in first cutting down unnecessary tasks and focusing on the very most important priorities

at first, and also just realizing how much time a task takes can be very, very helpful to achieve the goals that I need to for the day. And just forgiving yourself if you can't do it all in the day, you know, just maybe I look at my list as this is a work in progress. It's not something I need to absolutely complete during the day. But if I hit my priorities, which are usually between one to three maximum, then I'm happy, then I feel successful. And it's a great day. Yeah, I love that strategy. Yesterday was one example for me where I had written an overly ambitious to do list. And I think you're so right in that we, I think we underestimate how much time things take, especially when we really like care about them. It's not just sending emails, but it's like producing a piece of work or being creative. And often like you almost need to give yourself like a buffer period either side to just take a moment before the next, the next task. Absolutely. And I think the buffer period, like if you're talking about breaks here, you know, just to give yourself some time to understand, okay, I was on go, go, go,

I had this task done and feeling accomplished, celebrating that task being done and then moving forward after a little break can be really helpful. It actually increases productivity anyway. So just having that buffer period could be really helpful. Yeah, absolutely. Someone said to me recently, like, are you being productive? Or are you being efficient? And I think that was a really nice way of reframing it, because oftentimes we equate productivity with like busyness, whereas like efficiency is like you're being efficient with the time that you have versus trying to get as much done. And I'd love to chat to you about like some other ways where we can be efficient or I guess we'll use the word productive. But like, how can we what are some like evidence backed ways to improve our productivity without going over that threshold of being overly ambitious maybe? I think you defined productivity really well here.

So it is, you know, about doing something in the most efficient way possible, maybe in the least amount of time possible rather than working long hours, right? That's not really productive. And some evidence-based ways that we can increase our efficiency in our work is one, to reduce cognitive effort. So if we are multitasking, for example, that's really going to hinder our productivity because our brain is

going from one task to the next and shifting that attention is a very higher order cognitive skill. And that requires our brain to work very hard. So if we are shifting our attention from one task to the next, and then going back to that task, it actually takes longer for a brain to adapt back into that task. So it might be helpful to, you know, bash similar tasks together. And that allows you to maintain that attention towards similar tasks. So for example, if you have to read a few articles, so you're doing literature review, for example, it might be good to, you know, have maybe three hours dedicated to that time and just do that reading during that time with breaks in between. But you're kind of focused on that task alone rather than reading one article and then responding to some emails and then reading the next article and then doing something else. So it can be very hard to maintain that focus if we shift our attention

back and forth. So that would be one of the main strategies. And another one is taking breaks, like I sort of alluded to a few minutes ago. And this is because our brain has a limited capacity. We cannot sustain attention for too long. And if we do, it's sort of our energy levels start to burn out even just during that day. So it's very, very important to, you know, after say every 45 minutes of focused work, take a 10 minute break, stretch your body, move around and then come back to that task.

If you're still working on that task, something that really helps me just to reorient myself faster is to maybe highlight the text in red where I stopped or just have like a sticky note where I know exactly where to start off from where I stopped, you know, so you can reorient yourself faster that way. That's such a good tip. Because sometimes if I'm in the middle of a big chunky task that's taking more than an hour to two hours, I'm like, no, just take a break when you're finished. But then when I'm like halfway through, I'm like losing attention. I'm like not really giving it my best effort because I'm like fatigued at that point. I probably need to go to the bathroom. I want to drink.

So I love that idea of kind of just giving yourself a little marker where to pick back up on. Yeah, it's been very helpful for me. And it really comes down to just being able to assist our brain to reorient itself. Yeah, absolutely. Next, I wanted to touch on confidence building, especially when it comes to our work. And I think, you know, the concept of imposter syndrome comes up a lot when I'm speaking to people. And especially if we're like starting new jobs or taking on a new career, it can feel like we're taking on a lot and maybe we're not ready for it. What are some ways that we can feel confident in our work and try to avoid falling into that trap of imposter syndrome? This is very relatable first for me because I've been through that and I think the imposter

syndrome just transfers to a new situation kind of as I challenge myself with newer things. So an example would be once when I first started graduate training, so my doctoral program. I was around people who were highly intelligent, who kind of, you know, had averages that were wild to me. And I felt very much like an imposter because I came in with the minimum average of admission, but I had, I love volunteering, I love doing extracurriculars, and I loved being in leadership roles during my undergrad. So that experience was very much focused with the career that I wanted to have. So that's what got me in

because it made me different from maybe other people who had the minimum average, right? And so once I got in and I started talking to these people, I was like, oh my gosh, this is wild. I don't think I should be here. These people are very, very intelligent. What am I doing here? And am I ever going to feel like I'm good enough here. And that, I think that lasted at least, at least a year, year and a half. And what really helped me was one, talking to people that were in my program and realizing that nobody really knows what they're doing and we're all figuring it out as we go. And that was a really comforting thing for me, just to know that it's kind of okay to be in

that state, especially initially when we're starting off something so new. So everyone in my cohort were new to this program, right? And even if, you know, my thoughts were telling me that I might be less than them, I think their thoughts were also telling them the same thing. So knowing that sense of kind of community exists between us was really helpful. And another thing was just to understand myself better. So what are my strengths? What are my weaknesses? And maintaining a growth mindset. So really knowing what my areas of improvement are and focusing on them slowly, only if they're necessary

and being okay with certain things that I'm not good at. And it's completely okay to have those things. You don't have to be good at everything. And also really capitalizing on my strengths. So something that I felt like was always a strength of mine was creativity and being able to break down complex things into more simpler things. And that's really what I do on my social media. And there's that creative component of, you know, making those posts or filming a video, filming a reel. And I find that I consider that as a strength of mine, even though there's, you know, self-doubt around that too, where it's

like, oh my gosh, like, there's people making excellent reels. Why can I be like that? You know, but it's, I think it's just a process and you become better and better and you start to understand that, okay, you do have these strengths and you can develop these skills further and further. And as you do that, you develop that confidence in yourself and that imposter syndrome sort of just goes away on its own. Yeah. Do you believe in the whole fake it till you make it when it comes to confidence? To an extent, actually, I think it is important to exude that energy when you're in certain situations. You know, if, for example, something that I think is really important is when I do a presentation or a workshop, and there are, you know, 150 attendees, it can feel really

intimidating for me. And I cannot show up as an intimidated person. I have to show up as someone who is very excited to share that concept with them and is, because I am, but I'm also very scared, right? I have to fake it there. I have to fake it until I feel confident in myself. And, you know, at times that initial fear goes away after five to 10 minutes, because that initial part can be very scary. And I think that's the same for meetings. If you go into an important meeting and you feel really nervous, it might not be the best idea to show that nervousness and you might want to fake it and be kind of equal in the energy level that everyone else is exuding. So yeah, there is that component. But I think if you do it, if you go too far with it, you might deviate from your level of competency and that might start showing up. So you need to be aware of what that boundary

is and develop skills before you cross that boundary to the next level. Because then that can also start showing people do recognize that, you know, quite easily. So I think I have mixed feelings about figure till you make it yeah I think I agree with you though and I'm kind of where you're coming at when you're showing up to just be confident in a in a situation where it's quite nerve-wracking or daunting it's quite different to like showing up and pretending you have this knowledge or skill set which you don't just to be impressive I completely agree with you there. But I think not enough people back themselves in that situation,

in like a situation where they've been invited to do a talk or they've been invited to, you know, apply for a job and we still doubt ourselves and we need to just kind of show up and tell ourselves we belong there and we're supposed to be there. Absolutely. I think especially from, you know, an imposter syndrome standpoint, if you have the credentials to get the interview and someone has invited you in for that interview, you have made it there for a reason and you belong in that room just as much as everyone else who's being interviewed at that time. So it's more about, you know, what you can do now to show yourself as different than other people.

How do you have an upper hand? And if you get lost in your thoughts initially, that's going to be very hard for you to do. So I think, yeah, just reframing that mindset can be important and fake it till you make it in those settings yeah um love that well we had I mean we talked about so many really important topics today but to finish off the podcast I've got three questions that we ask every guest that is a little bit more about you um and I've not shared them with you yet so hopefully they're not too much of a shock but the first question is what is one thing that you've changed your mind about um I think this goes this goes with something that we were talking about. I did have, or still do at times,

very perfectionistic tendencies, just wanting to do something the right way, the perfect way, or not feeling happy about it and just not doing it at all. So I think what I've learned is just focusing on the progress, knowing that if I start something new, it's not going to be the best thing ever. And that's completely OK. And something that's really inspired me is, you know, just watching other people show up on social media, especially because that's been a really big challenge for me just showing up in front of so many people, especially coming from a background where I've been buried in books for years and years, just doing graduate training and just studying. So showing up on social media was really tough. And, you know, something that I tell everyone is that I just got started. And that was the best thing that I was that I did because the first few posts maybe the first hundred posts of mine were maybe not the best but I kept improving and improving and

I understood that the the still lies in progress it's not really you know wanting to be perfect before we start something yeah oh I really love that one I completely resonate um and the second one is what's a non-negotiable in your day I would say movement yeah um movement has been something I've I prioritized for maybe I think it's been like five six years at this point. And initially, it was just to build muscle, get healthier, generally. But I've learned with time that there are a lot of mental health benefits and just cognitive benefits with movement in the morning. So if we are able to get 30 minutes, 15 minutes even of movement early in the morning, it can really help us get our day started on the right track with the right attitude. It boosts 30 minutes of exercise can boost our mood for

two hours right after, right? It has those immediate benefits. And I really feel them. I don't think everyone does. But a lot of people do. And there's, you know, research that tells us people do. For me, it really does make a difference. So I do try my best to wake up early and go to the gym. Or if I can't go to the gym, I don't have that much time just to something like jumping jacks or something in the house to get my body moving. And that's been a non negotiable for a long time for me. Yeah, it's the same with me. I think it's just so instrumental for not just physical health, but mental health as well, like you said. And I also think it does tie into productivity and focus throughout the day. Yeah, absolutely. And the last one is what would be your death row meal? I am obsessed with sushi. So I feel like I'm very serious about sushi and, you know, something that I fear, even like thinking of having babies, it's like, oh my gosh, you can't have sushi. That's going to be a problem. So I think if I had to like if that was my last meal it would be just getting a nice sushi roll just to yeah just to finish my life off yeah I love that and Canada does good

sushi right yeah I'm in Vancouver right now and it has probably some of the best sushi out there so I'm I'm really living life here right now. Oh I love that for you that was actually the first place I've I ever had sushi I was there for my 18th birthday many years ago with family and I'd never had sushi before and I was in Vancouver and they're like you need to have it here and they took me to an all-you-can-eat sushi place and I was like this is very new to me but I am now like a sworn down sushi fan as a result of it. Yeah I feel like that's that was the same experience for me the first time I tried it I was like I don't know how I feel about this and now I'm obsessed so I think it just grows on you. Yeah it does absolutely. Well

thank you so much for joining us today I really loved our conversation and i'm sure everyone listening did also and will want to find out more information from you so where can we find you thank you for having me and um if you guys do want to find me i think instagram is the best place so my instagram is the brain coach i also have um newsletters so I try my best to send out something bi-weekly. And that means every two weeks, not twice a week. So it's called Psychology Fits. And you can actually sign up through my website, which is namalmostafa.com or through my Instagram. So there's all the links are there as well. Amazing. I'm going to sign up. I just don't understand how you can fit in everything that

you're doing alongside your PhD. It's very admirable. Thank you. Honestly, sometimes I don't either. And sometimes I drown. But it's been, yeah, it's been a journey. And I absolutely love it. And I love the community that has kind of come from it. So it keeps me encouraged. Amazing. Well, thank you for your time today. It was lovely to meet you. You too.

Thank you for having me. Thanks for tuning in today, everyone. If you loved it, you know what to do. Leave us a review, a rating, hopefully five stars, and share it with someone you know will love it too. This season, we're going to continue our mini episodes, like I said, so just a quick reminder, if you do want to submit a question, please send your voice recorded questions to info at thefoodmedic.co.uk. That's all from me. See you again next time.