How to Reclaim Fun in Adult Life; Michael Rucker, PhD on Joy, Burnout, and The Fun Habit

How to Celebrate the Try

When should we celebrate progress—only at the finish line, or all along the way? In this episode of The Life of Try, Wynne Leon explores the power of small wins, tiny habits, and incremental progress. Drawing from a personal story about preparing her home for an Airbnb experiment during the World Cup in Seattle, Wynne reflects on what it means to keep going when growth is messy, nonlinear, and full of setbacks. Along the way, she connects insights from BJ Fogg, creator of Tiny Habits and director of Stanford’s Behavior Design Lab, with the long-term philosophy of Toyota’s Kaizen culture, where small daily improvements add up over time, and the practical courage found in the checklist mindset associated with Captain Sullenberger. This episode is about personal growth, habit formation, celebrating small victories, and learning to recognize that progress doesn’t have to be dramatic to matter.In this episode, we discuss: → Why celebrating small wins can help you stay motivated even when progress feels slow or messy → How BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits approach shows that tiny celebrations can reinforce lasting behavior change → What Toyota’s Kaizen philosophy teaches about the long-term power of small, consistent improvements → How checklists and small-step courage can help you keep going when you feel overwhelmed or stuck → Why growth often looks nonlinear, and how to recognize progress before the final result arrives → How honoring effort along the way can help you build resilience, confidence, and momentum If you’ve ever felt stuck, overlooked your own progress, or wondered whether the little steps count, this conversation will remind you that they do. Small wins matter. Tiny steps matter. And trying counts, even before the big outcome arrives.🌍 Show notes and more inspiration: https://wynneleon.com🔔 Subscribe for more: Subscribe to The Life of Try [https://open.spotify.com/show/0qInZdzg1Xn3Xac1IMh2z0?si=oFpnzjUbQ6C8VqmIty9u3g] for more conversations on: personal growth, creativity, reinvention, resilience, writing, and mindset. ABOUT ME: Hi, I’m Wynne Leon — host of The Life of Try, a personal growth and self-improvement podcast exploring resilience, reinvention, uncertainty, and the courage to keep trying. Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real-life stories, I share insights to help you navigate change, get unstuck, and move forward with more intention. 🌍 Website: https://wynneleon.com━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎥 Watch Next ➡️ Letting Go Of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/SFFbTaJ0T2b] ➡️ 48: How to Get Unstuck: Michael Yang on Saying Yes, Resilience and Coming Alive [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/b25uANPJl2b] ➡️ How to Reclaim Fun in Adult Life | Mike Rucker, PhD, on Joy, Burnout and the Fun Habit [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/RNuPDk0kh3b]🔗 CONNECT WITH ME: • Website:→ https://wynneleon.com/ [https://wynneleon.com/] • Instagram:→ https://www.instagram.com/wynneleon/ [https://www.instagram.com/wynneleon/] • Facebook:→ https://www.facebook.com/wynne.leon/ [https://www.facebook.com/wynne.leon/]

How to Reclaim Fun in Adult Life; Michael Rucker, PhD on Joy, Burnout, and The Fun Habit

In this episode of Life of Try, Wynne Leon sits downwith Mike Rucker, PhD, organizational psychologist, behavioral scientist, and author of The Fun Habit: How the Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life, for a thoughtful conversation about why fun is not frivolous—it’sessential. Together, they explore the science of fun, the difference between happiness and joy, and how intentional habits, agency, and small “pattern interrupts” can help adults reclaim wonder in everyday life. If you’re interested in personal growth, positive psychology, work-life balance, burnout recovery, parenting, and building a more meaningful life, this episode offers practical ideas you can use right away. If you’re looking for practical self-improvement ideas, more energy, better well-being, and a fresh perspective on happiness vs. joy, this conversation offers actionable insights you can start using right away. 📘 Order The Fun Habit [https://www.amazon.com/Fun-Habit-Disciplined-Pursuit-Wonder-ebook/dp/B09JPGPNQL/] 🌐 Show notes and more inspiration: https://wynneleon.com [https://wynneleon.com] 🔔 Subscribe for more: Subscribe to The Life of Try for more conversations on: personal growth, creativity, reinvention, resilience, writing, and mindset. 📌 Subscribe & Stay Updated: → https://www.youtube.com/@thelifeoftry?sub_confirmation=1 ABOUT ME Hi, I’m Wynne Leon — host of The Life of Try, a personal growth and self-improvement podcast exploring resilience, reinvention, uncertainty, and the courage to keep trying. Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real-life stories, I share insights to help you navigate change, get unstuck, and move forward with more intention. 🌍 Website: https://wynneleon.com [https://wynneleon.com] 🎥 Watch Next: ➡️ Letting Go Of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/SFFbTaJ0T2b] ➡️ The Courage to Try Something New | Lindsey Goldstein on Growth, Failure, and Reinvention [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/oOsOjWQU52b] ➡️ H [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/7j31RQcpI2b]ow to Finally Write That Book You've Been Dreaming About | Writing Motivation [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/7j31RQcpI2b] 🔗 CONNECT WITH ME: • Website:→ https://wynneleon.com/ • Instagram:→ https://www.instagram.com/wynneleon/ • Facebook:→ https://www.facebook.com/wynne.leon/

Reinvention, Resilience and The Courage to Try| Lindsey Goldstein on Gap Year

What do you do when life falls apart? In this episode, Wynne Leon sits down with Lindsey Goldstein, author of Gap Year, for a conversation about personal growth, self-improvement, and finding the courage to try—even when the path ahead feels uncertain. From writing and running to parenting, failure, and fresh starts, they explore how confidence is built one brave step at a time. If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to try something new, this uplifting episode is a reminder that growth often begins the moment we say yes to the challenge.In this episode, you’ll learn: → When life falls apart, it can also become an opening → Courage often starts before confidence → Trying, failing, and learning are all part of growth. → Small steps lead to bigger transformations. → It is never too late to begin again → You do not always end up where you expected—but you still growLindsey Goldstein shares how writing in short windows of time highlight that progress often comes from regular effort, not waiting for the ideal moment. Check out Lindsey's book Gap Year and experience Jane's courage vicariously - but beware, it's contagious!If your kids are leaving for college, you want to try a new hobby, or a travel spot is calling you, this episode is for you. 📘 Order Gap Year on Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/Gap-Year-Novel-Lindsey-Goldstein-ebook/dp/B0FCH7YVJ9/] 🌐 Visit Lindsey Goldstein's website [https://www.lindseygoldsteinauthor.com/] 🌐 Show notes and more inspiration: https://wynneleon.com [https://wynneleon.com]🔔 Subscribe for more:Subscribe to The Life of Try for more conversations on:personal growth, creativity, reinvention, resilience, writing, and mindset.📌 Subscribe & Stay Updated [https://open.spotify.com/show/0qInZdzg1Xn3Xac1IMh2z0?si=oFpnzjUbQ6C8VqmIty9u3g]ABOUT MEHi, I’m Wynne Leon — host of The Life of Try, a personal growth and self-improvement podcast exploring resilience, reinvention, uncertainty, and the courage to keep trying.Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real-life stories, I share insights to help you navigate change, get unstuck, and move forward with more intention.🌍 Website: https://wynneleon.com [https://wynneleon.com]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎥 Watch Next➡️ Letting Go Of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/SFFbTaJ0T2b]➡️ 48: How to Get Unstuck: Michael Yang on Saying Yes, Resilience and Coming Alive [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/b25uANPJl2b] ➡️ How to Finally Write That Book You've Been Dreaming About | Writing Motivation [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/7j31RQcpI2b]🔗 CONNECT WITH ME:• Website:→ https://wynneleon.com/ [https://wynneleon.com/]• Instagram:→ https://www.instagram.com/wynneleon/ [https://www.instagram.com/wynneleon/]• Facebook:→ https://www.facebook.com/wynne.leon/ [https://www.facebook.com/wynne.leon/]

51: Letting Go of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving

Expectations can inspire us to try—until they harden into a demand for a specific outcome. In this episode of The Life of Try, Wynne Leon explores how unmet expectations fuel disappointment, why that disappointment can keep us from taking healthy risks, and what it looks like to stay hopeful without clinging. From a childhood lesson about “pressing for the answer” to Alexander Fleming’s accidental discovery of penicillin, we’ll trace how openness, curiosity, and faith can turn apparent failures into forward motion. Along the way, we’ll draw from Brené Brown’s research on disappointment, Maya Shankar’s reframing of identity after loss, and spiritual wisdom about surrender and non‑attachment—so you can keep trying even when the path changes. In this episode, you’ll learn how to: * Recognize when expectations are motivating you—and when they’re setting you up for disappointment * Practice openness and curiosity when a try doesn’t go as planned (and why that matters) * Name and communicate your expectations to reduce “unspoken contracts” * Reconnect with your deeper “why” when your “what” gets taken away * Hold onto faith that trying will lead somewhere good—even if it’s not the destination you imagined. The Life of Try is a podcast about personal growth, one try at a time. What happens when trying becomes more important thangetting it right? The Life of Try is a personal growth and self‑help podcast about getting unstuck, navigating uncertainty, and choosing to try—even when it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, or not your idea. Hosted by Wynne Leon, the show explores how real growth, reinvention, and discovery often begin not with confidence orclarity—but with a single attempt. Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real‑world case studies, each episode examines what it looks like to keep going when doubt shows up, plans fall apart, or life forces achange you didn’t ask for. This podcast is for anyone who: * Feels stuck or uncertain about what’s next * Is navigating change, burnout, or reinvention * Wants to live more intentionally without pretending growth is easy * Believes progress starts by trying—again and again The Life of Try isn’t about hustle or perfection. It’s about learning as you go, surfacing what matters, and sharing what you discover along the way. If you’re ready to surf the uncertainty, outlast the doubts, and step into your own try‑cycle, you’re in the right place. Links for this episode: The Life of Try Home [https://wynneleon.com/category/thelifeoftry] Letting Go of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving transcript [https://wynneleon.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/episode_51_transcript.pdf] Sir Alexander Fleming – Biographical - NobelPrize.org [https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1945/fleming/biographical/] How to Regulate Your Emotions and Mental Chatter When Bad Things Happen | Maya Shankar [https://www.danharris.com/p/how-to-regulate-your-emotions-and?utm_source=publication-search] Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Connection by Brene Brown [https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Heart-Meaningful-Connection-Experience-ebook/dp/B097416CTT/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.2TuRNlaRbBaVbwMgVYEvyN5d-ZrVDPR8bd6XHwbd9KkHkLlIvo-Dkf6RhRmfTXHfGLOQTLF6WKLidFfgcuvk3hQh0YqI5YBwRqOf1MqXEeDEtsIoHZDwLmmiafPZfC3PAzxNJh7QzwNQuK8ziSe6tIoD459fo6Lt7ZCNb13lkkSQhX9K31L_61daoVdETAWXU_POZm2O5JZHritYFR3tyEESxVELNneLSB5eXpU2yfQ.WodeHu6m3gvDePFoYLsodV4IvGWBvVkKTN4Co64rYBg&qid=1777916780&sr=8-1] Penicillin Wasn't Alexander Fleming's First Major Discovery | Scientific American [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/penicillin-wasn-rsquo-t-alexander-fleming-rsquo-s-first-major-discovery/]

50: How to Write the Book You've Been Meaning to Write | Dr. Victoria Atkinson (Slivers)

If you’ve been saying “someday I’ll write a book” for years,this episode is your push to begin—and your roadmap to keep going. Host Wynne Leon talks with Dr. Victoria Atkinson about the mindset, support, and creative courage it took to turn a long-held idea into a finished, soon-to-be-publishednovel. Vicki’s new novel, Slivers, is set during a single week in the summer of 1973, when a quiet suburban neighborhood begins to crack under the weight of generational secrets—and an otherworldly presence that refuses to be ignored. Along the way, Vicki shares how unexpected family history research helped fuel the story, and why community feedback can be the difference between starting a draft and finishing a book. * How gratitude and loss can become creative fuel * What helps writers move from intention to action—and from draft to done * Why writing fiction requires a different “writer brain” than memoir or academic work * How genealogy and family stories can deepen your characters and plot * The role of community, readers, and a publisher in staying the course The Life of Try is a personal growth and self‑helppodcast about getting unstuck, navigating uncertainty, and choosing to try—even when it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, or not your idea. Hosted by Wynne Leon, the show explores how real growth, reinvention, and discovery often begin not with confidence orclarity—but with a single attempt. Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real‑world case studies, each episode examines what it looks like to keep going when doubt shows up, plans fall apart, or life forces achange you didn’t ask for. This podcast is for anyone who: * Feels stuck or uncertain about what’s next * Is navigating change, burnout, or reinvention * Wants to live more intentionally without pretending growth is easy * Believes progress starts by trying—again and again The Life of Try isn’t about hustle or perfection. It’s about learning as you go, surfacing what matters, and sharing what you discover along the way. If you’re ready to surf the uncertainty, outlast the doubts, and step into your own try‑cycle, you’re in the right place. Links for this episode: Slivers on Eckhartz Press [https://eckhartzpress.com/shop/slivers/] - Order Now! Vicki's blog: Victoria Ponders [https://victoriaponders.com/] Transcript for How to Finally Write the Book You've Been Meaning to Write with Dr. Victoria Atkinson [https://wynneleon.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/how_to_finally_write_the_book_youve_been_meaning_to_write.pdf]