The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#100: The Top 10 Systems Thinking Lessons from 100 Episodes

Get 20% off any STSI course with code 20FOR100 — start building your mental fitness today! In this special milestone episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University celebrate the 100th episode of the Cabrera Lab Podcast by doing something big: ranking the top 10 themes that have emerged across the entire show. From simple rules creating complex results to embracing both-and thinking, from culture as shared mental models to seeing webs of causality instead of root causes, they revisit the ideas that show up again and again—because they matter. These aren’t just abstract concepts; they’re practical mental models that shape how we parent, lead, learn, feel, and make decisions. They also unpack the biggest ideas behind the work itself: why thinking is a trainable and measurable skill, why systems thinking is a life skill, not just a work skill, why loving reality beats wishful thinking every time, and why mental models sit beneath everything we do. This episode is part reflection, part greatest-hits tour, and part invitation—an invitation to stop reacting at the surface and start seeing the structure underneath your life. If you’re new to the podcast, this is the perfect place to start. If you’ve been here from the beginning, it’s a powerful reminder of why this work matters.

Episode #99: How to Reflect the Right Way Using Systems Thinking

Get 20% off any STSI course with code REFLECT20 — start building your mental fitness today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University unpack what reflection actually is—and why most people misunderstand it. Reflection isn’t a feeling, a yearly ritual, or a vague act of looking back. It’s a structural process rooted in how the mind organizes information. Using systems thinking and DSRP, they explain why you don’t learn by doing—you learn by reflecting on experience, and only when that reflection is structured. They show how behaviors, emotions, and decisions are signals of deeper mental models, and why changing outcomes requires changing the way information is organized in your mind. From New Year’s goals and gym habits to parenting, leadership, and personal growth, this episode reveals why waiting until the end of the year to “reflect” robs you of daily feedback—and how small, continuous reflective loops create massive long-term change. If you want to stop repeating the same patterns and start learning for real, this episode will change how you think about reflection forever.

#98: Think It Through: Why Having the “Perfect Holiday” Is the Fastest Way to Ruin It

Get 20% off any STSI course with code HOLIDAY20 — start building your mental fitness today! In this holiday edition of Think It Through, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle one of the most common—and least talked about—seasonal struggles: why fully capable adults suddenly feel like children again the moment they walk into their childhood home. They break down how identity shifts based on who we’re with, why old family dynamics snap back into place, and how tiny reactions can spiral into full-blown holiday stress. Using systems thinking tools like the Identity–Other relationship, the RAR Quad, and the Love Reality Loop, they show how a simple pause can restore agency, change the dynamic, and help you stop reliving the same holiday patterns year after year. The episode also takes aim at the myth of the perfect holiday—why chasing it creates disappointment, how unrealistic mental models steal presence, and why loving reality doesn’t mean liking everything, but choosing curiosity over control. If the holidays tend to leave you drained, frustrated, or wondering “why does this keep happening?”, this episode will help you see what’s really going on—and give you practical tools to think it through, stay grounded, and actually enjoy what’s real.

#97: What Can Systems Thinkers Do That Others Can’t?

Get 20% off any STSI course with code SYSTEMS20 — start building your mental fitness today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle a deceptively simple question they were asked at a social event: “What can you do that other people can’t do if you’re a systems thinker?” Their answer is grounded in research, not hype. They break down the stunning cognitive law showing that most people rely on only 20% of the mental structures reality is made of, leaving 75% of the world unseen, unprocessed, and un-understood. Using the science of DSRP, the Love-Reality Loop, Pareto patterns, and validated cognitive data, they explain how systems thinkers literally see more of reality, organize information more accurately, and make better decisions with less overwhelm. They also discuss why nature doesn’t care about your mental blind spots, how to train the Six Moves to increase problem-solving performance by up to 550%, and why the alignment between your mental models and reality is the true definition of oneness. This episode goes deep, but stays practical — showing exactly what you gain when you learn to think systemically in a world that urgently needs more systems thinkers.

#96: Think It Through: The Hidden Cost of Always Doing What You’re Told

Get 20% off any STSI course with code THINKITTHROUGH20 — start building your mental fitness today! In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University break down a problem facing kids, college students, and professionals alike: what do you do when you do exceptional work—but the system only rewards strict compliance? Using a real classroom story, workplace examples, and a surprisingly accurate metaphor involving “shit sliders,” they unpack how tiny acts of compliance—made over and over again—build up delayed psychological costs that shape your identity, agency, and long-term trajectory. They explore why humans struggle with delay, how micro-choices create macro-outcomes, and why awareness—not rebellion—is the key to navigating bureaucratic systems without becoming a compliant, dimmed-down version of yourself. If you’ve ever wondered when to play by the rules and when to push the envelope, this episode gives you the mental model to think it through—and choose wisely.