Unstuck with Jay Abbasi

183: 9 Questions to Reset Your Year

What if one hour of reflection could change the rest of your year? In this solo episode, Jay shares a powerful midyear reflection exercise designed to help you reset, refocus, and finish the year strong. As 2026 reaches its halfway point, he encourages listeners to step back from the busyness of life and evaluate what’s working, what isn’t, and where to focus their energy moving forward. Through nine thoughtful questions, Jay walks you through a practical process for identifying wins, learning from setbacks, clarifying priorities, and creating a meaningful plan for the months ahead. Rather than approaching goal-setting from a place of pressure or self-criticism, he emphasizes reflection, intentionality, and action. If you want to make the most of the remainder of the year, this episode provides a simple framework to help you do exactly that. Notable Quotes “You live life looking forward. You understand life looking backward.” — Søren Kierkegaard “What’s the biggest lesson I learned in the first half of 2026?” — Jay Abbasi “Pause, reflect, look back, look ahead, and make 2026 your best year.” — Jay Abbasi Resources and Links Jay Abbasi Website: https://jayabbasi.me/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayabbasi/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayabbasi_/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejayabbasi/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayabbasipodcast Join Us Next Time On Monday's episode, you'll meet Hector, a General Manager at a wholesale building materials company who is beginning to lose the trust of his team. Although he is driven, accountable, and focused on results, his leadership style is creating distance and impacting performance. Jay is joined by Michelle Troseth and Tracy Christopherson, co-founders of Missing Logic, co-authors of Polarity Intelligence, and hosts of the Burnout Proof Leadership Podcast, to explore how leaders can balance people and performance without sacrificing either.

182: The Hidden Cost of Fake Peace

Avoiding conflict doesn't create peace. It creates distance. Meet Amy. Three months into her new role as Senior Director of Quality, she's already exhausted. Every attempt to improve processes is met with resistance from a fellow leader who ignores her emails, avoids collaboration, and publicly undermines her in meetings. Amy wants alignment, trust, and results, but instead finds herself bracing for the next conflict. What she wants most is to lead with confidence without constantly feeling like she's fighting an uphill battle. Today, Jay sits down with Jenn Whitmer, leadership expert, TEDx speaker, and creator of Joyosity. Jenn helps leaders navigate conflict, strengthen communication, and build healthier workplace cultures. Together, they explore why avoiding difficult conversations creates "fake peace," how to handle challenging personalities, and what it takes to create genuine collaboration. Notable Quotes "If you avoid conflict, you manufacture fake peace." — Jenn Whitmer "Sandpaper people will always be around." — Jenn Whitmer "Everything good is on the other side of a hard conversation." — Jenn Whitmer About Our Guest Jenn Whitmer is a leadership expert, TEDx speaker, author, and founder of Joyosity. She helps organizations create healthier cultures by improving communication, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution. Drawing on her background in education and leadership, Jenn teaches practical strategies that help teams thrive through change and complexity. Resources & Links Jenn Whitmer Joyosity Book – https://jennwhitmer.com/books Website – https://jennwhitmer.com/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennwhitmer/ YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2-DJeF4oY7ImMFDryRZZ-A Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jenn_whitmer/ TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn_whitmer Jay Abbasi Website – https://jayabbasi.me/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayabbasi/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jayabbasi_/ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thejayabbasi/ YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@jayabbasipodcast Join Us Next Time Join Jay on Friday as he guides listeners through a powerful mid-year reflection and planning exercise. Whether 2026 is going exactly as planned or feels completely off track, this episode will help you assess where you are, realign your priorities, and build momentum for the second half of the year. If you want to finish 2026 strong, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

181: My Top 10 Communication Techniques (Part 2)

One communication habit can change the trajectory of a conversation. In this solo episode, Jay concludes his countdown of the 10 most impactful communication techniques he has learned throughout his career as a speaker, coach, and leader. These are practical tools designed to help you build trust, strengthen relationships, increase your influence, and communicate with greater confidence. In Part 2, Jay reveals his top five techniques, including how to gain buy-in before offering feedback, project confidence through body language, slow down your speech for greater impact, strengthen connections through eye contact, and use a single word that can transform the way you lead conversations. These subtle but powerful practices can dramatically improve how others receive your message and respond to your ideas. Notable Quotes “If you just communicate, you can get by. But if you communicate skillfully, you can work miracles.” — Jim Rohn “Brevity is confidence. Length is fear.” — Axios “Hold your eye contact just a bit more than what you're comfortable doing.” — Jay Abbasi “You can acknowledge someone as a human and continue to discuss what needs to improve.” — Jay Abbasi Resources and Links Jay Abbasi Website: https://jayabbasi.me/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayabbasi/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayabbasi_/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejayabbasi/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayabbasipodcast Join Us Next Time On Monday's episode, you'll meet Amy, Senior Director of Quality for a global food distribution company, who finds herself locked in a frustrating conflict with a fellow leader whose resistance is making collaboration nearly impossible. Jay is joined by Jenn Whitmer, leadership expert and TEDx speaker, to explore how leaders can navigate tension, improve communication, and create a culture where people genuinely want to work together.

180: You're Not Your Thoughts

You don’t need to believe every thought you have. Meet Zayd. He's a successful attorney, but lately success feels more like survival. Long hours, constant pressure, and one piece of critical feedback can consume his mind for days. Even when he's home with his wife and four children, he's mentally somewhere else. He wants to stop overthinking, reconnect with his work, and finally be present for the people who matter most. Today, Jay sits down with Dr. Gregory T. Obert, licensed psychologist, therapist, and podcast host. Together, they explore why high achievers often become trapped by their own thoughts, how mindfulness can interrupt destructive patterns, and practical strategies to manage stress, improve decision-making, and prevent burnout. Notable Quotes "It's paying attention on purpose to the present moment, non-judgmentally." — Dr. Gregory T. Obert "Just shoving your emotions down isn't going to make them go away." — Dr. Gregory T. Obert "You don't have to attach yourself to the hardship of the now." — Dr. Gregory T. Obert About Our Guest Dr. Gregory T. Obert is a licensed psychologist, therapist, speaker, and podcast host who specializes in helping high-performing professionals manage stress, prevent burnout, and improve emotional well-being. His work combines practical psychology with evidence-based strategies to help people build healthier, more fulfilling lives. Resources & Links Gregory T. Obert Royal Oasis Psychotherapy Institute Website – https://www.royaloasispi.com/ Website – https://gregorytobert.com/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorytobert YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@DrGOBERT Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/drgtobert/ X – https://x.com/DrGTObert Jay Abbasi Website – https://jayabbasi.me/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayabbasi/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jayabbasi_/ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thejayabbasi/ YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@jayabbasipodcast Join Us Next Time On Friday, Jay shares his Top 5 Communication Techniques that have had the greatest impact on his life and career. These are the strategies that have helped leaders become more influential, build stronger relationships, and communicate with greater confidence. If you want practical techniques you can immediately apply at work and in life, you won't want to miss this episode.

179: My Top 10 Communication Techniques (Part 1)

The way you communicate may be the biggest factor in your success. In this solo episode, Jay kicks off a two-part countdown of the 10 most impactful communication techniques he has learned throughout his career as a speaker, coach, and leader. These are practical strategies he has relied on to build trust, strengthen relationships, and influence others, even in situations where he had no formal authority. In Part 1, Jay counts down techniques 10 through 6, including how to communicate empathy through body language, avoid habits that weaken your presence, ask questions that uncover deeper insights, build rapport through mirroring, and create meaningful connections by sharing personal stories. Rather than trying to master everything at once, he encourages listeners to focus on one technique at a time and turn it into a lasting habit. Notable Quotes “Communication works for those who work at it.” — John Powell “You don't want to unintentionally communicate either impatience or insecurity.” — Jay Abbasi “Mirroring someone's body language… helps at a subconscious level for the person to feel much more comfortable with you.” — Jay Abbasi “You need to be the one that proactively is vulnerable… to enable the other person to do so.” — Jay Abbasi Resources and Links Jay Abbasi Website: https://jayabbasi.me/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayabbasi/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayabbasi_/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejayabbasi/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayabbasipodcast Join Us Next Time On Monday's episode, you'll meet Zayd, an attorney balancing a demanding career and raising four children while feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, and on the path to burnout. Jay is joined by Dr. Gregory T. Obert, psychologist, therapist, and expert in stress management, to explore how high-performing professionals can recognize unhealthy stress patterns, regulate their nervous systems, and create a life where they thrive instead of merely surviving.