5 podcasts to inspire and brighten up your day

Are podcasts your thing?

They were never really my thing- not until recently. When I first started looking for podcasts to listen to, I searched for things like self-help and inspiration- because I LOVE everything that has anything to do with personal growth and development. I love reading/watching/listening to anything and anyone that is inspiring, encouraging and motivates me to take action- whether it’d be getting off the couch and working out or completely re-organizing my life.

The problem is this- I find a lot of these self-help podcasts to be a bit too preachy and too intense. Yes, I love staying inspired, but sometimes some people can be a bit too passionate and too….hmm.. inspiring, knowwhatImsayin’? I also have a short attention span and easily lose my interest if I listen to something I cannot immediately relate to.

With that being said, I did find five (six-ish) podcasts that I absolutely love- both for fun and inspiration.

AN ACQUIRED TASTE

Despite being beauty and makeup obsessed ever since I can remember, I was never much of a girls’ girl- not until I started blogging, anyway. I met my husband in my late teens and I could never really relate to a lot of things that girls my age would go through- like dating, having roommates, living on college campus, going clubbing, etc. By the time I was 20 I had a house and a man to take care of while still going to school and working full-time- I sort of lived the “married life” long before I was even engaged- and totally loved every minute of it! Think of me as a crazy 70-year old grandma trapped in a body of a 27-year old. I’ll have no trouble embarrassing myself in public for a good laugh, but don’t ever expect me to leave my house on a Friday night- whatever your plans are, I’d rather stay home. And girlfriend, we can have all the fun you want, as long as it goes down at my house- you bring tequila and I’ll make a kick-ass homemade pizza. Listening to An Acquired Taste- a podcast created by the lovely girls of Elvis Duran and The Morning Show: Bethany Watson, Samantha Rosalie and WebGirl Kathleen- makes me feel like I’m a part of their girl gang. They chat about life, men, fashion- it’s just like hanging out with my best friends- they never fail to make me laugh and I honestly feel like I personally know all three of them (Bethany is my cool BFF I always wanted to have- even if she doesn’t know it yet- plus, I constantly stalk her on Instagram). If you’re looking to listen to a really fun “girl” podcast definitely check out An Acquired Taste!

MAGIC LESSONS BY ELIZABETH GILBERT

I wrote about Liz’s book Big Magic- Creative Living Beyond Fear last October (she’s also the author of Eat, Pray, Love). In my post, I told you that I never thought of myself as a creative person, and reading Big Magic completely changed my mindset. I realized that we’re all born to create, explore- we all need to embrace our curiosity. Magic Lessons consists of 12 episodes and it’s sort of an extension of Big Magic. In these episodes, Liz talks to her guests about things like fear, creativity, inspiration, self-forgiveness- she’s like a really good friend who gives out awesome advice, I absolutely love her personality and what she has to say. Whether you feel stuck, trapped or are simply in a creative rut, you will love these Magic Lessons.

THE LIVELY SHOW BY JESS LIVELY

This is such an inspiring podcast to listen to (and has over 2 million downloads!). It’s a weekly podcast that touches on topics like career, wellness, relationships and living with intention. I think that so many people can relate to this podcast; some of the guests include Liz Gilbert, Anna Gardner of Viviana Does Makeup, Mimi and Alex Ikonn, Matthew Hussey, and Taylor Sterling of The Glitter Guide. Jess talks to entrepreneurs, doctors, bloggers, artists, mothers and I think it’s really awesome that everyone is so honest and open to talk about their journey and struggles in life. There are so many different topics covered in this podcast, I think anyone would be able to find a few episodes of The Lively Show they’d really like.

THE CHALENE SHOW BY CHALENE JOHNSON

Is there anything that Chalene Johnson doesn’t do? She is a NY Times Best Selling Author, a business expert, motivational speaker and a celebrity fitness trainer. I actually first heard of her many years a go when a friend introduced me to BeachBody (these are the only workouts I ever do- Insanity being my favorite). Her podcast The Chalene Show is fun, inspirational, informative and very easy to listen to- I love listening to it when doing housework or when I’m on the treadmill. She shares tips for succeeding in so many areas of life; health, fitness, family- everything you need to live a more positive, healthy and happy life. Listening to her podcast really gives me that big motivational kick, especially when I’m feeling lazy or uninspired.

THIS IS YOUR LIFE WITH MICHAEL HYATT

This Is Your Life With Michael Hyatt is a podcast that’s all about leadership- living with passion, being productive, having more energy, achieving work and life balance. There are actually quite a few episodes of This Is Your Life that also touch on subjects like blogging, and I think that this is what really caught my interest at first when I came across this podcast. I’m all about personal growth and really like that this podcast touches on so many things I personally struggled with in the past (and some I still do) like feeling overwhelmed, going after my dreams, doing more of the things I love, blogging or being productive.

Really quickly, I also want to mention this podcast by Matthew Hussey. Okay, so Matthew is a dating expert and even though I am (very) happily married, I still love listening to his tips- I think they can be used to improve many relationships in your life- not only the romantic ones. If you’re in the dating world, I highly recommend you check him out.

The reason why I love listening to podcasts so much is that you can still stay busy; whether it’s commuting to work, going for a run, cleaning your house, making dinner, going food shopping- and get a good dose of entertainment or inspiration at the same time. I do, however, think that there aren’t too many podcasts that I personally find interesting (except for the ones mentioned in this post, of course!) so if you guys know of any good ones you think I’d like, please let me know!