Coffee With Dr. Kashey

Join Dr. Kashey on this episode as he explores diet centrism and gets dipper into its origin. He discusses how to resolve diet centrism and what factors determine someone's best diet. He addresses how personalizing and magnifying prompts diet centrists to label us or any of our ideas globally and negatively and how this leads to the issue of self-esteem. He explores the concept of diet-centric disease-mongering and how people tend to focus on conclusions rather than facts, which can lead to distorted thinking. He also provides insights by comparing the issue of labeling sugar as bad to someone walking on a broken leg who argues that walking hurts and, in turn, labels walking as bad. Dr. Kashey also talks about why it is best when logic hinges on verifiable arguments. He emphasizes the importance of logic and verifiable arguments when understanding the complexities of diet and nutrition.

In this episode, Dr. Trevor Kashey unravels the conspiracy theories surrounding sugar and its supposed toxicity. With an increasing number of people assuming that sugar leads to obesity and chronic diseases, Dr. Kashey separates facts from fiction and provides a scientific perspective. He explains why sugar is a polar molecule and how the polarization of sugar creates few winners and many losers. Dr. Kashey also introduces TKN, a solution that addresses this issue in a practical, rational, and constructive manner. He sheds light on what sugars are, how they help our bodies function, and why polarizing them is a serious problem. Additionally, he discusses how axiomatic terminology can distort thinking and lead to specific behavior patterns. He also touches on how orchestrators and potential leaders manipulate people and push an agenda, often without them even being aware. Tune in for a fascinating and informative discussion on sugar's complexities and impact on our lives.

In this episode, Dr. Kashey discusses the centuries-long war on sugar, alcohol, and tobacco. He discusses the overwhelming evidence of these substances' adverse effects on human health and contrasts this with the lack of evidence supporting any benefits. Dr. Kashey also explores the often absurd and distorted beliefs surrounding dietary sugar and how this has led to misguided public opinions and policies. Additionally, Dr. Kashey discusses his year-long curriculum focused on the vital role of sugar in metabolism and provides a sneak peek into some of the topics covered in the lessons. He also addresses the idea that he is "brainwashed" and explains why learning about the integration of sugar in human metabolism is so important.

In this episode, Dr. Kashey explores the negative effects of a rigid, egotistical, and impulsive approach to problem-solving. He discusses how this approach can lead to the development of a "self-esteem disease" with various adverse side effects, including an obsession with status and approval that can overshadow the pursuit of a satisfying and joyful life. Dr. Kashey explains how this pursuit of self-esteem can lead to believing that one is superior to others and can foster impulses and, even worse, compulsions. He also explores the link between self-grading and self-esteem and how it can block people from focusing on the problems they could be solving. In addition, Dr. Kashey touches on the root of all forms of prejudice and how it is connected to this rigid, egotistical approach to problem-solving. Tune in to this thought-provoking episode to learn more about transitioning to a more rational and flexible problem-solving approach and improving your overall well-being.

Dr. Kashey shares one big thing that people have in common that can help them progress while still having a good time while traveling.

In this episode, Dr. Kashey talks about self-worth and how it can be used to obtain cool stuff. He guides listeners through a step-by-step process for becoming an expert at trading in their self-worth to get what they want. Along the way, he shares insights on how to depend on self-esteem to determine one's worth and offers tips on increasing self-esteem to become more confident and self-assured. Dr. Kashey also discusses the importance of evaluating oneself and others to ensure proper functioning, and he shares strategies for inflating one's self-esteem when necessary. Additionally, he explores the different ways people may mask or mainline their self-esteem and provides insights on how to manage self-esteem to maintain a healthy balance. Finally, he offers suggestions for distracting activities that can help individuals build self-esteem riches while avoiding the pitfalls of an idealized world.

In this episode, Dr. Kashey delves into self-esteem and global rating, examining how these concepts exist practically everywhere. He talks about three examples of the practical utility of self-esteem and global rating, specifically in technology, entertainment, and skill development. However, he also touches on the darker side of self-esteem and global rating, explaining how they can often benefit others at the cost of our well-being and lead to distorted thinking and learned victimization. Dr. Kashey argues that self-esteem and global rating can also have practical benefits despite these negative consequences. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation on the importance of self-esteem and how it shapes our approach to life. Tune in to "Coffee with Dr. Kashey" and take the first step towards understanding and improving your self-esteem.

In this episode, Dr. Kashey talks about the two fundamental desires that drive human behavior: the desire to survive and the desire to have a fulfilling and enjoyable life. He delves into the concept of ego distortions and distorted self and how these can lead to self-defeat. Dr. Kashey also explores the origins of self-defeat and how it can manifest in our lives. Dr. Kashey also discusses the distorted counterparts to the 15 traits of self and how these distortions can hinder our ability to live a happy and fulfilling life. Throughout the episode, Dr. Kashey offers practical tips and strategies for overcoming ego distortions and maintaining a healthy sense of self. Whether you're struggling with self-doubt or looking for ways to improve your overall well-being, this episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking a happy and fulfilling life.

For many reasons, it can be difficult for people to know who they really are. In this episode, Dr. Kashey argues that trying to find the ego or self is a legitimate way to help cure self-esteem, allowing self-respect to take place philosophically. To expound on these, he talks about leveraging 15 things that make self. Among these, we have the dangers of self-identifying, the innate uniqueness of human beings, intellectual awareness, changing personality to some degree on purpose, self-control, the power to have self-confidence and how to increase it, and the rational and flexible preferences associated with value. We also learn about the two innate desires of self-assumed by the SRO model and how SRO cycles interact interpersonally.

Self-esteem is one of the most dangerous pandemics ever hitting the human race. In this episode, Dr. Kashey talks about self-esteem and why understanding self is a requirement to know your self-esteem. He clearly shows how self-esteem affects your personality randomly, intensely, and negatively. He proves self-esteem is a learning disability and elaborates how self-respect is the cure. He also shows us how to deal with self-esteem properly and what personality and humanity are made of. We learn the dangers of self-esteem and a clear explanation of the difference between self-esteem and self-respect, not leaving behind how the SRO model shows what affects how we respond to frustrations. Tune in now!

Are you a staunch advocate of free will and rationality, or do you believe we're all predisposed to make decisions based on genetics, neurology, biochemistry, and culture? Here we discuss the practicalities of genetics and predispositions to overeating and fatness. These biological urges are not a law of nature, but if you don't use your free will to override the instincts that make you flawed, those instincts will take over. In today's show, Dr. Kashey talks about why people find it so easy to ignore justifiable reasons for eating rationally. Dr. Kashey notes that the power of choice under the most extreme circumstances is still more substantial than a biological urge and concludes by letting us know how to increase the impulsivity of smarter decisions effectively. Tune in to learn these and many more.

We've all heard the wacky belly fat myths that your genetics mean you can't lose weight. But what does genetics have to do with overeating? When we talk about genetics, people usually think of genes and how they affect our species. But many other things significantly affect how we function and determine our health. In this episode, Dr. Kashey talks about the genetics of overeating, how to know that you are genetically handicapped, and what it implies. Dr. Kashey talks about a primer on the legitimate implications of genetic predispositions to fatness and overeating, separate from genetic predispositions to diseases associated with obesity. He shares some fundamental causes of the neurological bugginess, causing what appears to be legitimate automatic overeating. We also learn the two implications of genetic predispositions and the disturbances that make the SRO cycle roll. Sit back and enjoy!

Have you ever wondered how to plan your food in the best possible way to get the most nutrients possible? It is no doubt that finding the perfect balance of food every time can be challenging, but if you take your time and plan things out, it gets easier. In this episode, Dr. Kashey gives a helpful order on how to put together a daily meal plan with an outstanding balance. He breaks down what each item means and how much of each one you should have. He tells all the nutrients one can find in these food sources. Dr. Kashey also lets us know what determines the amount of roughage one needs to have in their plan.

Everybody has been in a situation where they feel frustrated with others or have frustrated someone. In this episode, Dr.Kashey gives insights into the principles of resolving frustrations. This plays an essential role in discerning a person's realities, but often, it is forgotten that people come out of their ways of living without knowing why they are doing so. However, it would be worthwhile to know how we can change these things so that they will help us in our future situation better than at present. To tackle this, Dr. Kashey talks about the ultra-quick view of the SRO mode plus the MY-WHY-TRY model. He also looks to establish whether taking it turns to sugging it out and how to use science to change rigid absolute minds into flexible and rational preferences in a relationship. He shares details on why simple frustrations seem complex and gives the five internal transformations as to why one would act in a particular manner. To know what causes frustrations, Dr. Kashey notes that rigid absoluteness is the basis of all chronic frustrations.

Undoubtedly, as we interact with people, we experience some serious or minor friction, especially when making ourselves better. In today's episode, we're talking about handling friction in any form of relationship as a result of making yourself better. While the topic may not be new for the most part, what Dr. Kashey does is bring a fresh approach. Among the issues explained, we have the application of the SRO method so that everybody wins in this situation. The good doctor shares the stimulus, response, and outcome model, which forms the belief system. There are times when people get frustrated by our actions, and in this episode, we get to know what it is that we can do when one is frustrated by our actions in a relationship. Sometimes we expect much from people, or others expect much from us; thereby, we end up freaking out when our offers are declined. This issue is clearly explained in this episode, citing the reasons for such responses. He also shares that the frustration zone comes in place when what you do frustrates others or when what they do frustrates you.

In today's podcast, Dr. Kashey talks about taking yourself from an exhausted and consumable resource to a rational and constructive renewable resource. The key is the aspect of the absoluteness of the rules. Rules you follow probably consume you, but rules you follow with reason and compassion tend to renew you. They make it easier for you to become a renewable resource. You can only do the work of one person if you're following every rule in place. Your benefit to others is not as important as these rules are for yourself. It is no doubt that serious things allow you to rationally prioritize what you want so that you may be fulfilled instead of impulsively pressuring yourself. You can’t control other people, but you can control yourself. You don’t have to be a victim of circumstances, but you can choose how much stress is in your life. Tune in and learn why it is good to focus on yourself!

In today's lesson, Dr. Kashey talks about genetics, fatness, overeating, and other triggering things like that in the context of genetics.

The previous lesson about Tabitha's story on controlling the outcome when a mistake has already happened. In this lesson, Dr. Kashey talks about how she beat herself badly and went from whipping herself to getting reasonably irritated at herself. One can do some dumb things because they are overloaded with frustration tolerance or is more demanding to themselves since frustration tolerance went down. Dr. Kashey says this happens because more self-aware people punish themselves when they do dumb things and take responsibility. On the other hand, oblivious people tend to punish others when they do dumb things and take less responsibility because others must be able to fix it; therefore, they demand that they fix it. In the lesson, Dr. Kashey shares what smart people do when they experience problems. He also talks about the solutions to these problems and how perfectionism and procrastination tend to criple one from doing anything except waiting until the urge to do something is very high due to pressure. We also learn why intelligent people are exhausted, especially with themselves, and the solutions that TKN presents to such issues. In this episode, we learn that although our upbringing makes us believe that it was a requirement as a child to survive, and we often carry it as an adult, with the help of TKN, we learn how to use our brain to construct a rational and constructive priority instead of impulsive and destructive punishments.

In this lesson, Dr. Kashe talks about training symptoms that help you address the cause of a problem, and concerning this, he talks about a coach who complains that one of the clients in the gym keeps on yawning during exercise. Dr. Kashey also presumes that the cause of this trait maybe be attributed to the person's hectic work schedule. He argues that if it is the issue of crazy work schedules, it is easy for her to fix that, and yawning during training fixes itself. Dr.Kashey, in this lesson, explains that getting to the root of a problem is sometimes important, but it is often overrated, and with a tiny bit of critical thinking, thinking critically can be a solution to an underlying problem and how TKN's SRO model solves this. Listen to discover how such problems can be resolved!

Today on Coffee With Kashey is a review for all the new people of the SRO model, which explains a lot of our bad cycles. The model starts with the Stimulus (what upsets you) and Response (what you do about the Stimulus) before arriving at the Outcome (what happens after you Respond to the Stimulus) all of which are influenced by our underlying beliefs. Dr. Kashey's solution is twofold. First, coach yourself or get coached through good experiences! Run experiments and collect true data so you can think and act in direct conflict with your problems in rational and constructive ways, actively changing what you believe by disputing your rigid beliefs, thinking backward and questioning your self-sabotaging thoughts. Second, a positive outlook changes how you view the results and what you do next! You'll gain resilience after negative results, find gratitude from positive results, decrease frustration in your life and stop bad cycles.

In this podcast, Dr. Kashey talks about stimulus and response, stating that in the space between stimulus and response lies a circular interaction between thoughts, feelings, and urges that trigger you to respond. The distance between the stimulus and response can be reduced if the thinking problems and rigid beliefs are replaced with rational beliefs. To show how humans respond to provocation, he shares four categorical outcomes of the Pesky Space model: gratefulness, demand, resilience, and dissatisfaction, all based on results and outlooks with rational and irrational thinking. He further states that if you want to eliminate all that self-sabotaging garbage, you must think and act purposefully and aggressively in conflict with those things, literally think and act against them over and over and over aggressively, violently, stubbornly persistently.

Dr. Kashey describes how the space between Stimulus and Response consists of what you Think, Feel and Decide to do, which all connect in a circular way. A Stimulus bigger than your tolerance for frustration means your Thoughts about the Stimulus will become distorted, and you will Feel negative and make impulsive Decisions, all leading to self-sabotaging Responses. This system is fed by things blocking you from what you want and your own beliefs. Behavioral scientists have shown the best way to change a rigidly reinforced belief is by forcing yourself to repeatedly act otherwise. The client used a full day of fasting to test whether any actual dire consequences occurred if she felt the urge to eat and purposefully did nothing, and so her distorted belief hypothesis was found to be untrue!

It’s time to change your beliefs around food and eating with another episode of Coffee with Kashey! Do you have problems that existed in your past that creep into your adulthood? You owe it to yourself to smash the ugliness that stemmed from those problems of decades ago. In this episode, Dr. Kashey shows us how to leave that ugly part of our life behind so we can focus on our present. We’re focusing on practical solutions in the present and more, in today’s episode.

In previous episodes Dr. Kashey talked about the 3 different external interaction systems: the environment, the social system and the human system. Today, Dr Kashey focuses on the 3 internal systems: your beliefs, your decisions, and your urges. Dr. Kashey explains how these internal systems interact with one another, and how they contribute to influencing what you do. This is important because what you do ultimately affects whether, and how, you either solve your problems, or make them worse when you are feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, or discouraged. Most people and programs tend to focus on understanding where problems originated from. Dr. Kashey believes that a better solution is to gain an understanding of what makes the same problems arise again and again, because gaining an understanding of the central mechanism that maintains the problems is the first step to taking concrete actionable steps to resolve them so that you can achieve your goals.

Can you get it all by changing your thinking? TKN proposes precisely that - and works to get around your #BIGBRAIN interfering with disrupting your mission to get it all done. With TKN’s SRO model, you can sharpen your mind and chisel your body at the same time. How? Listen to discover how the SRO model helps with your thinking, solves those practical problems, and gets you to the action to get your desired outcome simultaneously.

In today's Coffee With Kashey episode, Dr. Trevor Kashey has a real-life client case study that shows how the ADAPT framework works. The client was pre-diabetic and had issues with her blood pressure and blood sugar. But because biology operates on a continuum of self-correcting feedback loops, within 3 months of starting to ADAPT her bloodwork was back in healthy ranges and she lost 23 pounds! Dr. Kashey reviews the ADAPT framework, noting that clients are fine to combine steps because the system is written like so for learning purposes but does flow together.

You’ve explored thinking problems in the previous two episodes and now you’re ready to tackle a practical problem hindering progress towards your goal. In this episode, Dr. Kashey explains how the ADAPT problem-solving framework, developed by famed cognitive scientist Dr. Nezu, will give you a “plug and play” solution to most of your practical problems or goal-blockers. It’s one more tool in the box to remove roadblocks and continue progressing towards your goals even when the road gets a little wonky (and we know it will get a little wonky). So put on your thinking caps and nerd glasses and take a closer look at solving your practical problems.

When life is stressful, we think we need to wait until things calm down, causing us to do nothing and procrastinate forever until life is “perfect” again. This mental roadblock becomes our pass to do nothing about all those problems causing the stress. People who feel overwhelmed and stressed tell themselves they've lost control, so they even give up control over everything causing them stress. In many cases, we even give up on doing things that lower stress! In today's Coffee With Kashey episode, Dr. Trevor Kashey encourages us to look back at previous times of stress. Think about how you used your mental and physical energy, or how you wasted it. Were the things you did to feel better effective? When stress reaches a certain point, you need to pause and bring back logic and reason into your responses for a positive and constructive outcome!

It’s time to change your beliefs around food and eating with another episode of Coffee with Kashey! What matters more to you, having the answer to a problem or knowing how to solve the problem? Sometimes you can have the answer to a problem but still fall short. Sometimes you can have all the information you need, and have a plan that seems to make sense, but you still find yourself struggling. You know the answer to the problem ... but you need solutions that work for YOU. Well, TKN gets you the custom solution you need. And we’re going to get into all of that and more in today’s episode.

Dr. Kashey discusses how to break the vicious cycle of creating a problem for every solution. There are two types of problems: practical and thinking. They can reinforce each other and lead us down the slippery slope of self-sabotage. For example: a person thinking they are a failure (thinking problem) because they messed up on their diet (practical problem). We should put aside the rigid demands we have for ourselves, and instead adopt flexible preferences. This will help us create constructive, rational solutions to both types of problems, and stop the vicious cycle of creating a problem for every solution.

Dr. Kashey addresses the popular saying “No pain, no gain!” While it’s commonly used as a motivating phrase, Dr. Kashey argues that it is a conflicting philosophy that confuses correlation and causation. It assumes that in order for there to be success, pain must be involved, which is a distorted belief. Although progress may require some sacrifice, we should not be conditioned to expect misery every time we take a step forward in life. Instead of pain, we should aim for rational, constructive, flexible, and scientific thinking. Only then will we be able to make the permanent behavior changes needed to be fit, happy, and successful.

Dr. Kashey relieves us of our perfectionist demands that only create frustration and ultimately end in self-sabotage. People tend to act based on what they believe rather than what they actually want. If a belief system is crooked, then actions aligned with those crooked beliefs will lead to undesirable outcomes. Then, in an effort to make sense of the conflict between what someone does and the results they’re getting, irrational thought processes can arise. Upon closer investigation, it might be found that unrealistic perfectionist demands are disguised as valued beliefs. This is why reasonable preferences are more helpful than perfectionist demands.

Dr. Kashey shows us why experiences of the past have a minority influence on what we choose to think and do now. Learning from the past is one thing, but repeatedly bringing up the past and using it as an excuse for poor choices in the present is detrimental to reaching our goals. Although it can feel like the past is a problem in the present, this is only because we sometimes use the past as a tool to create problems in the present. This can be avoided if we stop allowing events of the past to have an inflated influence on how we think and act in the present. We have the power to choose the right influences as well as refuse the wrong influences.

Dr. Kashey knows that hitting goals is a vital aspect for each of our definitions of “success”. This is why Dr. Kashey has studied human tendency when it comes to approaching these goals. Between a dogmatic approach and a scientific approach, Dr. Kashey believes that incorporating more of the latter can have a healthier impact towards our relationship with our goal-setting process and our inevitable failures or successes. Although Dr. Kashey acknowledges the need for both dogmatic and scientific systems of thinking due to the human need for tension to evolve and become better, he also notes that seeing outcomes as something more of a product of consistency that can be iterated and learned from rather than as something expected, or as a binary “yes or no”. At the end of the day, Dr. Kashey reminds us that subscribing too much to rigid frameworks of thought is dangerous in the long term, as it damages our sense of self and of others, compared to healthier frameworks where observing, learning, persistence, and resilience are valued.

Dr. Kashey addresses individuals who can’t seem to stop sabotaging themselves no matter how hard they try. Five major flags that set people up to fail include, 1) living in vague-ville, 2) making up for “vague-ry” with grand gestures, 3) a poor track record, 4) they believe there must be pain for there to be gain, and 5) they’re stuck to their guns. After expanding on these five flags, Dr. Kashey promises that they’re all fixable! By using his stimulus-response-outcome model, we are able to stop the frustrating downward spiral of self-sabotage and instead make real progress towards our goals. Our belief system determines what we want and the demands we place upon ourselves.

In this episode, Dr. Kashey briefly reviews the S (stimulus) in SRO before jumping into the outcomes component of SRO. To understand outcomes, you need to understand that your belief system contains two key parts: the desire not to die and the learned behavior to truly live. While those may seem very similar, the desire to truly live is a learned behavior, while the desire to not die is innate. This belief system is the body responsible for your outlook and designates the desired outcomes you would like to achieve. For example, food is an integral part of not dying and can be essential for thriving, but your relationship to food will arise from your own beliefs about food. Join Dr. Kashey as he helps you restore balance to the force and investigates the impact SRO can have on you.

In this episode, Dr. Kashey discusses the difference between doing things not to die and doing things to live genuinely and fully. Kashey shares the story of Linda, one of his clients who struggled significantly with her negative thoughts. When she became a client, she started working on the SRO model. The S stands for "stimulus," or the things that happen TO you and what YOU make happen. For the things that happen to you, these will be the big physical things that impact what your body does. Sometimes, this may be an occurrence in your body. In other cases, these may be drug-related. Either way, your brain bypasses the understanding stage entirely. For the stuff you make happen, these are the responses you incur by responding to the stimuli around you. For Linda, all she needed to pay attention to and work on was the stimulus part of SRO.

Dr. Kashey continues his discussion of fault and blame in a practical light. He explains his belief that the far left and the far right are both partly correct but fully stupid - the far left being someone who relinquishes all responsibility for anyone’s fortune or misfortune, and the far right being someone who forces too much responsibility and who assumes complete control. Even if an ugly decision or silly mistake was made, it is not beneficial to chronically think and act like a victim. We have the freedom to choose what direction to take, no matter who is at blame for a certain outcome. Although we cannot have total control over crafting our outcomes, we do have a play in creating our own luck, and Dr. Kashey is here to reveal how.

Thanks to a previous episode with Dr. Kashey when we learned how to apply helpful negativity, Dr. Kashey now gives a deeper look into the response aspect of the stimulus-response model. We do not have control over everything, but we do have control over our response. Applying helpful negativity helps us efficiently control our emotions, thoughts, and actions rather than being the victim of them. Keeping this in mind in the midst of responding to a problem, we are able to thrive under any condition. Practicing self-respect will keep ourselves from being chronically victimized. Dr. Kashey again reminds us of the benefits of rational, constructive, and flexible scientific-mindedness.

Dr. Kashey offers insight into self-sabotaging eating behaviors. He shares the first step to resolving it, how to discriminate between helpful and harmful negativity, and how to use negativity in a rational and constructive way. Becoming aware of your self-sabotaging behaviors involves understanding the influence of three modifiable internal factors and two modifiable external factors, which Dr. Kashey will reveal in this episode. With a focus on how negativity impacts self-sabotage, we will learn how to put a positive spin on negativity so we can use it to help us rather than harm us.

Resuming his mini series about scientific thinking, Dr. Kashey now digs into the characteristics of scientific-mindedness and how to use it to “check yourself before you wreck yourself.” Traits of scientific thinking include observing observations, organizing and modifying the facts of your life, and proving some ideas and opinions to be false. It even gets into skepticism of more abstract concepts such as the universe being in charge of good and bad. Thinking scientifically does not come to a halt once it approaches abstract concepts, and Dr. Kashey explains how to apply scientific mindedness to abstract belief systems. This will empower us to handle our thoughts and actions in a constructive and rational manner.

While negativity can be destructive, it can also be relatively constructive even for a self-deprecating pessimist, Dr. Kashey says. There is a difference between preferences and demands; the former creates helpful pressure, the latter creates harmful pressure. Demanding too much of yourself can lead to anxiety and depression, which will in turn push you farther from your goals. It will wear down your feeling of self-worth. Following your preferences is a constructive way to practice scientific-mindedness and create a successful path to progress. We are not meant to expect perfection of ourselves. Dr. Kashey teaches us how to put those unrealistic, dogmatic demands to rest, and instead adopt helpful preferences that will lead us to overcome the hurdle of perfectionism.

Dr. Kashey puts on his scientific minded thinking cap and answers the age-old question of “How does what you believe influence the way you process your thoughts, thereby dictating how you act?” He compares rigid versus flexible beliefs, scientific versus dogmatic, rational versus impulsive, and constructive versus destructive outcomes. In order to overcome adversity, solve problems, and reach goals, a person must make observations between what they’re doing and what they want. Together with Dr. Kashey, we will observe the three self-sabotaging beliefs that are hiding right underneath our noses and learn how to handle them. It can be frustrating, but that is a part of finding the solution.

After a quick review of a dogmatic system versus a scientific system, Dr. Kashey shows how scientific thinking has a rightful and helpful place in our daily lives. It has an impact in the real world and can aid us in comprehending contradictions in the context of self-respect. Although scientific thinking hinges on facts and logic, this does not equate it to being rigid. Since facts are constantly being revised, science is relatively flexible. This leaves room for belief systems to dictate a person’s values and actions. Dr. Kashey shares six intuitive principles we can use to practically apply scientific-mindedness, followed by a 3 step process to integrate it into our lives. There is a way to rationally and constructively reach our goals and overall improve our lives while thinking scientifically and holding onto what we believe.

At the start of a mini-series covering the comparison of thinking dogmatically versus thinking scientifically, Dr. Kashey gives us a good overview of the differences between the two, as well as how they can impact our emotions. Dogmatic thinking has a relatively arbitrary and rigid nature. On the other hand, scientific thinking is thorough, accurate, and allows for flexible outcomes. Factors such as the aspect of life being analyzed, and the emotional state of a person can determine if they are more dogmatically-minded or scientifically-minded. There is a place for both thinking styles, as Dr. Kashey explains further in the episode. An example of someone contemplating their health and fitness goals with dogmatic thinking would sound like “I HAVE to be sexy, strong, and in perfect shape.” They would set hard expectations for themselves. Whereas someone considering their health and fitness goals with a scientific mindset would understand that it’s not the end of the world if they miss their mark and they would continue to lead a purposeful life.

Sometimes our search for answers can reveal more problems instead of answers. Dr. Kashey teaches us how to stop this problematic spiral and redirect our focus so that we can find answers. While finding the root of the problem seems to be widely accepted advice, Dr. Kashey argues that digging into the past may actually hinder us from facing the problem in the present in addition to giving an excuse for procrastination. Touching on a previous episode with Dr. Kashey, self-esteem could be another obstacle to solving problems. If too much is expected of ourselves, i.e. if we expect perfection, then it can be tempting to believe that the outcome or reason for a problem defines an individual’s self-worth. This is an unfair concept to put upon yourself and others. There is hope in the world of problem-solving, and Dr. Kashey is excited to fuel your cognitive-grinder and create systematic, rational, and constructive solutions.

Following a controversial episode about the belief that self-esteem is a potent cognitive poison, Dr. Kashey now reveals the cure: respect. While self-esteem ties a person’s worth to the outcome of their actions, self-respect does not depend on outcomes or expectations set by oneself or others. Taking risks is an essential part of life; therefore, the chance of failure exists. How one responds to perceived failure does not always have to be negative and depressing. Self-esteem assumes the thought that a person is dumb if the outcome is dumb. Self-respect empowers us to evaluate performance exclusive of the entity. Dr. Kashey encourages us to discover the power of self-respect when analyzing our decisions and defining who we are.

Dr. Kashey shares his conceivably unpopular opinion that self-esteem is a poison worse than hate. If you disagree, don’t go anywhere just yet, because you must know by now that Dr. Kashey does a thorough job of digging deeper and explaining how he came to this conclusion. Self-esteem can lead us to judge ourselves and our value by our own expectations as well as expectations set forth by other people. This can be dangerous. When expectations are disappointed, it gets sticky if we then associate the seemingly “bad” outcome with our identity, worth, or humanity. Everyone knows it’s impossible to be perfect. Self-esteem doesn’t leave room for failure, which is a normal part of life. People should not avoid risk in order to avoid failure/imperfection for the sake of protecting their self-esteem. Dr. Kashey cautions us against anxiously seeking self-esteem, and instead prompts us towards self-respect, which is much more helpful and rewarding.

Following multiple episodes of discussing Dr. Kashey’s Constructive Eater’s Hierarchy, it’s finally time to explore the “tippy top” - Novelty. Dr. Kashey defines food novelty as “the use of food as an instrument to improve your subjective well-being beyond the scope of your nutritional status." In light of the hierarchy, novelty sits atop getting enough food, creating structured feeding, balancing food groups, and trying a variety of foods. Instead of viewing food as merely practical energy, novelty allows us to explore and experiment and be creative with food. It’s exciting! Adults learning how to eat constructively mimics children first learning how to eat. Both parties have to experiment and practice abstract thinking skills in order to discover what works best for them. Food can be used as a tool or a toy, and Dr. Kashey will share the possible consequences of either.

Dr. Kashey believes that increasing your food’s variety can help push your food satisfaction and contentment up while keeping your cravings and eating impulses low. More options also improve the likelihood of eating the right things while simultaneously decreasing the risks associated with eating the wrong things. After all, too much of one thing is bad for you. Variety builds on this Balance and finds itself to be the fourth step in Dr. Kashey’s Hierarchy of Constructive Eating, and it has a lot to do with identifying and addressing your food acceptance issues rather than hyper-focusing on your desired results. Dr. Kashey reminds us that the best way to approach achieving food variety is not by force but by following the Hierarchy step by step, crafting a rational armor to protect ourselves from “health tyrants”, and by cultivating continuous and neutral exposures to new food. Keeping these lessons in mind, food variety and even a thoroughly improved eating competence can be attained, as Dr. Kashey puts it, “automagically”.