In Your Right Mind with Monique Rhodes

If you've ever snapped at someone over something tiny and then stood there thinking "why did I just do that?" — this episode is for you. I walk through five signs your nervous system is stuck in overdrive: overreacting to small things, the "wired but tired" paradox, brain fog, unconscious body tension, and the one almost nobody talks about — losing the ability to feel genuinely good. I share my own experience — how childhood trauma kept my body stuck in survival mode for years, even while I was living in the Himalayas doing daily meditation. My mind had healed, but my body hadn't gotten the memo. Then I give you three tools: the physiological sigh (the fastest science-backed way to calm your nervous system — 30 seconds, free), a daily practice that physically rewires your brain over time, and a perspective shift that changes everything: you don't need more discipline. You need more safety. Your nervous system isn't broken. It adapts to protect you. Now it's time to teach it that you're safe. Ready to break the cycle for good? If this episode resonated with you, there's something you need to try next… Take the Happiness Quiz at https://iintendtobehappy.com/ — it's a quick (and eye-opening) way to discover what's actually impacting your consistency, focus, and overall wellbeing. Most people are shocked by their results — and even more surprised by what it reveals about the patterns holding them back. Take the quiz here → https://iintendtobehappy.com/ Let's take this work deeper, together.

There's a number inside you that determines how happy you are — and most people go their entire lives without knowing it exists. In today's episode, I explain what your happiness baseline is, why it keeps pulling you back to the same level no matter what happens in your life, and why that's actually the best news you've heard in a while. I walk through the famous 1978 study on lottery winners and accident survivors, the 50/40/10 happiness model, and the four daily practices that research shows genuinely raise your set point over time. I also share my own story — how I went from a suicide attempt at 19 to spending 13 years traveling the world studying happiness, and what I found that changed everything. Today, my 8-week course The Happiness Baseline has a 100% success rate in raising students' happiness scores. That statistic still moves me every time I say it. If you've been wondering "why am I not happy?" even though your life looks fine on paper — this episode answers that question. Ready to break the cycle for good? If this episode resonated with you, there's something you need to try next… Take the Happiness Quiz at https://iintendtobehappy.com/ — it's a quick (and eye-opening) way to discover what's actually impacting your consistency, focus, and overall wellbeing. Most people are shocked by their results — and even more surprised by what it reveals about the patterns holding them back. Take the quiz here → https://iintendtobehappy.com/ Let's take this work deeper, together.

"I tried to meditate, but I can't do it — my mind won't shut up." It's the number one thing people say to me. And after twenty years of teaching meditation at more than seventy universities around the world, I can tell you: it's based on a complete misunderstanding of what meditation actually is. In today's episode, I break down why your busy mind is not a sign of failure — it's the raw material. I share the Harvard research on why our minds wander nearly half the time, what meditation really is (not the Instagram version), and four practical techniques you can start using today: The Puppy Method, Name It to Tame It, The Anchor Shift, and The 10-Minute Agreement. I also tell the story of how a group of women in India who wouldn't take no for an answer accidentally inspired what became The 10 Minute Mind — my meditation program now used at 70+ universities worldwide. If you've ever believed you're bad at meditation, this one's for you. Ready to break the cycle for good? If this episode resonated with you, there's something you need to try next… Take the Happiness Quiz at https://iintendtobehappy.com/ — it's a quick (and eye-opening) way to discover what's actually impacting your consistency, focus, and overall wellbeing. Most people are shocked by their results — and even more surprised by what it reveals about the patterns holding them back. Take the quiz here → https://iintendtobehappy.com/ Let's take this work deeper, together.