Think about it for a moment. Give it a good Scooby-Doo. Who benefits by you being unhappy? Because someone does. And it isn’t you.

And you know the impact being unhappy has in your life. It doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t get you anywhere. So, who benefits if you remain unhappy?

When we are unhappy, we are compliant. We are stuck. We stick with the devil we know. Our nervous system has acclimated to this misery and has deemed it safe. How can something that makes us unhappy be safe? Because we are breathing and alive and that is safe. Our nervous system is basic AF.

Follow the podcast on Instagram, Threads and Facebook @HappyRebelPodcast and go deeper into your eudaimonic wellbeing at The Happyist Substack.

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Music: "Punk Attitude" by Flash Fluharty licensed via PremiumBeats

Chances are, if you’re listening to this, you are interested in self-improvement. And that’s a great thing. Evolving is important. Becoming the very true you is a joy-maker. And bettering ourselves is vital. Because if we want the world to change, we have to change. If we want the world to be better, we have to be better.

And there’s a reason why this ep is titled “Bettering Ourselves” and not “Bettering Yourself”, because this is a group effort. If we all work toward that — bettering ourselves each and every day — the ripple effect that I love to talk about will become an effing tsunami of groovy.

Follow the podcast on Instagram, Threads and Facebook @HappyRebelPodcast and go deeper into your eudaimonic wellbeing at The Happyist Substack.

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Music: "Punk Attitude" by Flash Fluharty licensed via PremiumBeats

I’m curious about why people refuse to do things that would get them better. I’m not talking about philosophical stuff, but the basics. Going to the doctor. Flossing teeth. Doing something about gnarly feet. Seriously, get an Amope.

I think we’re all guilty of it, believing we know better, thinking we’re taking a more noble route by grinning and bearing it. We aren’t. And that suffering — because that’s really what it is — can spread over to the people we love, watching us as we refuse to get better. By getting sober. By going to the doctor for the symptoms that persist and are now worse. By repeating behavior that keeps us stuck and sad and unhealthy.

Be it fear or self-sabotaging, it’s silly and we know it. And it’s time to do better so we can get better.

Follow the podcast on Instagram, Threads and Facebook @HappyRebelPodcast and go deeper into your eudaimonic wellbeing at The Happyist Substack.

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts and DM a screenshot of it to me on Instagram (@happyrebelpodcast) along with your preferred email address to receive a free month of The Happyist Substack plus a discount on a continuing subscription. (Please note, this is a manual process. The only AI I use is *actual* intelligence.)

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Music: "Punk Attitude" by Flash Fluharty licensed via PremiumBeats

Once upon a time, I kind of got into a little tiff with a friend who absolutely did not believe she needed to love herself in order to fully love another person. That was her hill. And I was like there are so many other hills. Why this one?

Because our relationships with ourselves are so fucking complicated. And with a little work, we can uncomplicate them.

Do I love myself? Yes. Do I think I’m perfect, or close to it? Hell no!

I think we need to understand what self-love is, what self-acceptance is, the importance of self-compassion, and learn to have a good relationship with ourselves because, look, we are stuck with ourselves all day, every day.

Follow the podcast on Instagram, Threads and Facebook @HappyRebelPodcast and go deeper into your eudaimonic wellbeing at The Happyist Substack.

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts and DM a screenshot of it to me on Instagram (@happyrebelpodcast) along with your preferred email address to receive a free month of The Happyist Substack plus a discount on a continuing subscription. (Please note, this is a manual process. The only AI I use is *actual* intelligence.)

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©2025-2026 Happy Rebel LLC All Rights Reserved

Music: "Punk Attitude" by Flash Fluharty licensed via PremiumBeats

I’ve said it before: When we start to get critical, we need to get curious. (Season 1, Episode 005.) Because there is a reason we have our backs up about something, whether it’s with ourselves or with others.

It’s really easy to be judgmental. It’s human. It’s also petty. I usually leave it as, “Well, that’s a choice,” and move on. Because I grew up with judgmental people. I was often judged. And, sure, that can cause you to become judgy. But you know what I’ve learned? Being judgy is boring AF. It adds nothing to the conversation. And if you have to tear down someone else to build yourself up, you need some serious introspection.

Which, BTW, is a good thing.

Follow the podcast on Instagram, Threads and Facebook @HappyRebelPodcast and go deeper into your eudaimonic wellbeing at The Happyist Substack.

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts and DM a screenshot of it to me on Instagram (@happyrebelpodcast) along with your preferred email address to receive a free month of The Happyist Substack plus a discount on a continuing subscription. (Please note, this is a manual process. The only AI I use is *actual* intelligence.)

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©2025-2026 Happy Rebel LLC All Rights Reserved

Music: "Punk Attitude" by Flash Fluharty licensed via PremiumBeats

First, I lost my favorite body lotion. Next, it was my favorite xylitol chewing gum. Don’t even get me started on our rights, liberty and what’s left of our humanity.

We see things we love, need and desire slip away from us on the daily. Or, at least, that’s how it feels. And we can’t get stuck in a scarcity mindset because of that. A slippery slope.

Instead of going down that slide, we have to notice how much we do have rather than what we don’t. Nope. That’s not toxic positivity. That’s realism.

Follow the podcast on Instagram, Threads and Facebook @HappyRebelPodcast and go deeper into your eudaimonic wellbeing at The Happyist Substack.

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts and DM a screenshot of it to me on Instagram (@happyrebelpodcast) along with your preferred email address to receive a free month of The Happyist Substack plus a discount on a continuing subscription. (Please note, this is a manual process. The only AI I use is *actual* intelligence.)

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©2025-2026 Happy Rebel LLC All Rights Reserved

Music: "Punk Attitude" by Flash Fluharty licensed via PremiumBeats

Hello. We are back for Season 3 of Happy Rebel, stepping into full summer, and I want to ask:

How are you doing right now?

Me? Well, I see the world. The hot garbage dumpster fire that it is. And I also see the light emerging at the end of this shitty tunnel. Do you see it, too?

I talk to a lot of people who just feel so effing overwhelmed. And, because of that overwhelm, they have a hard time being present. There's just too much bad news coming at them all the time. How can we be present to that? Isn't it better to be distracted?

Believe it or not, no.

Follow the podcast on Instagram, Threads and Facebook @HappyRebelPodcast and go deeper into your eudaimonic wellbeing at The Happyist Substack.

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts and DM a screenshot of it to me on Instagram (@happyrebelpodcast) along with your preferred email address to receive a free month of The Happyist Substack plus a discount on a continuing subscription. (Please note, this is a manual process. The only AI I use is *actual* intelligence.)

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Music: "Punk Attitude" by Flash Fluharty licensed via PremiumBeats

It's the last episode of Season 2! Let's get into it...

If you stop to think about it, as I did the other day, you might come to realize that a lot of our unhappiness comes from our need to control. And, sometimes, that need for control gets out of control.

When we think about our overspending, overeating, over-indulging, micro-managing, even our anxiety, it all stems from trying to control something — anything — when we feel things are out of our control. And what a nasty pattern that gets us stuck in.

Part of the problem, and the reason why we want to control so much, is that we don’t trust. We don’t trust others, the system or ourselves. We’ve lost faith. And it’s pretty heartbreaking when we think about it. But we can shift that. So, let’s talk about how.

(Happy Rebel will be back for Season 3 on July 6th! In the meantime, catch up on any missed eps or join me at The Happyist on Substack. Link below. xo)

Follow the podcast on Instagram, Threads and Facebook @HappyRebelPodcast and go deeper into your eudaimonic wellbeing at The Happyist Substack.

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts and DM a screenshot of it to me on Instagram (@happyrebelpodcast) along with your preferred email address to receive a free month of The Happyist Substack plus a discount on a continuing subscription. (Please note, this is a manual process. The only AI I use is *actual* intelligence.)

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To work with me, or for further inquiries, please visit TheHappyist.me

Ready to start your own podcast? Consider Buzzsprout as your host. They make it easy and affordable. Use my referral link for a $20 credit on any paid plan.

©2025-2026 Happy Rebel LLC All Rights Reserved

Music: "Punk Attitude" by Flash Fluharty licensed via PremiumBeats