Mitch Rustad

Mental health is real. It’s as real as that sore knee or high cholesterol or pesky headache. It’s literally running your life, all the time, in endless ways. How you habitually think, what you focus on, what you believe is true, about life and yourself. This is all fluid, and changeable, if you pay attention. Mental health is not something you can prop up with pretty Instagram photos, or glam parties and social status. Not for long, anyway.

Now ask yourself one question: How is your mental health these days? What are your most dominant thoughts, the ones on loop? Make them conscious, by writing them down. Try come up with your Top 10 most frequent thoughts. Then look directly at them. These dominant thoughts are creative, of course. They literally come to life, somehow. How many of them lament that you’re not enough, don’t have enough, or lack something that ‘happy’ people have?

High profile documentaries — including Selena Gomez’s “My Mind & Me” and Jonah Hill’s “Stutz” — shine a bright light on the fact that celebrity status, massive success and fame don’t automatically fuel and nurture one’s mental health. Having it all doesn’t remotely guarantee happiness and inner peace.

So if you’re constantly struggling, hiding, coping or suffering with your own mind, conflicts, overthinking, judgments, and fears, you’re just being human, but you also have many options. Be the boss of soothing your own mind. You don’t have to suffer in silence, or shame, not anymore. Support and help is everywhere, relief is in sight. Ask for help. Reach out to a great therapist, or life coach, or anyone in the healing arts who appeals to you. Trust your intuition. Don’t wait. We all have limitless resources alive within us, and getting support can help you tap into that freedom alive within you. Don’t seek approval, seek support that resonates within you. Your loved ones, family, friends and everyone you know will benefit, too.

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Ready for a little reset? The GOYOW Guided Self Talk session is 12 minutes to relax, re-program, and feel good, anytime, anywhere you are. $11.95, immediate download. Listen now →

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Are You Stuck in Approval-Seeking Mode?

October 12, 2026October 13, 2026 rustadmitch

Hate in any form is toxic and destructive, especially when you hold onto it. So while I’m taking a deep breath and letting go of the latest headlines, I’ll direct my ire at an enemy we all share in one way or another: approval-seeking! Guess what? I hate it.

I know you’re not supposed to hate anything (or anyone) because as the well-known adage goes, holding onto hate is akin to your taking a vial of poison thinking it will kill your enemy. But this particular poison – approval seeking — drains your energy, individuality and personal power; needing and seeking and obsessing about the approval of others is energetic poison, and each and every one of us dips into this toxic well far too often.

The truth is, approval seeking is incredibly stressful — and exhausting.

So WHY do so many of us seek approval? More specifically, what’s wrong with being nice and seeking approval? Here’s the problem: Needing and seeking their approval is akin to saying, “YOU’RE more important than I am. I need you to approve of me so I can feel good about myself.”

So we dress a certain way. We conform, act and preoccupy our every move with fear-based thoughts such as “what if they don’t like me?” It’s safe to say that virtually everyone on earth has experienced similar thoughts like this one, sometimes hundreds of times per day. We get desperate to impress, to get more ‘likes’ and attention, online and in the world. But what do you think that’s doing to your true potential, creativity, and moment-to-moment peace of mind? The truth is, approval seeking is incredibly stressful — and exhausting. Life becomes a chore. Anxiety rises. How does that help you (or anyone)?

So ask yourself right now: Are you seeking too much approval in your life?

Start to observe yourself today, in everyday interactions, out getting coffee, at a meeting or even at home. Are you motivated by approval (“do you like me, am I OK?”) or by a genuine desire to express and share your authentic self with the world? Lingering discomfort, resentment, and anxiety can be an indicator you’re in approval seeking mode. If so, it’s time for some changes, because life is way too short to spend it seeking and needing approval.

Here’s a simple action step you can take today: Say to yourself ‘I don’t need anyone’s approval to be happy’ every time you catch yourself in approval-seeking mode. Write down or make a mental note of what happens when you introduce that fresh, empowering thought into your mental patterns. Keep doing it, and this will interrupt any toxic patterns of seeking the approval of others at your own expense. WARNING: Expect an ‘aha’ moment or two (or three) while practicing this.

Here’s a great irony: The less approval you seek, the more you tend to receive. Your energy and attractiveness go way up, because people sense that you genuinely like and approve of yourself – it’s infectious and liberating. Everyone wants to discover an easy way to start feeling good, and putting the kibosh on approval seeking is one of the best ways I’ve found to ignite natural good feelings and greatly increase your energy.

Now available: Get Out of Your Own Way, A System for Living. Start with Session 1 as a gift, try the Guided Self Talk session ($11.95), or get all 5 sessions at GOYOW. That’s where real freedom starts.

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Overcoming a Noisy, Negative Mind

October 12, 2026October 13, 2026 rustadmitch

A noisy, negative mind isn’t a personal failing — it’s what happens when stress, uncertainty, and a lack of real support pile up. The fastest way to quiet it down is a shift in perspective, some real tools, and someone in your corner who isn’t your spouse or your best friend. That’s exactly what coaching offers.

Why does anyone need a life coach? Can’t you just be happy, reach your goals and/or find love on your own? Of course! Then why aren’t more of us feeling fulfilled, complete, and at peace in our daily lives? Because modern life is demanding, challenging, stressful, isolating and downright hard, no matter WHO you are, or how successful you’ve become.

To be sure, even for the most successful, seemingly happy people, life is (even at the best of times), wildly challenging. More than ever, it’s often totally overwhelming. Uncertainty is everywhere. Even the truth seems to be under constant assault. Life can feel very isolating, and for many quality support systems can sadly be in very short supply.

To reach a specific goal, release an old negative pattern, or get ‘unstuck’ in life, you may need the energy, expertise, and emotional support of someone else to fully thrive, break through your own resistance and barriers, and find that sweet spot in your life, and in yourself.

Everyone needs support, a fresh perspective on their supposed limitations and challenges, a new voice, and the freedom to express (and then release) your fears and insecurities, and you don’t want to hassle your spouse/significant other, best friend, or close relative every day.

So much of coaching is about effective/transformative communication, fresh perspective, and time-saving, cut to the chase to enhance your daily effectiveness, and create more joy and fulfillment. And no matter what your goal, that’s what really matters, right?

To be clear, life coaching is NOT therapy. It’s about creating in the NOW, thinking differently, and discovering parts of yourself you may have never expressed before.

Of course, this is a lifelong process, and many don’t have the time, information or insight necessary to bring this out on their own. Enter the life coach, armed with enough insight, healthy tools, action steps, empathy and passion for growth to spur you to greater heights and levels of experiencing life and self. This work is about expanding personal boundaries, mental, physical, and spiritual.

I’ve made my living as a writer and communicator in countless platforms, in high profile, pressure-packed environments, and in more profound, peaceful ones. My expertise has been hard-won, but whose hasn’t, right?

The truth is, every brilliant idea has in some form already been written down, expressed, and I’ve gathered bits and pieces of those I’ve personally felt a deep connection towards: Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Marianne Williamson, Eckhart Tolle, Iyanla Vanzant, Michael A. Singer, to name a few. I’ve also found that reading everything isn’t enough, it helps to talk it through with a like-minded person, to really bring that new energy alive in your body, to make it feel real. You have to bring these concepts beyond the words on the page, and make them come alive within yourself.

This wonderful quote from author Caroline Myss comes to mind:

Seeing clearly and acting upon the clarity of what you know to be true is what is meant by your “highest potential”. Make no mistake about that. Highest potential is not a job; it is a call to action based upon the power of your soul acting on truth.

The mind really does matter here — it’s not separate from the rest of you, it drives everything else.

Want to ease in? Listen to Session 1 of GOYOW as a gift, or try the Guided Self Talk session, 12 minutes to relax and re-program for $11.95. Being exactly yourself is your superpower. Here’s how.

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It’s Time to Get Out of Your Own Way!

October 12, 2026October 13, 2026 rustadmitch

Getting out of your own way starts with one honest question: what role am I playing in my own unhappy circumstances? It’s not about blame — it’s the simplest, fastest path back to feeling free and in charge of your own life.

Read the headline for this story again. That no-nonsense mantra hit me like a ton of bricks recently during a coaching session with a client, and I jotted it down immediately so I wouldn’t forget. Over the years, I’ve interviewed incredible energy healers and wellness experts, and experienced almost every healing modality out there. It’s been amazing. But I’m realizing more and more that this one nugget of intuition might be the most simple, powerful strategy for ‘healing’ I’ve ever heard.

It’s time to get out of your own way.

I think this statement applies to everyone. We’ve all been stuck (either for a short time, or possibly for many years) in some job, relationship, limitation or other unhappy circumstance. But our minds often find many logical reasons ‘why’ we can’t move on or get what we want: My boss sucks and doesn’t appreciate me. I’m too fat. I’m not good enough. People don’t like me. I’m not lucky. Other people are so stupid! Why don’t they appreciate me?

Do any of these sound familiar? What would be on your list? It’s unbelievably easy to fill our minds with all this noisy, negative chatter, and feel resigned to the fact that happiness and real fulfillment are (for now) out of the question. One day, maybe. After all, life is just too stressful, people are just too crazy, and there’s too much to do, right?! But do these statements help you get what you want, or do they just litter your own personal landscape, and slow you down?

Understandably, most people accept that they’re stressed out and stuck, and look for ways to cope with these feelings of powerlessness. You slowly forget that you have choices, and that you’re naturally equipped with a limitless capacity for change. So you muddle along, doing the best you can – stuck and in your own way. If that’s OK with you, fine and dandy. Don’t judge yourself, it’s OK to choose to stay the same.

But if you’re feeling adventurous and brave, I’ve found that when you take a moment to ask yourself a scary question – What role am I playing in any or all of these unhappy circumstances? – you can then start to see opportunities to break free, and get out of your own way. Hint: If you think the only reasons you’re not living at optimal levels are ‘out there’ or ‘their fault’ or ‘that’s just the way I am’ this is your chance to snap out of that inertia (blame accomplishes nothing) and start liberating yourself so you can achieve that big goal, or just be happier and more peaceful each day.

The fact is, this isn’t pie-in-the-sky, airy fairy New Age stuff: You CAN be happier and more powerful than you’ve ever imagined, once you learn to get out of your own way, and allow yourself to live life more freely. What would your life be like without that noisy, negative chatter weighing your down, getting in your way?

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Do You Try to Criticize Your Way to Success?

August 28, 2026October 13, 2026 rustadmitch

Ready for a shock? Take a few minutes right now, slow down and detach momentarily from your routine, tasks, and to do list, and contemplate this: As you go throughout your day, try to monitor/write down the thoughts going through your mind AS you try to attain those goals. Go ahead, try it now, just for a few minutes.

Did any of the following usually unconscious, autopilot, often socially conditioned responses come up for you?

Why can’t you do it right? Do it faster! You sure about that? What if you’re making a mistake? Maybe they know better than you? Watch out! You’ll never be good enough. You better wait, what if it doesn’t work?

Yikes! This programmed self-critic isn’t HELPING you in any way, but this issue has been coming up some recent coaching sessions, and because my coaching mantra is ‘It’s time to get out of your own way’ that means putting an end to any mindless, autopilot self-criticism.

The mind has thousands of thoughts a day, so we can’t possibly correct EVERY thought that comes up, but we CAN notice them, without attaching judgment. Then, try to let them just dissolve like a passing cloud on the horizon. Casually notice, then dismiss that harsh inner critic, and pay attention enough to interrupt any stream of thoughts that drag you down, de-energize you as you move towards what you want. Try it today, and see how you do. Do these thoughts HELP you in any way?

Are self-criticism, punishment, admonishment, etc., really the BEST you can do to move towards your goals?

You can’t criticize your way to ‘success’ and even if you can temporarily motivate yourself via this kind of negativity, it will be short-lived, and unsatisfying. Is that really how you want to live your life, turning against yourself, cracking that whip, as your best option for achieving your goals? When we understand there are far better ways to self-motivate, which actually make us feel GOOD, fill us with vibrant energy and self-worth (and thus, self-confidence), we can tell that inner critic to take a hike, because we’ve found a better, far more satisfying (and effective) way to be successful.

Try this exercise today, and identify three of your most common forms of self-criticism. Take a hard look at them, and then decide you’re going to release them and choose a more satisfying means of filling up your fuel tank. Write your own mantra, to train your brain to believe success is NOT attached to self-criticism. Before long, you’ll start ticking off that ‘to do’ list with greater ease, and FEEL good in the process. That’s the kind of ‘success’ I’m looking to experience, what about you?