What time of day do you scroll the most?
Have you tried setting limits on your screen time?
Today, Jay dives into one of the defining questions of our digital age: is the algorithm shaping who we become, or are we the ones quietly teaching it how to shape us? He reveals how every click, pause, and late-night scroll acts as a subtle signal, tiny instructions that train the system, which then turns around and begins to train us. Before we even realize it, our insecurities become fuel, our curiosity becomes comparison, and outrage becomes entertainment.
But Jay also reminds us that we’re not powerless, our agency hasn’t disappeared; it’s just buried beneath layers of habit. With calm, practical guidance, he shares how we can take our feed back into our own hands, break the doom-scroll cycle, and actually reprogram the digital environment influencing our minds. Whether it’s choosing who you follow more intentionally, setting healthy boundaries in the morning, sharing more consciously, or reconnecting with real-world anchors, Jay shows that we’re not just participants, we’re contributors to how the system works. And when we change how we show up, everything around us begins to shift as well.
In this episode, you'll learn:
How to Retrain Your Algorithm in Minutes
How to Recognize When the Algorithm Is Steering You
How to Build a Healthier, Calmer Feed
How to Use Social Media Without Losing Yourself
How to Strengthen Your Digital Self-Control
You weren’t meant to be overwhelmed by noise or pulled into constant comparison. You were built to create a life rooted in values, peace, and purpose. So take a breath, make one mindful choice at a time, and let it guide the next.
With Love and Gratitude,
Jay Shetty
Join over 750,000 people to receive my most transformative wisdom directly in your inbox every single week with my free newsletter. Subscribe here.
What We Discuss:
00:00 Intro
00:31 Even the Algorithm Has a Glitch
03:04 4 Subtle Ways the Algorithm Shapes You
07:59 How Your Clicks Create the Pattern
09:45 What a Social Network Looks Like Without All the Noise
13:08 Doom-Scrolling Can Give You Anxiety!
14:47 Solution #1: Bring Back Chronological Feeds
15:10 Solution #2: Take a Moment Before Hitting Share
16:06 Solution #3: Demand Algorithmic Transparency
16:29 Why Emotional Mastery and Critical Thinking Matter
19:11 5 Simple Ways to Reset Your For You Page
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What idea have you been sitting on lately?
What’s been holding you back from starting?
Today, Jay sits down with engineer, innovator, and YouTube creator Mark Rober to explore the unexpected life experiences that shaped one of the internet’s most beloved minds. Mark shares the childhood moments that ignited his passion for building, breaking, and understanding how the world works, moments nurtured by a mother whose love, imagination, and encouragement helped lay the foundation for his life’s mission. He reflects on how her influence continues to ripple outward, inspiring millions of young people who learn, explore, and dream through his work today.
Jay and Mark explore the mindset that carried Mark from NASA engineer to innovative educator, unpacking what it really means to “think like an engineer:” experiment boldly, embrace failure, and treat every setback as an opportunity to learn. They follow Mark’s unusual pivots, from designing Mars rover hardware to crafting Halloween costumes, to ultimately shaping a career that blends curiosity, storytelling, science, and play. Together they reveal the deeper lessons behind Mark’s most viral experiments: why creativity thrives when we stay childlike, how passion reveals itself through repetition, and why the most meaningful work grows from genuine excitement rather than algorithms or expectations.
In this interview, you'll learn:
How to Think Like an Engineer
How to Stay Curious as an Adult
How to Follow Your Passion Practically
How to Build Ideas That Actually Work
How to Find Creativity in Everyday Life
How to Recognize Your Real Calling
How to Inspire Others Through Your Work
Keep following the questions that excite you, keep trying the things that scare you, and keep believing that you’re capable of far more than you realize. Your next breakthrough might be just one experiment, or one brave attempt away.
With Love and Gratitude,
Jay Shetty
Join over 750,000 people to receive my most transformative wisdom directly in your inbox every single week with my free newsletter. Subscribe here.
Check out our Apple subscription to unlock bonus content of On Purpose! https://lnk.to/JayShettyPodcast
What We Discuss:
00:00 Intro
01:16 Were You Always Creative?
04:02 Understanding the Real Impact of Your Life
06:55 What It Really Takes to Work at NASA
09:49 Learning to Think Like an Engineer
11:22 How Rovers Are Tested for Mars
12:20 Searching for Life Beyond Earth
13:24 Follow What You Truly Love Doing
16:11 If You Can Imagine It, You Can Build It
17:22 Practical Wisdom from a Lifelong Tinkerer
20:57 The Pivot from NASA to Apple
23:34 Turning Ideas into Actionable Success
24:45 What is the Engineering Design Process?
28:28 Why Embracing Failure Matters
29:57 Relearning Trust and Finding Love Again
34:56 The Power of Immersion Weekends
36:45 Making Learning Engaging Through Creativity
40:29 Why Mastery Is Worth Pursuing
41:40 Balancing Business with True Creativity
44:51 How Communication Shapes Great Storytelling
47:40 Two Common Mistakes Creators Make
52:30 Staying True to Your Creative Style
54:04 The Importance of Focusing on One Passion
56:44 The Hidden Failures Behind Viral Success
59:35 Giving Kids Room to Be Creative
01:04:30 Curiosity as the Root of Creativity
01:06:07 Inside a Real Creative Process
01:08:45 Where Do You Get Your Big Ideas?
01:11:46 The Mind-Bending Question of Life in the Universe
01:16:02 The Promise and Peril of Rapid AI Growth
01:19:56 Focusing on What You Can Truly Influence
01:24:57 Mark on Final Five
Episode Resources:
Mark Rober | X
Mark Rober | Instagram
Mark Rober | Facebook
Mark Rober | LinkedIn
Mark Rober | TikTok
Mark Rober | YouTube
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What’s been making you doubt yourself lately?
What do you think triggered that feeling?
Today, Jay welcomes back his friend Roxie Nafousi to unpack what confidence actually looks and feels like, not the glossy, loud, performative version, but the quiet inner knowing that you are enough as you are. They start by breaking down how much of our insecurity comes from the stories we tell ourselves: the overthinking before we walk into a room, the mental replay after we walk out, and the way we let validation, or the lack of it, shape our worth.
Roxie then opens up about something she’s never shared publicly: her long struggle with body dysmorphic disorder. She talks honestly about the thoughts that dominated her life, the fear of being seen, and the belief that changing her appearance would quiet the constant self-criticism. Jay meets her with compassion as they unpack how these patterns form, how they shape the way you move through the world, and how healing begins with learning to speak to yourself with empathy instead of judgment.
Jay and Roxie offer a roadmap that anyone can follow: mastering your inner voice, letting go of the pressure to be liked by everyone, celebrating the small wins, and choosing to show up as the version of yourself your higher self would be proud of.
In this interview, you'll learn:
How to Redefine Confidence From the Inside Out
How to Stop Seeking External Validation
How to Manage Comparison Before It Controls You
How to Think Like Your Higher Self
How to Break Free From People-Pleasing
How to Handle Rejection Without Blaming Yourself
How to Replace Self-Criticism With Self-Awareness
When you start choosing compassion over judgment, intention over fear, and growth over perfection, you slowly reconnect with the part of yourself that’s always been there. The journey isn’t about becoming someone new, it’s about finally seeing who you’ve been all along.
With Love and Gratitude,
Jay Shetty
Join over 750,000 people to receive my most transformative wisdom directly in your inbox every single week with my free newsletter. Subscribe here.
Check out our Apple subscription to unlock bonus content of On Purpose! https://lnk.to/JayShettyPodcast
What We Discuss:
00:00 Intro
04:21 Is External Validation Ever Healthy?
08:25 A 7-Step Path to Rebuilding Confidence
10:57 How Men and Women Show Confidence Differently
12:29 Mastering the Thoughts That Shape Your Reality
17:19 Self-Awareness vs. Self-Criticism
22:28 Meet the Best Version of You
26:26 Stop Trying to Be Liked by Everyone!
31:49 How Encouragement Boosts Performance
34:07 You Can’t Be Everyone’s Favorite and That’s Okay
38:42 People-Pleasing vs. Making People Happy
42:57 Practicing Radical Acceptance After Rejection
44:54 Your Mind Creates Stories That Aren’t True
47:16 Taking Responsibility Without Blaming Yourself
50:44 Why Feeling Worthy Now Matters Most
53:18 Healing the Roots of Deep Self-Loathing
01:06:27 Why Vulnerability Is a Form of Confidence
01:10:25 Your Mind Is More Powerful Than You Think
01:13:10 Are We Too Exposed to Our Own Reflection?
01:17:18 Managing BDD With Compassion and Awareness
01:22:04 The Importance of Celebrating Ourselves
01:24:09 What’s the Difference Between Confidence and Arrogance
01:27:45 How to Make Self-Celebration a Daily Habit
01:29:51 Catch People Doing Things Right
Episode Resources:
Roxie Nafousi | Website
Roxie Nafousi | Instagram
Roxie Nafousi | Facebook
Roxie Nafousi | X
Roxie Nafousi | LinkedIn
Roxie Nafousi | TikTok
Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life
Confidence: Eight Steps to Knowing Your Worth
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, Jay talks about a side of gratitude we rarely acknowledge, the kind that isn’t shiny or uplifting, but the kind that helps when life feels heavy, complicated, or far from what you expected. He explains how, for years, he treated gratitude like something meant to fix pain or override his feelings, and how that mindset only added pressure instead of bringing any real peace.
Jay talks about what real gratitude actually feels like, not the kind that tries to cancel out your struggles, but the kind that can sit beside them. He shares how acknowledging both things at once, what hurts and what’s still good, builds real resilience. Jay breaks down why phrases like “at least…” shut your feelings down, while using “even though…” or “and…” keeps you present with your emotions instead of pushing them away.
Jay also shares the small, practical habits that help him reconnect with gratitude when it feels far away: paying attention to what stayed instead of what disappeared, taking 10-second pauses to notice something good in the moment, borrowing someone else’s joy when you can’t access your own, and writing a thank-you note to the version of you who got through the harder seasons.
Jay reminds us that gratitude isn’t supposed to hide what’s hard, it’s meant to help you steady yourself. It’s the quiet admission: “Life is messy, and there’s still something I can hold onto.”
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How to Stop Using Gratitude to Mask Your Feelings
How to Hold Pain and Gratitude Together
How to Notice What Stayed, Not What Left
How to Use 10-Second Pauses to Reset
How to Borrow Gratitude When You Can’t Feel It
How to Thank the You Who Survived
You’re not doing gratitude wrong, you’re just learning to do it honestly. Keep showing up with awareness, gentleness, and patience. You’re not rebuilding from zero, you’re rebuilding from experience.
With Love and Gratitude,
Jay Shetty.
Join over 750,000 people to receive my most transformative wisdom directly in your inbox every single week with my free newsletter. Subscribe here.
What We Discuss:
00:00 Intro
01:00 How to Practice Gratitude
02:39 Gratitude Without Hiding Your Emotions
06:46 Don’t Use Gratitude As Your Escape
09:17 Focus On What You Still Have
11:11 Finding Gratitude in the Gaps
14:43 Gratitude Reset: Take A 10 Second Pause
18:26 The Art Of Borrowing Gratitude
21:15 Stay Thankful To Your Past Self
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Reaching 5 million subscribers is more than a milestone, it’s a testament to the shared journey of growth, healing, and curiosity this community has built together. In this special episode, Jay revisits the conversations that shaped On Purpose, moments where global icons, artists, world leaders, and visionaries shared the truths that made them human.
Jay reflects on the life-changing conversations that continue to echo long after the recording ends. Tom Holland opens up about the quiet struggle behind giving up alcohol, teaching us that letting go of what no longer serves us is an act of bravery not loss. Kobe shares how to look past fear by facing it with stillness and curiosity, revealing that discipline and consistency are the real foundations of excellence. Emma Watson invites us to build relationships from wholeness, not need, and reminds us that asking the hard questions can lead to the most liberating truths.
Madonna shows how spirituality can be the grounding force beneath ambition, while Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez model how relationships grow when honesty becomes a shared practice. Former President Joe Biden closes with a timeless lesson, that presence is often the greatest form of love, and that resilience is born through community.
In this episode, you'll learn:
How to Break Free From Addictive Habits
How to Build Discipline Through Consistency
How to Face Fear by Unpacking It
How to Ask the Hard Questions That Can Change Your Life
How to Ground Yourself With Spiritual Practices
How to Communicate Maturely in Relationships
How to Support Someone Through Grief
How to Replace Old Patterns With Healthier Alternatives
You are allowed to evolve, to outgrow old versions of yourself, and to step into a life that feels more aligned, more peaceful, and more true. Keep leaning toward the choices that bring you closer to who you want to be. Your next chapter is already waiting, and you are more than ready for it.
With Love and Gratitude,
Jay Shetty.
Join over 750,000 people to receive my most transformative wisdom directly in your inbox every single week with my free newsletter. Subscribe here.
Check out our Apple subscription to unlock bonus content of On Purpose! https://lnk.to/JayShettyPodcast
What We Discuss:
00:00 Intro
01:31 The Challenges of Sobriety
06:49 Practical Steps to Stay Committed to Sobriety
11:23 How Alcohol Quietly Impacts Your Well-Being
16:59 How to Stop Letting Emotions Run Your Life
19:26 Growth Requires Trial and Error
21:03 Why Greatness Is Never an Accident
23:28 Understanding the Difference Between Wanting and Needing
26:32 The Power of Asking Yourself Hard Questions
30:08 Why Lifelong Learning Keeps You Grounded
37:29 How Spirituality and Success Work Together
41:45 Setting Healthy Boundaries in Relationships
44:09 Using Past Relationships to Build a Better You
48:03 How to Show Your Partner You’re Truly Present
53:37 Practicing Compassion in Every Day
54:37 Finding Strength Through Loss and Grief
56:41 How to Be Fully Present in Your Child’s Life
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.