218 episodes
The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall The Meaningful Life
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- Education
Hello, I am a marital therapist, communications trainer and author. I have thirty-five years helping couples and individuals make better relationships. I have written twenty-plus self-help books which include the international best-sellers ‘I love you but I’m not in love with you’ and ‘How can I ever trust you again?’ My books have been translated into twenty languages. I trained with RELATE the UK’s largest counselling charity.
Perhaps it has been turning sixty but I have become interested in spiritual as well as psychological questions. Who am I? What are my values – as opposed to my parents, my teachers and the wider society? What makes my life meaningful? What do I believe about life, the universe and everything? Although my clients might come to me because of destructive arguments, falling out of love and infidelity, they are also interested in having more meaningful relationships and a more meaningful life.
So what is the meaningful life? Why do we so easily lose our way and get lost in depression, anxiety, doubt, addictions and obsessions: the swamplands of the soul? One thing I know for sure is that there is not one answer. Each of us has to find out for ourselves what makes our life meaningful. But we can learn from each other, share our experiences of how to navigate the journey, how to endure and learn from the swamp, and finally how to find solid ground.
I have decided to use my original training in radio and journalism to interview witnesses for what makes life meaningful. Each week, I invite someone who is a therapist, academic, self-help coach or who has an enlightening personal story to share their knowledge or experiences. I hope our discussions will help you discover what makes your life meaningful and find more purpose and contentment.
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Running to improve your anger management
What do you know to be true? Deep down? The older I get, the less I feel I know but there are a few things that I know are truly, profoundly true. I think these truths say a lot about us. So for every guest, I ask them to share three things that they know to be true and we discuss them. For most guests, we also discuss what I learned from our interview, and I ask what being a witness on The Meaningful Life has been like for them…
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William Pullen: Run (or Walk) Your Way to Better Mental Health
Throw away your FitBit, stop counting your daily steps, and instead learn to run mindfully. If you can find the three key elements of space, silence and patience, you’ll be far more able to tackle big problems at work and at home.
William Pullen is a psychotherapist who helps clients using his revolutionary method of Dynamic Running Therapy. His work combines movement and talk therapy to harness the synergy of mind, body and spirit.
In this episode Andrew and William discuss
🏃🏾♂️How a good walk is different from a good run
🏃🏽♀️The practice of “asking your run/walk a question”
🏃🏻What the way someone walks can tell us about them.
William also tackles a particularly thorny reader’s letter about what to do if you find that your smartphone use is taking over your life and spoiling your relationships.
Subscriber Content This Week
If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:
⭐️Running to improve your anger management
⭐️ Three things William Pullen knows to be true.
⭐️AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Read Andrew’s new Substack newsletter The Meaningful Life, and join the community there.
Buy William Pullen’s book Run for Your Life: Mindful Running for a Happy Life
Visit William Pullen’s website
Watch William Pullen’s TEDx talk “Movement is Medicine”
Follow William Pullen on Instagram @dynamicrunningtherapy and on Twitter @pullentherapy
Get William Pullen’s iPhone app for Dynamic Running Therapy
Listen to Andrew’s interview with Machiel Klerk on how to Ask Your Dreams for Help
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall -
A sports psychologist's guide to recovering from injury and dealing with loss
What do you know to be true? Deep down? The older I get, the less I feel I know but there are a few things that I know are truly, profoundly true. I think these truths say a lot about us. So for every guest, I ask them to share three things that they know to be true and we discuss them. For most guests, we also discuss what I learned from our interview, and I ask what being a witness on The Meaningful Life has been like for them…
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Niamh Fitzpatrick: Tell Me the Truth About Loss
How do you cope when life suddenly and dramatically falls to pieces?
In March 2017 psychologist and author Niamh Fitzpatrick’s beloved sister Dara was killed in a helicopter crash.
Soon afterwards, Niamh’s marriage disintegrated, and she feared she would also lose the house she lived in. Life as she knew it had ended and the cumulative loss was staggering in terms of impact.
As a psychologist for many years, Niamh had helped hundreds of clients through the worst times in their lives. Her own experiences of loss and grief were nonetheless shocking and devastating, and she had to draw on the full extent of her skillset to survive and rebuild.
Andrew and Niamh share a wide-ranging discussion of grief, including the importance of naming and honouring all your experiences of loss.
Niamh Fitzpatrick is the author of Tell Me the Truth About Loss and also works as a psychologist and sports psychologist in Dublin, Ireland.
Subscriber Content This Week
If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:
⭐️ A sports psychologist's guide to recovering from injury and dealing with loss
⭐️Three things Niamh Fitzpatrick knows to be true.
⭐️AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Read Andrew’s new Substack newsletter The Meaningful Life, and join the community there.
Buy Niamh Fitzpatrick’s book Tell Me The Truth About Loss
Visit Niamh Fitzpatrick’s website
Follow Niamh Fitzpatrick on Twitter
Listen to some of our other episodes about grief and loss, including therapist David Kessler on Finding Meaning: the Sixth Stage of Grief and writer/politician Catherine Mayer on Embracing Life at a Time of Death.
Read Andrew’s memoir about the loss of his partner My Mourning Year h
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall
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Seven fears of men in relationships
What do you know to be true? Deep down? The older I get, the less I feel I know but there are a few things that I know are truly, profoundly true. I think these truths say a lot about us. So for every guest, I ask them to share three things that they know to be true and we discuss them. For most guests, we also discuss what I learned from our interview, and I ask what being a witness on The Meaningful Life has been like for them…
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Dr. Avrum Weiss: Why Men Withdraw When Women Get Angry
When women and men argue, women can often be more comfortable in expressing their feelings of hurt and anger.
Men can feel distressed by this strength of feeling, and may pull away emotionally. They may feel a very strong urge to occupy the ground of rationality and objectivity, which in turn leads their partner to push harder, desperately seeking emotional connection.
Dr Avrum Weiss is a US-based author and psychotherapist specialising in the internal lives of men. His writing and his work with couples help men and women understand each other more deeply and build a stronger connection.
In this episode Andrew and Dr Weiss discuss the emotion of anger and how our childhoods can influence our adult experiences of it. They share insights from Dr Weiss’ book Hidden in Plain Sight: How Men’s Fears of Women Shape Their Intimate Relationships , and look at how men and women can better understand each other’s internal world.
Subscriber Content This Week
If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:
⭐️The seven fears of men in relationships
⭐️Three things Dr Weiss knows to be true.
⭐️AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Read Andrew’s new Substack newsletter The Meaningful Life, and join the community there https://bit.ly/TheMeaningfulLifeSubstack
Buy Dr Avrum Weiss’ book Hidden in Plain Sight: How Men’s Fears of Women Shape Their Intimate Relationships
Find Dr Avrum Weiss’ other books via his website https://www.avrumweissphd.com
Read Dr Avrum Weiss' columns for Psychology Today
Follow Dr Avrum Weiss on Facebook @AvrumWeissAuthor and on Twitter @avrum_weiss
Read Andrew’s books on relationships and self-development
You might also be interested in hearing Dr Matthew McKay talking with Andrew about Loving in the Face of Pain
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50: https://www.patreon.com/andrewgmarshall
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall