Looking Inwards

Riley Allsop
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Biweekly

Looking Inwards is a podcast about self-awareness, discipline, and personal growth. It focuses on taking ownership of your habits, mindset, and actions to become better in all areas of life. Each episode challenges you to think deeper, act with intent, and close the gap between who you are and who you want to be.

  1. 1h ago

    #54 - No One Can Beat You at Being You: Protecting Your Uniqueness

    What makes you unique? And how much of that uniqueness have you sacrificed to fit in with the expectations of other people? As we grow older, we become increasingly aware of how others perceive us. We start comparing ourselves, questioning our personalities, and changing parts of who we are to fit into the environments around us. Over time, we can lose touch with the things that once made us feel most like ourselves. In this episode, I explore the role perspective plays in shaping our identity, why we become so concerned with how others view us, and how we can learn to protect the characteristics that make us who we are. Drawing on the idea that our life's task is to return to the inclinations and uniqueness that marked us from birth, we explore the importance of self-awareness, curiosity, and unlearning the beliefs that prevent us from being ourselves. Because someone can be stronger than you, smarter than you, more successful than you, or further ahead in life than you. None of that takes away from who you are. No one can beat you at being you. Learn to spend time alone, explore the things that interest you, and stop allowing the opinions of others to dictate the person you become. Allow yourself to fail, be embarrassed, be misunderstood, and change. Allow yourself to explore the things that interest you. Ultimately, this is the only life that is yours to live.

  2. 3d ago

    #53 - Kivah Nova Franze: The Pursuit of Strength, Mastery & Becoming Better

    In this episode of Looking Inwards, I sit down with Kivah Nova Franze to talk about his journey through powerlifting, the people and experiences that shaped his introduction to the sport, and the current state of powerlifting today. We discuss what first drew Kivah towards powerlifting, the role the sport played in his development, and the people who helped shape the way he approached training and strength. From there, we take a wider look at powerlifting as a sport — how it has evolved, what has changed, what has improved, and some of the things that make the sport and its community so valuable. We talk about the culture surrounding powerlifting, the accessibility of information, social media, competition and the positives that can sometimes get overlooked when discussing where the sport is heading. We also dive into Kivah's own experiences as both a lifter and coach, including training philosophy, overcoming setbacks, developing athletes, competition pressure and the lessons that come from years spent pursuing strength. A conversation about powerlifting, its past, its present, and what makes people dedicate years of their lives to getting stronger.

  3. Oct 2

    #52 - Noah Figuiere: Following Ambition, Doing The Thing, Following Calling

    In a culture that often clowns people for trying, what does it actually take to be 23, give a damn, and build something real? In this episode, we sit down with Noah for a raw, unfiltered conversation about ambition, execution, and purpose. Drawing inspiration from timeless frameworks like Robert Greene’s Mastery, Ryan Holiday’s Courage Is Calling and Discipline Is Destiny, James Clear’s Atomic Habits, and Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act, we break down what it means to step away from average expectations and commit to a lifelong craft. In this episode, we cover: Finding Ambition: Reconnecting with your primal inclination, filtering out the "try-hard" noise, and defying a culture of apathy. Doing the Thing: Building non-negotiable daily standards, managing outcome anxiety, designing friction-reducing systems, and turning resistance into feedback. Following Calling: Navigating the fear of the unknown, staying patient on a slow timeline, and transitioning from a career to a true vocation. If you’re tired of playing it safe and ready to take your ambition seriously, this episode is your blueprint. Hit follow and join the journey. What is the single biggest distraction or piece of noise you are trying to block out of your routine right now?

  4. Sep 29

    #51 - You Don’t Know Yourself Until You’re Alone

    How much time do you actually spend alone? Not scrolling. Not watching something. Not drinking. Not surrounded by other people. Just you, your thoughts, your feelings and everything that comes with them. Being alone can be f*****g hard. When we remove the distractions, we are often left with the insecurities, inadequacies, experiences and thoughts that we have spent so much time trying to avoid. We turn towards people, entertainment, substances and other vices because sitting with ourselves can feel uncomfortable. But what if being alone isn't loneliness? What if it isn't punishment, but an opportunity to understand yourself? In this episode, I talk about the difference between isolation and solitude, why we use people and vices as forms of escapism, how insecurities shape the way we see ourselves, and why being alone can force us to confront the gap between where we are and where we actually want to be. I also break down three simple ways to start becoming more comfortable with your own company: separating isolation from solitude, journaling, and simply starting small. Some of the best growth, ideas and self-awareness can come from the moments where there is nothing left to distract you from yourself.

  5. Sep 25

    #50 - 5 Lessons From 50 Episodes

    On the 7th of April 2026, Looking Inwards was born out of a selfish endeavor—a raw, long-form commitment to show up for myself, learn in public, and figure out who I am. Four months and 50 episodes later, the journey has evolved into something far greater than I ever imagined. In this milestone 50th episode, I look back at the chaotic, rewarding, and brain-melting process of writing, recording, editing, and putting two episodes out every week. More importantly, I’m breaking down the 5 core lessons this podcast has forced me to learn the hard way: 1. Showing Up: Why starting with the smallest, least actionable task is the only cure for the massive mountain of creative resistance. 2. Comfort, Complacency & Safety: How to recognize the brain's natural urge to seek the path of least resistance—and how to actively pull yourself out of the trap. 3. Momentum: What it takes to keep the plane in the air once you have takeoff velocity, and why stopping means crashing. 4. Conscious Thought to External Action: Why the things you say to yourself matter, and how changing your internal narrative changes your reality. 5. Looking Inwards: The realization that introspection isn't selfish; it's the foundation of growth, wisdom, and showing up for the world. To everyone who has listened, watched a clip, shared an episode, or reached out along the way—thank you. This started as a personal experiment, but sharing it with you has made it all worth it.

  6. Sep 22

    #49 - Josh Sternberg: The Cost of Specialization, Developing Courage & The Art of Self-Awareness

    In episode #49, we sit down with Josh Sternberg for a deep, unfiltered conversation exploring the friction between physical specialization, personal growth, and self-discovery. We unpack the psychological weight of stepping away from powerlifting and identity-driven training, examining what happens when you stop chasing numbers and start rebuilding physical versatility. From there, we dive into the anatomy of courage—how to stop cowering behind social perception, lean into embarrassment, and answer the call to take creative and personal risks. Finally, we look inward at self-awareness, solitude, confronting what we cannot control, and why true confidence means being okay with failure. If you’ve ever felt trapped by your own optimization, this episode is a blueprint for breaking out.

  7. Sep 17

    #48 - Learning to Complain Less

    Complaining is easy. It gives us something external to blame when things don’t go the way we want them to. But what if a lot of the things we complain about are actually just things we haven’t learned to tolerate yet? In this episode, I break down why we complain, what sits underneath it, and how comfort can slowly make us less capable of dealing with discomfort. From fatigue, cold mornings and difficult training sessions to uncertainty, failure and being new at something, the goal isn’t to make life easier — it’s to become better at handling what life gives you. I talk through lessons I’ve taken from powerlifting, coaching, journaling, and conversations with people who have helped me look more honestly at pain, discipline and self-awareness. If you can endure it, endure it. Stop looking for every reason why something shouldn’t be happening to you, and start asking what the situation is trying to teach you.

  8. Sep 14

    #47 - The First Time: Why Being Bad at Something Is Part of Getting Good

    The first time you do anything probably isn't going to be great. Your first lift. Your first run. Your first coaching session. Your first podcast. Your first difficult conversation. We put so much pressure on ourselves to be good at things we've barely had any experience doing. But you can't skip the awkward stage. You can't think your way into competence. At some point, you have to be willing to be a beginner. In this episode, I talk through my own experiences with powerlifting, landscaping, coaching, online coaching, running and starting the podcast — and how each one taught me that getting good at something is largely about accumulated exposure, mistakes and simply doing the work. There's also another side to being a beginner: sometimes you get lucky. You might be naturally good at something, or have a great first result. But one good result doesn't mean you've mastered it. Whether you're terrible at something or surprisingly good at it, the important thing is to keep learning. Because your first attempt isn't a representation of your potential. It's just a representation of where you're starting. Your first time isn't supposed to be your best time. It's supposed to be the first one.

See All (53)

About

Looking Inwards is a podcast about self-awareness, discipline, and personal growth. It focuses on taking ownership of your habits, mindset, and actions to become better in all areas of life. Each episode challenges you to think deeper, act with intent, and close the gap between who you are and who you want to be.

Information

  • Creator
    Riley Allsop
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    53
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Riley Allsop
  • Show Website
    Looking Inwards