A Psychologists Guide To A Meaningful Life - Dr Julie Smith

Hey friends, we're back with Season 2 of Deep Dive and to kick off the first episode of the season I’m talking to Clinical Psychologist and online educator with a following of over 3M on TikTok, Dr Julie Smith. After practicing as a psychologist for over a decade Julie decided to start making high quality mental health education more accessible online in a fun and engaging way, by using TikTok as a platform for therapy. In the conversation we talk about her success as a creator as well as deep diving into some of my favourite chapters from her brand new book 'Why Did Nobody Tell Me This Before?' that takes a scientific approach to topics like motivation, self doubt, identity and what it means to live a meaningful life.
Season 2 Episode 1
First 200 get 20% off the annual premium subscription for Brilliant: brilliant.org/deepdive
📚Check out my New York Times Bestselling book Feel-Good Productivity!
Amazon: geni.us/JFhDr5?...
Website: www.feelgoodproductivity.com/...
00:00 Intro
01:30 How Does Therapy Work?
11:31 How To Grow On TikTok
14:48 Creating Content For The First Time
24:50 How To Live A Meaningful Life Using Science
42:32 How To Manage Relationships
44:45 Changing Direction In Life
47:40 Writing A Book For The First Time
55:41 How To Understand Motivation
01:05:05 Using Therapy Techniques
01:08:15 Should We Care What People Think?
1:12:50 Rapid Fire Questions + Q&A
🔗 CONNECT WITH JULIE
📕 Julie's Book 'Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?' - bit.ly/3GzxGO1
📱TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@drjuliesmith?...
📸 Instagram - drjulie?hl=en
💻 Website - doctorjuliesmith.com/1724-2/
🎥 KZbin Channel - @DrJulie
🐦 Twitter - / dr_julie_smith
🔗 CONNECT WITH ALI
🎥 KZbin Channel - / aliabdaal
🐦 Twitter - / aliabdaal
📸 Instagram - / aliabdaal
💻 Website - aliabdaal.com
👥 Linkedin - / ali-abdaal
📱TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@aliabdaal?lan...
📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED
The War Of Art by Steven Pressfield - geni.us/uBMfV3
The School Of Life Therapy Program - www.theschooloflife.com/
Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn - geni.us/u1a3dL
Start With Why by Simon Sinek - geni.us/dQEVlGP
Atomic Habits by James Clear - geni.us/yFRzNB5
Notion - go.aliabdaal.com/notion
📄SHOW NOTES & TRANSCRIPT
Visit the website for the transcript and highlights from the conversation - aliabdaal.com/podcast/
🎙 ABOUT THE PODCAST
Deep Dive is the podcast that delves into the minds of entrepreneurs, creators and other inspiring people to uncover the philosophies, strategies and tools that help us live happier, healthier and more productive lives. In each episode, Ali has conversations with guests from wide-ranging areas around the five pillars of a good life: health, wealth, love, happiness and impact - to empower you to live your best life.
Want to start your own podcast? We use Transistor! go.aliabdaal.com/transistor
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RSS - feeds.transistor.fm/deep-dive
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🧠 SPONSORED BY BRILLIANT
This episode is kindly supported by Brilliant, the best way to learn maths, science and computer science online. Brilliant focuses on helping you learn through interactive courses that work to develop your intuition and first principles knowledge, rather than just memorising methods and facts. Sign up at brilliant.org/deepdive - the first 200 people will receive 20% off the annual premium subscription.
👋🏼 GET IN TOUCH
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[@DrJulie]

Really enjoyed this Ali! Thank you so much for having me on the podcast. You were an awesome host!

[@NoName-vy8vu]

Tik tok? You’re a middle aged women. Enjoy your the proceeds from the 5 books you’re going to sell.

[@madhumitaathaley551]

This video is gold, I really appreciate you guys for coming together and sharing your insights about your life and mental health. As a psychology student on the fence of choosing a career specialisation, This gave me a peak into the life of Psychologist and whether I could see myself pursuing this stream. Thank you, once again 🙏🏻

[@macayladunn9638]

@@madhumitaathaley551 lmplpmlpmllmplpmmplpmmplpmmpmlmpmpmplpppppmpmp

[@raylynne5404]

@@madhumitaathaley551 ym l km. Idk mm t g e Ee

[@acertree1980]

I recently followed you on IG and find your tips and tricks really valuable. Such a lovely surprise to find you here and learn more about you. Thanks for all you do 😊

[@Fatima_316]

I'm glad you're delving into mental health, it's a bit different from your usual productivity content, and it's a more holistic approach. I'm glad you're doing this, keep it going

[@aagy]

💯

[@yos9966]

This woman is so well-versed in her domain and articulate which is quite powerful and ultimately impactful for us who are privileged enough to hear her share her knowledge. Thank you both!

[@tralala88]

What a lovely conversation and perspective. Much more applicable than a lot of self help advice I’ve heard. Thank you!

[@mcmaschio]

So excited for season 2 .. been following u for years Ali 💯 Your my inspiration 🙌

[@sohanjoshi3285]

Great podcast Ali! I’ve been binge watching this channel since a week, I have my AirPods plugged in all day and a notebook by my side to note down stuff. Great content, keep inviting such interesting people! Love from India.

[@aquilas7437]

Both of my fave content creators in one podcast🥰 thankyou for this💛

[@FaithEnokian]

“Faith is taking the first step without seeing the whole staircase”

[@spet2904]

Loved listening to this! Best Deep Dive so far. Glad to see you're focusing more on wellbeing this year :)

[@sarwatbhatti358]

I can't wait to finish work and watch this. Been waiting for this one for the longest time!

[@saisarveshrajeshkumar9009]

Awesome and I also wanted to hear Podcasts and this is the best Podcast which I've seen, its incredible to do it, Ali rocks with the questions for us. Thanks Ali and Julie for showing us this Podcast!!

[@afab.1485]

Thumbs up for this. Please do more of these where your medical training helps ask excellent questions. Loved the part where she describes the different therapies following your questions

[@shirinmange5612]

thank u sooo much for always adding value to my life 💕

[@sanatkumarkanrar7165]

Uu season 2 is finally here 🤗🤗🤗i was so excited, thanks Ali 🙂

[@abhijitbidwe1878]

Good work Ali! Keep it going with these podcasts

[@Al_i8]

I enjoyed this episode very much, more mental health podcasts please!

[@wijdanh326]

Another great podcast Ali! Thank you so much for providing all of this value!♥️♥️

[@grannyronna]

I also find this a great video! I love the part when she talked about motivation.

[@zaffazad4040]

Dr. Smith the most pressing thing about your interview as a psychologist today, you have implemented what you talked about for other people. Ali, you have done a good job doing this podcast, keep it up, good luck!!

[@tbird2516]

This video hit home for me, especially trying to figure out if it my upbringing and conditioning influences my choices and decision making and values. Also seeking approval from myself instead of others. It really a shift in mindset. Great content!! 👍

[@thomikamilla]

It's incredible how enthusiastic Ali gets when he wants to learn the ways he can improve himself. The passionate listening exchange in this session was really enjoyable. I also resonate a lot with the core lessons in having that balance, understanding our values, and as a self-awareness advocate myself, reflect more! Looking forward to be on the podcast someday.

[@zhvanrekani1408]

Thank you bro Ali. Nice conversation 👏

[@triingtimes5267]

Hi Dr. Abdaal, That was a great video with Dr. Smith! Wonderful topic and discussion. I look forward to reading her book. Have a GREAT day!

[@studywithme444]

Looking forward to this one Ali! Mental health is an extremely important topic to put in the limelight and your platform is a great one from which to share it! Thanks for what I think will be a great podcast

[@nq1322]

Great questions asked and great ideas shared by Dr.Smith. Enjoyed watching it!

[@MrMonkeys57]

I literally had the thought yesterday that you should get a psychologist to interview on your show and was going to message you about it. Then I saw this video! Yay

[@Ghada-ALVOICE]

Great interview to watch, lots of practical advice, love listening to Julie Smith, she has a very calming, relaxing voice 👍

[@underquartz9481]

HI Ali :3 Thanks for this incredible Episode!

[@samdeur]

First time i seen this channel. only know your other channel where you did great productivity apps and talked about mechanical keyboards.. Went searching for Dr Julie Smith book reviews and found this channel look forward to seeing your content on this channel now that i'm a youtube premium sub. Thanks for all you do..Greetings from The Netherlands.

[@krishnabaalu]

Hi your studio setup, video recording quality and processing all, I can say "the best.❤

[@bubthe1Nonlyseal]

I love this interview !

[@reguighanaa9230]

I really enjoyed watching it ! Thank u Ali

[@pikacoder5782]

Yesterday only, i have seen her advice to overcome daydreaming and now this!!😃

[@MelSpeaksMD]

So glad you decided to pivot away from clinical medicine. As I see it, mental health is the #1 issue plaguing the West. I’m a hospital Internist so I see patients at their worst/sickest. Getting people to understand that physical health starts with mental (and spiritual) health is key. Your impact will go far beyond what you could’ve done as a clinician. Thanks for sharing! ❤️

[@shahzaib-rr6cl]

Loved this! Please can we have more episodes like the one with Vee Kativhu

[@tariksuljic5876]

I'd like to suggest that an interview with a psychologists of Dr Lordan's or Dr Smith's level on self-confidence and self-doubt would certainly be beneficial; I'd love to listen to them.

[@AmaSharapova]

A great one! Thank you!

[@colourful.foodie]

Great podcast again 👏

[@TimothyBrandenburg]

Amazing interview Ali! I would be interested to see more of her (or your) Journaling prompt questions to understand values and other stuff more.

[@DeepDivewithAliAbdaal]

thanks for the feedback tim, will see if we can do a video on this :)

[@HomeHome-he2xq]

Amazing convo 👍🏻👍🏻

[@razabadass]

Thank you Ali and Dr Julie! Raza :)

[@xRelevants7085]

ali never disappoint with his background and room aesthetic

[@MindLifeFlow]

Hi Ali, Julie and others, this is a very interesting video - Thankyou!

[@zitaridgett]

Really enjoyed this.

[@bigfishartwire4696]

I got her book in audiobook version and I'm very sad it's not her reading it. Love hearing her talk

[@bekind2047]

I got it today from audible and it is her reading. Perhaps they redid it. I get your point.

[@amiraboodi2075]

Thank you very much. ❤️

[@samuelvilz]

I quite enjoyed listening to this ☺ Thank you, Ali and Julie!

[@Fatima_316]

As someone who's on the road to becoming a therapist, this is gonna be interesting to watch.

[@Mrnai_]

wow, how did I miss this combo of my 2 favorite inspiring experts

[@DeepDivewithAliAbdaal]

Happy you found it eventually :)

[@meghnamehta7694]

Its not therapy skills.. Its life skills.. GOLD

[@anannyapandey249]

Man, I just love your glasses

[@NyembaTembo]

So much insight especially as a fellow creative! And I totally agree with Ali about finally coming out of the self-inflicted pressure of uploading even when you know the content you’re putting out isn’t great🙌🏾

[@LittleMew133]

She seems like such a nice sensitive soul, wanting to help the most number of people as possible.

[@qaispalekar]

I am not sure I am watching this video for the content of the video or i just love hearing both your accents.

[@RakhiGhosh-wm2ti]

Very informative video.

[@BahaaGamal]

I heard almost all Julie's interviews, but Ali makes all the difference is this one..

[@lockon6874]

thanks

[@pkindian506]

Ali , Julia it was very helpful to 🙏

[@NyembaTembo]

Also, I’ll definitely check out The War of Art😁

[@bestlifepossible]

Awesome video

[@sardoruchqunov977]

14:50 Actually voice is awesome 👍

[@kryslamenezes2960]

Hi Julie and Ali, As I watch this conversation, a question came to my mind, 'If I want to pursue media psychology and become a media psychologist, do I need to go for a masters degree in media psychology or pursue a doctorate degree in order to become one? " Thanks in advance. 😊

[@impujayaprakash860]

🤩 An absolute wow video

[@Fatima_316]

Where are the rest of the deep dive episodes? From season 1? They're not on your main channel, and not on this channel. They were really good, and i suggest you upload those on this channel too

[@rahulgamare431]

Thanks for making such heavy and rich conversations. 😊🔥Love from India🇮🇳❤ #aliabdaal

[@Coconutluxenaturals]

Love your videos and Dr Julie. Are you speeding up the voice in your editing.. it's a tad too fast especially for this important information. Should be at a normal speed xx

[@osirusj275]

i think we fall to our habits rather than our identity, i used do martial art 6hrs per week 10years ago, but stop completely, due to the belief that i should spend the time doing things that help me make money, and since i am not planning to be teaching martial arts and there's no Olympic level competition for the genre of martial art that i was doing, so I quit it completely. But i still see myself as moderately healthy, like if i want to eat totally healthy, or workout 3hrs per week, i know it can be done and know how to, but i just dont do it now because there's other priority in my life. But I really should be prioritizing exercising because my energy level is just not enough, but my attention is always dragged towards other stuff that i deem more interesting as if theres no such thing as exercise in the first place. My mind could be completely on the things that i find interesting, so a way to break this cycle is to write it down somewhere that I will take a look often. That will nag me and remind me enough and start doing it slowly after many times looking at the undone checklist. I have a question tho, what about those people who like to give advise for mental health issue too, but are not qualified to do so as in, dint study directly for being a psychologist, i often have friends that told me its such a waste i dont be a motivator or a psychologist because i can dissect her issues and give her new insights, but i dont want to study 3yrs of degree full time for it. If I can study part time, and work also, then I will consider it, but sometimes i felt its easier to dissect others than self due to blind spot, but in my mind is like what sort of future psychologist i will be if i can dissect others but not myself? With this realisation i am able to dissect myself more than previously have, then i thought some issues are just people making things hard for themselves or they are thinking too complex, or they dont let go of things easily, these people just want to dig a hole for themselves and are waste of everyone's time, because they dont want to do the work themselves, keep repeating the same old habit and expect things to get better? These people will be wasting the psychologist time. A lot of the skills like self inspection, self reflection, self analysis is needed for the individual to develop to get to the root cause of the issue and often time people just don't aware those are what's needed to solve their issue, or they are not aware they have an issue. If they outsource those skills to the psychologist then its just like plumbing i guess, whenever you have issue you will need depend on others. I have never paid for a psychologist so i would never know if that process is workable for me, I do have experience will a community psychologists and a cousellor, but my experience is not very optimal with them. So i think the best psychologists is still the self, if one is up for the task. Its just like in programming, if you are given a task, you have spend days trying various solutions and was stuck and you think about it lots, if you want to ask for help, its important to ask help from the right resources, because if you ask a wrong person, you will end up, spending time explaining your issue and at the end wasted your time, energy, and possibly money, without an actual solution given. Whereas if you ask the right person, you will get some clue or help on solving that issue. So asking help from self, is actually best for certain situations and for certain type of people. By that I mean, oneself is the person who has face the issue the longest, be it a self issue, or a task given. So in these situations is best if one can develop self by enhancing their skillset and self management skills to tackle these certain issues.

[@MulheresdeNegocios]

hey friends, what is the book that she suggested? The war of art? Thanks! Amazing video

[@umeshprasadsingh9648]

It is the mental health matters a lot in psychology

[@nikolinatomaskovic]

What is the name of the book when they talk about the imposter syndrome? At 52:45 she says it's such a good book, but I can't hear the book title :)

[@umeshprasadsingh9648]

Unique representation

[@nabhanjaffer]

Interview Doctor Mike please !!

[@daria7076]

Many people have short attention span nowadays, because we are constantly bombarded with all kinds of information coming from different sources, so videos shouldn't be too long. I understand that podcasts are different, however here is example where the first 20 min has passed and i am still waiting for that ,,advice" how to live a meaningful life lol I think there is too much talking about ,,how to properly run a youtube channel or tik tok" etc that should be talked off camera. This is just my personal opinion, despite all that both the host and guest are very intelligent and channel it seems to be interesting.

[@Yessermd]

I really enjoy the deep dive but it often sounds like a private therapy session or life couching for yourself. It would be nice to talk about stuff, that other people with different agendas or backgrounds might be interested in.

[@aliabdaal]

would love some suggestions :)

[@Yessermd]

@@aliabdaal in the example of dr. Smith it would have been interesting to know more about the book (Like asking her about some chapters or interesting points in the book), kinda giving me a reason to read it and to know why should this person be inspiring to me besides the fact that she has 3 million followers on TikTOk (Oprah Winfrey does it nicely for example, just watch an interview with her and tara Westover the author of educated, the book you recommended it last week ;) ). If I were in yours shoes I would phrase my questions more generally rather than talking about my own worries with the KZbin channel and creating a team of 17 and how hard it is to write "my" book. I listen to the podcast regularly because I really like it, but it is a bit irritating to listen to the same worries and anxities over and over again.

[@nebilsabo1386]

I agree..It’s more about him than his audiences, which is defeat the whole purpose of podcast.

[@CaglayanEAY]

Honestly, I don't know if it has been played with the video speed, I checked if mine isn't normal. I struggled with following 😳

[@Wilson_Cool]

12:02 14:05 - purely about mental health education with no miss information

[@leticiacarrera7224]

Just wanted to say Ali that you are amazing and you are enough , always and forever , as long as your grounded in God. Thank you for this podcast it so important. I appreciate you !

[@MarkLevison]

The transcripts are broken on the podcast page. I wanted to highlight a couple of key comments and make note of them. Sadly I can't.

[@sumaiyaiqbal4345]

Why did nobody tell me this before that why did nobody tell me this before book existed

[@DrJulie]

😂

[@user-kk8sl7jl1l]

At 1:58 in the video， what does "intensive care awards" that Dr Julie said mean?

[@lywong4909]

In 05:21, she said you can't wake up and say, "Today, I'm going to be happy...." Actually, you can. From Dr. Victor E Frankl to Dr Joe Dispenser, even NLP guru Tony Robbins and many other modern pioneers in the field of human potential, we can decide on our emotions by changing our thoughts.

[@razabadass]

Belated well done Julien being in the first generation in your relatives to go to university, Raza :)

[@uroobaahmed5178]

What book was recommended for imposter syndrome? Thank you!

[@marwakhateeb3721]

could you make videos talking about people who don't have opportunities to do what they want to do like they can not access educational institutions due to their poverty or they cannot be achiever not because they don't want to but because they don't have a chance to do . PLS don't ignore my comment I think you all create the content just for people who have money and uni degree and all these stuffs . I dont know, I like your content but be fair with folk who have the ability to be creative and productive but do not have tools . I hope you will get me right because I really love your videos

[@islombekikromov5668]

It is a traditional question that Ali gives 'What would you do if you lost KZbin and everything these stuff or TikTok, so how would it be without these platforms?'

[@umer979]

You're video Quality improve compared to last podcast with mr whoestheboss.. !!!!

[@EduardoCoffman]

As a neurocience psychologist, this is the kind of positive psychology somone that is in a bad situation should check out. 👏👏 Because there are many books wrote by "coachs/writers" so when i read it seems like candy. Nice to read but is not good for my body/health.🍭🍩

[@kaarthik9]

not overthinking new episode when?

[@Lordaay]

Am new here

[@suesmith261]

She stutters a lot. Clinical psychologist degree is a three year program after your bachelor degree. She made it to be this up there.

[@hakankaya]

🍀🌻

[@yusungchoi3099]

28:30

[@anshulgupta943]

Hi

[@wojciechgawalkiewicz7174]

So now looking for Jordan Peterson or Iain McGill Christ on this podcast😎

[@ar4585]

😍🔥

[@joeschmo1516]

Holy cow she is beautiful

[@sophias6318]

pls slow - rate of speech is so high, unable to sync in with the essence of conversation

[@hibeautym]

Omg how are you speaking at 2x speed

[@shraddhamishra4952]

I love Ali's Videos however, I was expecting something more here.

[@darshannaik892]

In India, there isn't Tiktok, I follow her on Insta, she's just amazing 🥳 Please post more of Insta reels. Can't wait to learn more with you Dr.Julie 🙂 Thanks for this interview Ali

[@TheSunshinefee]

As a brown podcaster, I hope you will also consider inviting black, brown, and Asian female professionals to talk about subjects. They are often ignored by podcasters with a huge following.