Personal Growth

6 Podcasts for Personal Growth

6 Podcasts for Personal Growth
Podcasts can be funny, entertaining, educational, and inspiring all at once. During your personal development journey, you can use them as a reliable tool to arm yourself with knowledge, encouragement, and direction. The best personal development podcasts are chock full of practical advice, simple habit-forming strategies, productivity tips, and nuggets of wisdom.

And, since it’s audio, you can listen to them while cooking dinner, walking the dog, commuting to and from work, or cleaning the house. To top it off—they are totally free! This all means you have no excuse not to continue your learning journey with podcasts.

If you’re on a mission to improve, optimize, and upgrade your life, but don’t have the funds, time, or inspiration to move forward, here are six podcasts about personal development, not in any particular order, for you to check out.

1. 10% Happier with Dan Harris

This podcast is hosted by Dan Harris, ABC News anchor and New York Times bestselling author of 10% Happier. In this podcast, Harris interviews celebrities, entrepreneurs, authors, scientists, and gurus about how they practice meditation in their life.

Many use meditation as a tool to reduce stress and anxiety, but the true value of meditation is the spiritual awakening and personal growth it brings. By integrating a meditation practice into your daily routine, you not only are able to reconnect with your own Self, but you can also begin to understand your interconnectedness with everyone and everything else.

This podcast is full of useful information for personal development and will inspire you to start meditating more.

Episode Length: 1 hour

Frequency: Once a week

2. Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Hosted by New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin, and her sister, Elizabeth Craft, Happier is a podcast about tips and tricks to live a happy life. As a listener, you can expect practical advice and tips about happiness delivered in a fun and insightful way. If you are looking for strategies and tips on how to live a happier life, this podcast is a great place to start.

Episode Length: Varies (20 to 50 minutes)

Frequency: 2 to 3 times a week

3. The Overwhelmed Brain

The Overwhelmed Brain, hosted by Paul Colaianni, is a “personal growth podcast for the critical thinker.” Every week Colaianni discusses practical steps to help you improve yourself and your relationships. Topics range from anxiety and depression to psychology and human potential. The podcast often promotes mindfulness and compassion and is a great tool for empowering yourself so that you can make the right decisions and live a happier life.

Episode Length: 1 hour

Frequency: Once a week

4. Optimal Living Daily

Need a daily dose of personal development tips? Optimal Living Daily is a podcast that helps you to optimize your life one day at a time.

It takes a different approach than most podcasts: the host, Justin Malik, offers the best and most popular personal development content each day in bite-sized chunks. Every week Malik will focus on a single topic—anything from minimalism and meditation to productivity and happiness. Each episode is no more than 10 minutes, with the goal of helping you improve your life.

Length: 10 minutes

Frequency: Daily

5. Tiny Leaps Big Changes

This podcast is all about delivering simple, personal development strategies and habits that you can use to get the most out of life. Host Gregg Clunis talks about a variety of topics (stress, career, mindfulness, relationships, etc.) and refers to scientific studies to explain how stuff works and what you can do to live your fullest life. It will introduce you to the simple things that, if given time and effort, can make big, positive changes in your life.

Length: Varies (10 to 40 minutes)

Frequency: Varies (2 to 3 times a week)

6. The Minimalist Podcast

How might your life be better with less stuff? This question is at the root of this inspirational and informative podcast hosted by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. The duo create an entertaining and informative atmosphere, not only providing laughs but also giving you the tips you need to declutter your life. After listening, you can become more conscious of your actions and of societal pressures for success.

This podcast includes a minimalist monologue (rant, news update, etc.), Q&A, listener feedback, and value-added recommendations. Topics range from relationships and technology to education and health.

If you’re a minimalist, everything you own has a purpose—a positive function like providing you joy. You are intentional with what you keep around you, and you focus on detachment from things that no longer serve you.

If you are looking to simplify your life, this podcast can give you practical advice and strategies to get you on your way.

Length: Varies (45 minutes to 1.5 hours)

Frequency: Once a week

Try these six podcasts as a starting place to access personal development advice, stay on top of the latest research and news, receive encouragement and motivation, and get inspired by real-world examples of success.


Ready to start flowing with the universe, instead of against it? Learn a natural, effortless style of meditation that helps make every day feel easy, fresh, and fulfilling with Basics of Meditation, a self-paced online course guided by Deepak Chopra. Learn More.