Anxious Optimists

On this week's episode, Kavita and Mack talk about that feeling that you're waiting for something and the importance of appreciating what you have right now.

On this week's episode, Mack talks about going to The Eras Tour in LA, crying, and emotional maturity. 

In this week's episode, Mack and Kavita talk about how you should do more things by yourself. Life is too short!

On this week's episode, the besties catch up on what has changed in their lives since they last spoke. Mack talks about her quarter-life crisis (for real this time), and how she feels like she needs a change. 

This week, Kavita sits down for a lighter episode. She talks about her upcoming trip to Greece, and gets interviewed by ChatGPT.

On this week's episode, Mack is joined by her cousin Stephanie, who just graduated with her masters in psychology and is currently working as a provisional psychologist. Steph talks about her journey getting to where she is today, the anxiety she experienced as a new mom during the pandemic, and how she's been able to balance the many aspects of her life. The cousins also talk about the things they have in common thanks to their genetics: anxiety and migraines. 

On this week's episode, Mack and Kavita talk about how they implement self care in their lives. Then, Kavita (burnout guru)  imparts her wisdom on Mack (burnout newbie).

On this week's episode of Anxious Optimists, Mack and Kavita are joined by Kyle (Kavita's boyfriend) to talk about his journey through university and the beginning stages of his career. Kyle opens up about having to switch majors early on in university, and struggling to find work after graduation. Spoiler alert: it all worked out in the end.

On this week's episode, Mack and Kavita talk about their experiences with heartbreak. Is serious heartbreak something you can "get over," or will a part of it always stick with you? 

In this special bonus episode, Mack sits down by herself to talk about:1. Why dating (especially online dating) is the actual worst,2. Her fear of expressing her needs with potential romantic partners, and 3. Why we should stop feeling bad for single people.

On this week's episode, Mack and Kavita discuss the things in life they are too old for, such as getting drunk every weekend, holding grudges, and saying yes to absolutely everything. 

Mack and Kavita are back for Season 3 of Anxious Optimists! In this catch-up episode, the besties talk about Mack's travels, Kavita's TikTok career, and why they feel like their quarter-life crises have begun. 

A Q&A, and the last episode of 2022, with a very special guest!

Do you ever feel like you are just waiting to mess up? Well these two Anxious Optimists know that feeling all too well. On this week's episode, Mack speaks about her struggles with self-doubt and how, no matter how hard she tries, can't seem to escape recurring thoughts that she will somehow mess up all of the great things in her life because she might not be good enough. 

In this week's episode, Mack and Kavita talk about the things that make them irrationally annoyed. Takeaways: Kavita is impatient and Mack hates osmosis. 

On this week's episode of Anxious Optimists, Kavita gets super vulnerable and opens up about her struggles with perfectionism. Find out why she feels so burnt out in so many facets of her life like school, work, relationships, and more.

Mack suffers from the condition known as chronic migraine. This week, she talks about how that impacts her daily life, productivity, and mental health. 

On this week's episode, Kavita and Mack talk about anxiety in a more general sense, including the ways it manifests itself in their day to day lives.

On this week's episode, Mack and Kavita discuss their results from the 16Personalities Test. Listen in on the duo's interpretation of the results and whether or not they agree with the personality type they best matched with. Is it fair to say that we can all fit into a “box” when it comes to our personalities, or is there more to it?Take the test for yourself here: https://www.16personalities.com/ 

On this week's episode, Mack and Kavita discuss their issues with the infuriating and unrealistic expectations of women needing to adhere to the ever-changing body trends and standards that come and go every few years. From Heroin-Chic to the Kim K BBL, women can't keep up! Can't we just accept that every woman is built differently and that there is beauty in being unique? Body trends need to stop! 

On this week's episode, Mack and Kavita discuss the challenges they face with overthinking. Mack tends to replay scenarios in her head and fixate on what she should have said, whereas Kavita tends to fixate on things she wishes she didn't say in the first place. 

On this week's episode of Anxious Optimists, Mack and Kavita discuss the consequences of “looking at the bright side” too often and the implications of not honoring our negative emotions. 

After a four month hiatus, Mack and Kavita are back! In the epic return of Anxious Optimists for season 2, we learn:Kavita's co-worker blames her for ruining her life.Mack doesn't ask out her work crush but she's over it. The besties turn 25 this year and Mack blesses us with some wisdom about getting older.New Year's Resolutions kinda suck, but kinda don't - Mack sets realistic goals but Kavita goes way too hard and ends up disappointing herself. The Anxious Optimists follow through with their promise to make season 2 bigger and better (is that a jingle we hear?).

In the last episode of season 1, Mack and Kavita discuss miscellaneous thoughts Mack has jotted down in the "Podcast" folder of her notes app over the year. 

On this week's episode of Anxious Optimists, Mack and Kavita dive into a discussion about the pros and cons of social media. They talk trends, staying connected, politics, COVID, Mack's favorite account with the mushroom frog, and more.

“I know I should do this, but I am not motivated…” Chances are that you have had that internal struggle with yourself regularly. Let's be real, it's not easy to be motivated all the time. How then, does it seem to come so easy to others? On this week's episode of Anxious Optimists, Mack and Kavita talk about their struggles with staying motivated. And yes, when it comes to the podcast, the two besties admit that even though they love it, the motivation to plan and record episodes every week isn't always there. Tune in to this week's episode to hear the discussion surrounding all things motivation and why it might not be the sole reason we get things done. The Happiness Lab “You Can't Always Want What You Like” on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0SPybHLAHE71QLeMn97ALC?si=c9b76ae925a94dfc

Deja vu? Wait. This topic was already discussed back in the third episode of Anxious Optimists, when Mack and Kavita talked all about comparison in the world of social media. But we all know comparison isn't just exclusive to social media. Whether it be career aspirations, relationship goals or even personality traits your best friend has that you wish you did, unfortunately, there are ample opportunities to compare yourself to others outside of the realm of social media. On this week's episode, the two besties reveal their struggles with comparison in “the real world” and what they do to cope with the anxieties associated with it.

Mack and Kavita are joined by their good friend Mark for a very special Q&A episode!

Rest: simple concept, sometimes difficult to execute. But why? Shouldn't it be easy to take some time for yourself and recharge? And why do we sometimes tie our worth to our level of productivity? Unfortunately, we live in a society where rest often isn't appreciated as much as it should be, and productivity is idolized to the point of being toxic. On this weeks episode of Anxious Optimists, Mack and Kavita focus on the importance of rest. Kavita talks about her struggles with saying "no," and how it's led to burnout throughout her life, and Mack shares her struggles with not feeling good enough when she's not as overworked as so many others seem to be.

Ok so, mental health. It's important, right? We hear about it everywhere: "Take care of your mental health" or "self care is important," but why does it seem to be something a lot of us put on the back-burner sometimes? At least for Kavita and Mack this is the case. On this week's episode of Anxious Optimists, the duo speak on their experiences and struggles with mental health and accountability with making self care a daily practice. Let's have an open discussion about mental health. 

As we grow and change as individuals, our relationships change with us. On this week's episode, Mack and Kavita talk about how friendships, including theirs, evolve over time. Sometimes you end up super close with people you never expected, and sometimes you have "friend break-ups" with people you thought would be in your life for a long time. Sometimes distance strengthens a friendship, and sometimes it causes friends to drift away from each other. No matter what, though, all friendships add some sort of value to our life. This episode is low key a love letter to our friends, past and present... and maybe even future.

The Law of Attraction (LOA) is centered around the idea that the energy we emit into the universe via our thoughts attracts what we experience in life. It is argued to be a legitimate science and is believed to be true by many. On the surface, the concept sounds great! But look a little closer and there are a lot of flaws surrounding this theory. On this week's episode of Anxious Optimists, Mack and Kavita discuss the LOA and whether or not they believe humans have the ability to "manifest" whatever they want. 

Growing up is really scary, and if we're being honest, it kind of sucks. But is it all bad? Isn't there some stuff to look forward to? On this week's episode of Anxious Optimists, Mack and Kavita talk about their hopes and fears about getting older, the pressure we put on ourselves to meet a specific timeline, and the importance of being present. The two besties unpack their own issues regarding aging and come to the realization that there is beauty in growing older and wiser. Maybe aging isn't as scary as we all tell ourselves. 

HOT GIRL SUMMER!!!! On this week's episode, best friends Kavita and Mack dissect the meaning of the well-known phrase "hot girl summer" and what it means to them. Is it really just a silly saying, or is there more to it? Listen in on Mack and Kavita's vow to make this summer one that consists of authenticity, loving themselves, and enjoying every second of the best season of the year… Let's have a hot girl summer. 

How often have you opened up Instagram and thought "that person is so much better than me"? Whether it be comparing yourself against the amount of likes on their pictures or the way they look, Mack and Kavita know all too well how social media has become a vessel for self-destruction when it comes to comparing themselves to others. On this week's episode of Anxious Optimists, the two best friends discuss their experiences with comparing themselves to others on social media. Listen to their conversation about appearances, material possessions and so much more.

It's inevitable that we as humans are going to care what others think about us, at least to some extent. But why do we care so much about what a stranger sees on our social media posts? Why is it so hard to send a follow-up email to your boss? On this week's episode of Anxious Optimists, Kavita and Mack discuss the positive and negative aspects of caring what other people think. Can we simply “just stop caring what others think,” or is there more to it?

Let's address the elephant in the room... 2020 is long gone. But it was one hell of a year, and we are still living in its aftermath. On this week's episode of Anxious Optimists, Kavita and Mack discuss the highs and lows of the year 2020. From facing the wrath of a global pandemic to missing out on important milestones and everything in between, 2020 was arguably the worst year in history for a lot of us. But amidst all of this negativity, was 2020 really as bad as we thought?

Introducing Anxious Optimists by Mack and Kavita. On this podcast, we will talk about the experiences and difficulties everyone goes through in life, but through a (mostly) positive lens. Through the discussions we have, we want to encourage others to find the good in bad situations and to feel less alone in their struggles. You can expect vulnerable conversations from two anxious people with an optimistic outlook on the future.