Podcast Episode Summary
Podcast: Making Space with Hoda Kotb
Episode: Laura Day on Practical Intuition, Personal Growth and the Power of Small Changes
Date: December 17, 2025
Host: Hoda Kotb
Guest: Laura Day
Episode Overview
In this episode of Making Space, Hoda Kotb sits down with bestselling author and renowned intuitive Laura Day to explore themes from Laura's latest book, The Prism: Seven Steps to Heal Your Past and Transform Your Future. The conversation centers on Laura’s concept of “practical intuition,” the mechanics of personal change, turning trauma into strength, and how making the smallest changes can catalyze transformation. Through candid storytelling and practical advice, Laura dismantles myths about intuition and personal development, empowering listeners to make incremental yet meaningful shifts in their lives.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Laura Day’s Background and the Origins of Her Work
- Laura shares her tumultuous childhood, marked by neglect and abuse, highlighting how her early experiences shaped her intuition and capacity for healing.
- She describes being forced to care for her siblings at a very young age, surviving and adapting through a kind of emotional “automatic pilot.”
- Quote:
- “People either fall apart or they respond. And I responded to this situation by going on automatic pilot.” – Laura Day (07:24)
2. Trauma as an Engine for Intuition and Change
- Laura links acute intuition to trauma and survival, noting that intuition can be sharper in those who have faced significant adversity.
- She stresses, however, that it was not intuition alone that saved her but understanding the mechanics of how to create change and rebuild after collapse.
- Quote:
- “As intuitive as we all are, the thing that saved me was not intuition. It was a real understanding... of what the mechanics of making change, of living life, of creating our goals, of falling apart and still being contained enough to come back together.” – Laura Day (03:45)
3. Demystifying Intuition – Training, Science, and Practicality
- Laura argues that intuition is innate but undertrained; she advocates for treating intuition as a skill that can be honed, just like intellect or emotions.
- Emphasizes her scientific approach to intuition, preferring evidence-based validation over mystical thinking.
- Quote:
- “Companies hire me not because I’m logical... They hire me because I can see something in the future that makes no sense now and trace it back so they can say, ‘oh, maybe she’s not just crazy.’” – Laura Day (11:27)
- Suggests skepticism is healthy:
- “My feeling is you shouldn’t trust anything ever... a good scientist suspends disbelief.” – Laura Day (15:00)
4. The PRISM Framework and the Power of Small Changes
- Laura introduces the idea of "the prism" as a multi-faceted structure of the self, addressing different aspects of life through incremental, strategic actions rather than dramatic leaps.
- Advocates for micro-changes: taking non-intuitive, small steps that gently disrupt entrenched habits, gradually reorienting the whole system of one’s life.
- Quote:
- “So you change one thing and you change everything... I live by synchronicities... Everything that happened, I said yes. And wow.” – Laura Day (17:43)
- Rejects “jumping” into the unknown as impractical and unsafe; underscores the value of incremental progress.
5. Practical Guidance – Goals, Patterns, Relationships, and Abundance
- Laura and Hoda discuss setting meaningful, clear goals as a foundation for productive change.
- Emphasizes separating vague desires (e.g., wanting “abundance”) from concrete outcomes; advises making aspirations measurable and contextualized.
- Quote:
- “What is abundance for you?... It’s very important with all of these things to find the aha. How will I know when I’ve gotten it?” – Laura Day (39:05)
- Relationship advice: Recognizes the draw of unhealthy relationship patterns and recommends practical, externally-imposed rules to break cycles.
- “You have to have rules you stick to... The answer is not – no matter how intuitive you are – smart is sometimes the worst thing that tricks you.” – Laura Day (26:17)
6. Trauma, Healing, and Forward Movement
- Laura cautions that continual revisiting of trauma can lead to re-traumatization; healing is found not by perpetual analysis but by solution-oriented action in the present.
- Discusses the importance of supportive (and sometimes challenging) communities for facilitating meaningful change.
- Quote:
- “Research shows that revisiting trauma re-traumatizes... the trauma is not your original trauma. The trauma are the ways you re-traumatize yourself.” – Laura Day (45:43)
- “Your healing is in creating what you want in the moment... You need to be the hero of your own story.” (46:43)
7. Systemic Perspective – You Are a System
- Laura suggests we are systems within systems and that improvements in one area will propagate throughout our lives.
- Underscores the need to “notice what you notice”—to pay attention to the synchronicities, challenges, and new opportunities that arise when pursuing authentic goals.
8. Small, Practical Rituals for Daily Life
- Advocates for pragmatic, enjoyable self-care (e.g., finding exercise or food you look forward to).
- Encourages listeners to make their everyday environment a supportive “altar” for their creativity and well-being.
9. Making Space and Living a Life You Love
- Laura’s ideal day: Not alone, but engaged and serving others—demonstrating that fulfillment can come from using one’s skills to help and connect.
- Quote:
- “Left alone in a room with my brain, I would eat myself... But my every day is that day [doing what I love]. It's really important that your life is what you love.” – Laura Day (57:43)
Memorable Quotes & Moments
- On Healing: “Your world is here. Teeny change—it's a whole different world. What you want is right beside you. Give power to the things that allow you to do what you want to do. You need to be the hero of your own story.” – Laura Day (46:42)
- On Goal-Setting: “Pick three goals...commit to them. Commitment is everything. One foot in front of the other is the best way to get someplace.” – Laura Day (41:00)
- On Change: “Real change I really don’t think is from this awareness of self. Real change is by doing something differently. Having pieces of the world encounter you and then rising to meet them.” – Laura Day (50:09)
- On Relationships: “The way I met my wonderful husband is I realized that if a man felt wonderful to me, they were probably a psychopath because that's what I grew up with.” – Laura Day (24:55)
- On Self-worth: “Your ego, your I, is a precious thing. It is the only thing you have.” – Laura Day (44:46)
Key Timestamps
- 03:02–10:47 – Laura’s childhood and the development of intuition through trauma
- 10:47–14:45 – Intuition’s universality, training intuition, science vs. new age
- 14:45–18:44 – Navigating conflicting signals: heart vs. intuition and practical decision-making
- 21:02–25:25 – Career transitions and the power of incremental change
- 25:25–29:05 – Breaking relationship patterns and using external input for growth
- 29:05–34:36 – Goal-setting, the prism model, and the difference between intention and action
- 38:38–42:13 – Defining abundance and the mechanics of commitment and synchronicity
- 43:36–47:48 – Time-wasters vs. fruitful effort, the importance of making oneself precious
- 47:48–50:31 – Trauma, therapy, the power of community, practical strategies for self-growth
- 52:29–56:02 – Self-acceptance, changing routines, and living in alignment with what you love
- 56:02–57:00 – Practical self-care and daily rituals
Takeaways for Listeners
- Personal growth doesn’t require radical reinvention—start with the smallest, non-intuitive change.
- Give your goals structure and clarity; be specific and realistic.
- Intuition is not mysticism; it is an internal sense that can be informed by evidence, structure, and practice.
- Healing and success are built on commitment, incremental action, and openness to feedback and support.
- Trauma can inform but need not define you—focus on present solutions, not endless analysis.
- You are your own system; improve one part and watch others shift.
This engaging conversation blends deeply personal narrative with practical, evidence-based advice, providing listeners with inspiration and actionable steps to make meaningful space for growth in their own lives.