The Mel Robbins Podcast

Episode: #1 Mindset Expert: Simple Mindset Shifts That Transform Your Body, Energy, & Life
Date: December 20, 2025
Host: Mel Robbins
Guest: Dr. Alia Crum (Stanford University, Mind & Body Lab)

EPISODE OVERVIEW

This episode explores the cutting-edge science of mindset—how our core beliefs and mental “settings” impact our bodies, health, motivation, and experience of life. Mel is joined by Dr. Alia Crum, world-renowned mindset researcher and head of the Stanford Mind & Body Lab, who shares science-backed yet practical techniques to help listeners change the "settings" in their minds for transformative results in fitness, eating, stress, and even serious health challenges. The conversation busts myths about positive thinking and reveals how intentional mindset shifts can change biology, motivation, and outcomes—with memorable studies, actionable tips, real-life stories, and a lively, approachable tone.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS & INSIGHTS

1. Defining Mindset: “Settings” in the Mind

• Dr. Crum: “Mindsets are quite literally settings of the mind. They’re lenses or frames of mind which orient us to a particular set of experiences.” (08:23)
• Mindsets are core beliefs that act as automated settings, shaping how we perceive, react, and physiologically respond to the world.
• Mel: “If there are settings in my mind, then clearly someone or something put those settings in place. And...I have the ability...to change the settings.” (09:00)

2. Examples of Settings in Everyday Life

• Mindsets can be about the world (safe/dangerous), health (stress is harmful/beneficial), food (healthy is indulgent/depriving), intelligence (fixed/growth), or life circumstances.

Notable quote:

“These mindsets, Mel, they’re not true or false...they create our realities, and...our mindsets also change our bodies. They change how our bodies physiologically prepare and respond to different things.” —Dr. Crum (12:09)

3. The Milkshake Study: How Mindset Alters Biology

Segment: [13:35–19:06]

• Participants drank the same vanilla milkshake twice but were told it was either “indulgent” (620 cals) or “sensible” (140 cals).
• Measurements showed that hunger hormone (ghrelin) levels dropped three times more when participants believed their shake was indulgent.
• Takeaway: The body biologically responded according to mindset, regardless of the actual calories consumed.

Memorable moment:

“You’re saying that by changing just the settings in the mind… it actually changed the biology that you could measure in someone’s body.” —Mel (17:41)
“Yep, that’s exactly right.” —Dr. Crum (18:06)

4. Real-Life Mindset Change: Fear of Flying Example

Segment: [20:14–25:37]

• Mel’s producer overcame a decade-long fear of flying using Dr. Crum’s TED talk—realizing her anxiety was due to an “old setting” in her mind, not reality.
• By intentionally repeating “this is just an old setting in my mind,” she experienced her first calm, symptom-free flight in years.

Dr. Crum explains:

• Old settings can produce self-fulfilling physiological responses (focus, emotion, motivation, and actual symptoms).
• Sometimes, “that awareness is enough to let it go.” (25:37)

5. How Mindsets Shape Attention, Emotion, Motivation, and Physiology

• Settings determine what we notice, how we feel, what we’re motivated to do, and how our bodies react.
• Example: A mindset of “flying is dangerous” makes us hyper-aware of every bodily sensation, heightening fear and avoidance.

“These mechanisms…are working together…to create the reality that you fear most.” —Dr. Crum (30:06)

6. Origin & Update of Mindset “Settings”

Segment: [33:30–35:43]

• Mindsets start forming from birth, shaped by parents, culture, schooling, and experiences—but can always be updated.
• Empowering reframing: “While we shouldn’t be to blame for [our settings], we should know that we can be empowered to change them... you have the power to flip the switch.” —Dr. Crum (33:30)

IMPORTANT SEGMENTS & QUOTES

7. The Placebo Effect: Mindset and Healing

Segment: [39:36–49:20]

• Placebo (belief in treatment) produces real physiological changes—pain relief, immune response, etc.
• Dr. Crum discusses a study: Real pain medication only worked best if the patient also believed they were getting it; the belief alone (even with a placebo) produced almost the same effect as the medication.

Quote:

“The pain-relieving effect of the pill was about the same as the pain-relieving effect of the belief.” —Dr. Crum (48:47)

8. Mind AND Matter: A Combined Approach

Segment: [51:51–53:07]

• Mindset isn't a replacement for medical treatment, but a powerful addition; best results come from “mind AND matter.”

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

9. Mindset and Health: Cancer, Dieting, and Exercise

• Best mindset for serious health challenges?
  • “The best mindset to be in when you have cancer is that this is manageable… another mindset... is that their bodies are capable. Moving to adopt the mindset that cancer is manageable, their bodies are capable, is profoundly transformative.” —Dr. Crum (53:07)
• Dieting:
  • Restrictive, deprivation-based mindsets backfire by keeping the body in a state of “not enough.”
  • Practice “indulgent” mindset—allow yourself to fully enjoy healthy foods and treat meals as pleasurable, not punishment.
• Exercise & Motivation:
  • The mindset of “I’m not strong enough” or “I always fail” demotivates and weakens actual performance.
  • Replace with: “I am capable” and focus on mindset as much as behavior.

10. Demonstrations with Food, Exercise Objects, and Money

[70:39–90:40]

• Healthy Eating (Lettuce):

  • Kids’ resistance to vegetables is a mindset (e.g., healthy=boring), shaped by food marketing and family stories.
  • Strategy: Present healthy foods as indulgent—make salads vibrant, associate them with pleasure.

• Exercise (Weight Lifting):

  • Negative self-talk (“I’m weak”) sets a downward spiral; focusing on capability sets up positive patterns.

• Indulgences (Cake):

  • Deprivation and guilt create cravings and rebound eating (the “White Bear Effect”—what you resist, persists).
  • If you allow yourself to have a treat with a mindset of real enjoyment, you often end up wanting and needing less.

• Money:

  • Mindset can be “scarcity” (I never have enough) or “abundance” (I can create/make more); mindset alters stress and decision-making.

11. Step-by-Step Advice for Listeners

[91:54–94:50]

• Quick Start: Start where you are—acknowledge your problem or goal, then ask: What mindset would help me move forward?
• For stress: Remind yourself your body’s response is there to help you.
• For eating: Focus on the mindset of indulgence—enjoy the pleasure of food.
• For health challenges: Remember “this is manageable” and “my body is capable.”
• Dr. Crum: “Most importantly…there’s so much in life we can’t control, but our mindsets are something that we can.”

NOTABLE QUOTES

• “These aren’t just thoughts… there are settings in your mind that you need to know about and need to change.” —Mel Robbins (00:00)
• “You can choose to consciously change the settings of our mind. And that’s where things get really fun and empowering.” —Dr. Crum (35:18)
• “Choose wisely and know that the choices that you make interact with the world in ways that make it so.” —Dr. Crum (31:50)
• “Your mindsets don’t have to be ‘true’ for them to affect you, but you can choose ones that help you more.” —Paraphrased summary

EPISODE FLOW / TIMESTAMPS

| Timestamp | Segment Highlights | |------------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 05:38 | Introduction to Dr. Aliya Crum | | 08:23 | Mindset defined as settings in the mind | | 13:35 | The Milkshake Study | | 20:14 | Producer’s transformation of her fear of flying | | 30:06 | Four Mechanisms Mindset Affects: attention, emotion, action, body | | 33:30 | Origin, formation, and empowerment to change mindsets | | 39:36 | Placebo effect explained & powerful clinical examples | | 53:07 | Useful mindset for cancer treatment: “manageable & capable” | | 55:44 | Dr. Crum’s own struggles with food and mindset shift | | 70:39 | Practical demonstrations (lettuce, weights, cake, money) | | 91:54 | Action steps: How to start changing mindsets today | | 93:39 | Final words: reach out, share stories, “You got this” |

FINAL TAKEAWAYS

• The “settings in your mind” powerfully shape your attention, emotions, motivation, and even your body’s physiology.
• Mindsets are not immutable—awareness is the first step, and you can intentionally set and reset them for better results, health, and happiness.
• The research-backed, practical approach outlined here works not only for diet, fitness, and stress, but can help you navigate serious challenges.
• Changing your mindset is not wishful or magical thinking—it’s a skill of “mental engineering” that anyone, at any stage of life, can learn and use.

Parting words (Dr. Crum, 94:50):

“There’s so much in life that we can’t control, that we can’t change, but our mindsets are something that we can. So you got this.”

For more from Mel and Dr. Crum, share this episode with friends, and connect with Dr. Crum’s research online for further tools and stories.