MindStew is about 3 years old. But it feels time to start ‘Season 2’.
When I started MindStew my stated goal was to:
“Explore our understanding of human psychology, with an eye to improving mental health outcomes and promoting psychological wellbeing. In doing so, I hope to put important topics and perspectives on the radar of psychology, counselling & cognitive science students and inspire them to be wise and effective practitioners.”
This goal still resonates with me. But I’ve also started feeling like it is holding MindStew back.
I still think that good information can help mental health professionals (and lay people) to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes. And I’ll continue to seek and promote this information throughout my career. But at this early stage, when I’m not even a registered psychologist, I don’t want to hold myself to the goal of only publishing important and useful information.
At this stage, I think I should be exploring as I learn. Sometimes going down rabbit holes that late prove misguided. Sometimes going deep into topics that may be niche and personal curiosities. And I want to be able to do this without worrying that I’m misguiding anyone or wasting their time.
So, in ‘Season 2’, there will be a few changes:
1. I’ll be following my curiousity unapologetically.
I’ve noticed that when I do this, not only do I enjoy it most but the episodes that stand out as most curiousity driven tend to be the most popular.
2. I’ll be trying to foster more dialogue with the audience.
I’ve always found it somewhat disappointing that MindStew hasn’t initiated much conversation between me and the audience (despite having more listeners than I ever expected). After getting some advice on this, I’ve going to start an email list (which will hopefully provide a private and therefore safer communication channel).
3. I won’t be writing up full show notes
The task of full show notes adds considerably to the time it takes to produce an episode. Time that is in short supply. My sense is that my time is better spent producing more episodes.
And to mark the commencement of Season 2, here is a new MindStew logo.
