In this short, Mel Robbins (Speaker A) urges listeners to repeat the phrase "I can manage this" each night, emphasizing that people have already handled everything life has thrown at them. She cites Stanford psychologist Dr. Alia Crum (Speaker B), who explains that framing serious challenges—especially cancer—as "manageable" and believing the body is capable can dramatically improve patients' quality of life and reduce physical symptoms like nausea, fatigue, and stomach upset during chemotherapy. Crum’s research suggests these mindsets influence physiological responses, not just thoughts. Robbins then broadens the advice, encouraging anyone feeling overwhelmed—whether from a mental to‑do list or a major health issue—to acknowledge their stress, set goals, and adopt a manageable mindset as a concrete step toward coping.
Chapters
I'm here to tell you that the reason why I want you to say every night to yourself, "I can manage this," is because you've managed everything else that's ever happened in your life. That's the truth. And you need to be reminded of that truth. This also is inspired by Dr. Alia Crum at Stanford. And I wanna make sure that you hear what she shared when she was on this podcast and why saying to yourself, I can manage this. And the power of the word manageable. Here is Dr. Aaliyah Crum on the Mel Robbins Podcast.
The best mindset to be in when you have cancer is the mindset that this is manageable. Contrast that to the mindset of this is a catastrophe. It's unmanageable. Another mindset that we found is very useful for people going through cancer is the mindset that their bodies are capable. Many people who are diagnosed with cancer feel like their bodies have let them down, that their bodies have turned on them, or at, you know, at best are just sort of not working right now. And what we've found in a number of studies, including trials where we work to inspire people into different mindsets, is that moving to adopt the mindset that cancer is manageable, their bodies are capable, is profoundly transformative in shaping their whole experience. So it changes their quality of functioning in life, uh, and it also reduces physical symptoms like nausea and fatigue and upset stomach and other things when they're going through chemotherapy. So we don't know yet the results of those trials, but I would bet a lot of money that these mindsets, uh, don't just stay, you know, above the skin. They're getting down and they're influencing our body's response. I think what I would say to the person listening or watching is to start where you are, right? To start by acknowledging the problems that you're facing. Start by acknowledging the goals that you have, and then take that next step and ask yourself, what mindset could I adopt that would help me address those problems or achieve those goals.
Isn't that fascinating? And look, you may not have something scary going on like that. Maybe you just have something really overwhelming. I know that you have been in those moments in your life where you're laying in bed and you've got a mental calendar and you're thinking about, did I do this and did I do that? You don't have to do that. All you have to do is say, "Oh, okay. It's okay to feel stressed out based on everything that's going on right now. I can manage this. I can manage this."
