In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Dr. Kristina Hallett, a board‑certified clinical psychologist, executive coach, and author. Dr. Hallett shares a personal anecdote about spending 18 years avoiding a bright yellow Xterra car because of others' negative opinions, illustrating how fear of judgment can waste valuable time. She explains that stress is not inherently harmful; instead, it can boost energy, focus, and meaning when reframed as a sign of caring about something. Her core business advice is to avoid taking others' behavior personally and prioritize self‑care. For her younger self, she would stress learning to love oneself, setting limits, and silencing the internal critic. She identifies gratitude, self‑compassion, and present‑moment awareness as keys to happiness. The books that most influenced her are Joe Dispenza’s Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself and Kelly McGonigal’s The Upside of Stress, both emphasizing mindset science and perception shaping reality. Her favorite quote, from Oprah, urges people to discover what lights them up and use that light to illuminate the world. Finally, she directs listeners to her website drchristinahallett.org and her LinkedIn and Facebook profiles for further engagement.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Dr. Christina Hallett. She is a board-certified clinical psychologist and executive coach and author. Welcome to the show.
Hi, good to be with you.
Great to have you here as well, and we'll dive in. The first question I have for you today is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
You know, I have a great story. About 18 years ago, I needed a new car and I fell in love with a bright yellow Xterra. I really wanted it. And as I mentioned it to people, all of the reactions that I got were super negative. What's wrong with you? Early midlife crisis. That's ridiculous. Bad idea, etc. And I didn't get the car. I was so uncomfortable with everything that everyone said. It really had an impact on me. And that continued for 18 years. It became sort of a family thing where we'd all look around for yellow cars and play the name the car game. And I finally got to a point where I realized, because all along I knew I wasn't doing it because of other people's opinions, which was really pretty dumb. And so I finally got to the point of, hey, I want to do it, and the car was no longer available. And shortly after that I saw a different kind of bright yellow car and immediately went out and bought it and literally was shaking as I signed the papers. The moral of this whole story was that I literally wasted 18 years because I was worrying about somebody else's opinion. Now, buying a car isn't the biggest deal in the world, but to let someone else's opinions or thoughts interfere in how we live our life That's just a shame.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that is within your expertise or industry?
Stress is not all bad. There's positive benefits to stress, which include increased energy, focus and concentration, and meaning. The awareness that this is something that matters. The thing that we stress about is something that we care about. And so we need to shift our mindset.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice, so not necessarily industry-specific?
Don't take other people's behavior personally, and make sure to take the opportunity to put yourself first. Make sure you're taking care of your own needs.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I'd say learn to really like yourself and to be your own best friend. So setting limits, making time for yourself, obviously not worrying about other people's opinions, and stopping that internal critical voice.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
I would say it's gratitude, treating yourself with compassion, and living in the present moment.
And what's the best book that you've read, and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Sort of tied. Joe Dispenza's Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself. And Kelly McGonigal's The Upside of Stress. Both of them really talk about mindset and mindset science, and that how we shape our perceptions has a lot to do with what reality we experience, what actually occurs in our life. We're going to encounter stress, but how it affects us is in our hands. We can let stress get the best of us, or it can bring out the best in us.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
It's actually something from Oprah. Know what sparks the light in you, then use that light to illuminate the world. And I think that if we all do that, if we take and allow ourselves to act on the things that really light us up from the inside, we all contribute to making the world a better place.
Yes. Yes. Thank you so much for coming on. Uh, the last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
They can go to my website, drchristinahallett.org, and it's D-R-K-R-I-S-T-I-N-A-H-A-L-L-E-T-T dot org, or they can find me on LinkedIn or Facebook.
Perfect. Thank you again for joining us. We appreciate it.
Oh, my pleasure.
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