Danica Patrick ON: How To Build Happiness Habits & Healthy Rituals By Listening To Your Body, Mind, and Heart

If On Purpose inspires you, Jay’s exclusive Genius workshops and meditations will take your life to the next level. Go to https://shetty.cc/OnPurposeGenius to learn more. Life moves fast, especially when you’re used to speeds of over 200 mph! But mellow living in the slow lane requires intention. But who has the time? On this episode of On Purpose with Jay Shetty, Jay speaks with Dancia Patrick about the strategies she’s used to slow down to build an intentional life and the habits she’s implemented in her post-racing chapter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Jay Shetty?

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• 0:44Jay Shetty?

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• 1:27Jay Shetty?

  and has won more 2026 IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Awards than any other car brand as of July 2026. Visit www.iihs.org to learn more. A lot can happen when an accident doesn't. Visit MazdaUSA.com to learn more. Consumer Reports does not endorse products or services. This episode is brought to you by Vinted. Value can be found anywhere, even in the clothes sitting untouched in our closets. That's where Vinted comes in. Vinted is a secondhand marketplace app where you can sell clothes you no longer want and get more value out of them. Whether you're running out of space, moving, or simply updating your wardrobe. Listing items is a quick and simple process, and once something sells... Vinted creates a prepaid shipping label for you.

• 2:12Jay Shetty?

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• 2:44Speaker 01

  I think like everyone else, when something comes, you're like, no. And then I'm like, but what if it's better than I could ever imagine?

• 2:58Jay Shetty?

  Hey, everyone. Welcome back to On Purpose, the number one health podcast in the world. Thanks to each and every one of you that come back every week to listen, learn and grow. Now, I'm really excited about this conversation today, and I think you're going to absolutely love it because you're going to get practical advice, deep insights, and potentially even a bit of a spiritual awakening. I'm speaking today to Danica Patrick, a former race car driver and the most successful woman in the history of the sport. Since her retirement in 2018, Danica has become a business owner, entrepreneur and an inspirational speaker. She's launched her own clothing line, written a book and became an owner of a winery in Napa Valley.

• 3:39Jay Shetty?

  She's also the host of the podcast Pretty Intense, a podcast dedicated to helping people become their true best self. I had the pleasure of going on the podcast last year where we talked about my book, Think Like a Monk. And I've been looking forward to interviewing and reciprocating with Danica's love through this podcast. Danica, welcome to On Purpose.

• 3:59Speaker 01

  Oh, man, it's my honor. I mean, it's through, it's through your podcast and a few other friends, which you know well, that I've been inspired to do my own, so like-minded missions.

• 4:12Jay Shetty?

  Absolutely, absolutely. And it's, it's amazing how you can have such different journeys, but we all evolve to this similar value, similar mission, similar purpose. And I think that's what I love so much about getting to do this, is when I look at your journey. I'm like, wow, like, after your incredible success and experiences, and if this is what your journey is evolving to, you know, how lucky are we to connect that way? I wanted to start with, though, I saw a lot of posts and videos and things on your Instagram recently of you doing yoga and meditation. It's really interesting, and I know I've heard you talk about how nature's been such a big part of your spiritual journey.

• 4:54Jay Shetty?

  We hear a lot about the positives of nature, but for you specifically, how has nature been so deeply connected to your spiritual journey?

• 5:03Speaker 01

  Such a great question and so powerful. I'd just say off the bat, quite simply, with nature, I would challenge anyone to say anytime they've gone in nature that they feel worse. Like, just starting there, like, have you ever gone to the beach? Have you ever walked in the woods? Have you ever gone for just a walk outside in your neighborhood or wherever you live? And been like, man, that was terrible. I hated that. It was horrible. The trees were so ugly. I mean, you never do that. Even when you look at a dead tree, you're like, wow, it's winter. And look at that tree, doesn't even care it's dead. It's gonna come back to life. Why can't I be more like a tree? So I think that's kind of the magic of nature is that, um, I don't, I, I,

• 5:46Speaker 01

  I believe that there's more of a frequency element to it that goes a little deeper, probably more scientific, but, um, but I think it's just that, you know, I feel like we want to be like nature, subconsciously, like being able to lose our leaves and not care, being able to die and be reborn, being able to grow freely, um, finding the light. I mean, look at trees and how they, you know, managed to weave their way on up to just find a little bit of light at the top. I mean, I feel like it's a big analogy for what we're all aspiring for. Um, so I think it's a little bit more scienti- scientific and subconscious.

• 6:28Speaker 01

  Um, but then if we just look on the surface, I mean, for the most part, it's beautiful.

• 6:34Jay Shetty?

  I love those examples already. They're absolutely beautiful. And you reminded me of two things as you were saying that, uh, in the Vedas that I studied, there's a beautiful section called the 24 Gurus. And it looks at the twenty four gurus in nature. So it gives some of those examples where it looks at twenty four elements of nature, whether that's rivers, trees, animals, flowers, plants, and it shows how we can learn something from them. So you reminded me of that beautiful section. And also what you were saying scientifically, I remember reading about a term, I believe it's called biomimicry, where you basically emulate nature in your life.

• 7:15Jay Shetty?

  So what you were giving the example, an example I often give to people is like letting, and this sounds like a crazy thing, but I remember I would often, well, not often, sometimes I would see shedded snake skins when I lived in India. And it would always be like, we were told that letting go was like a skin, a snake sheds its skin, like it's not this forced, like you don't have to break yourself, you just slither out of, you know, what you don't want to be anymore. And so when you were saying that seeking the light and it brought about so many beautiful visuals. I agree with you fully. I think the challenge you set us all today is beautiful. When have you been out in nature and not valued it? And I was thinking, I was trying to think of a time and I couldn't find one,

• 7:57Jay Shetty?

  to the point that I was thinking even visualizations, when I lead visualization meditations, so many people, their most relaxing visualization is in nature. And I think that's such a beautiful message that you're sharing with all of us. We often talk about this paradox of we're moving so fast in life that we miss these beautiful things. But the truth is, no one has actually experienced what it means to go as fast as you have, or very little, I mean, behind the, behind the wheel. Like you've actually lived life in a way where you are moving, I mean, how many miles per hour are you driving? Yeah, over two hundred most all the time. Right. Okay, that just makes, yeah.

• 8:41Jay Shetty?

  Every time I think I'm cool on the highway, I'm definitely not. Like two hundred miles per hour, that is insane. And you're driving with extreme control, of course, and extreme focus. But you think about that, that life's almost like we're driving two hundred miles per hour and we miss these beautiful things. Tell me about the paradox of having lived so much with machines for so long, and now spending so much time in nature. Was that different then, or did you always value nature even then?

• 9:08Speaker 01

  If I'm being honest, it was really because of so much exploration of nature and being in it more and doing more yoga, more meditation, more connection to myself spiritually on a deeper level, that I actually started to shift, frequency-wise energetically, from the space that I was in. It no longer was really that comfortable for me anymore. And it wasn't necessarily just about driving the car. I think that's more of a dance, that's artistic. It's different than what I'm talking about, but unfortunately it came in the package, which was, I just like, I stopped resonating with these sort of moods that I was experiencing

• 9:53Speaker 01

  around me. And then just the vibe, the sort of vibe that everyone had, there was like a cutthroat angry nature. Just through a rise in my own frequency of being in nature and doing more things that are in that sort of realm, I just wasn't as happy anymore. And so, I didn't, in that last season of my career, I really like to call it like I let it go. I was open to continuing on if something made sense and happened, but I wasn't forcing it and I wasn't running from it. I was just sort of in the middle, in that neutral ground of allowing. And when it didn't come through, I let it go. And

• 10:36Speaker 01

  I just thought, it's not for me anymore. So, yeah, nature was a real powerful thing.

• 10:42Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, that's amazing. I want to come back to letting it go. But let's dive into what you said there. You're talking about this spiritual journey and the depth. We hear that a lot for a lot of people, and I love asking people to define their own spiritual journey, because I think it's so personal and so unique. And there are the practices, which I want to dive into, of yoga and meditation. But for you, as a philosophy of your spiritual journey, like, what does that mean to you? How do you define that transition and that focus in your life?

• 11:14Speaker 01

  I feel like spirituality is one of those things in my life that I have actually not set a destination on. Almost everything in my life, I'm destination oriented. This is how it's gonna turn out. This is where I'm gonna live. This will be my life. This is my goal. It will do this. This is the success of it. This is what will mean success. And in my spiritual journey, it's literally like, next step, next step, next step. So in this quest of being, I've never really unpacked this verbally like this. So it's a great question. Of being present, I'm actually present with being present. If that makes sense.

• 11:55Speaker 01

  Like, I'm allowing myself to just take next steps as they come and as they feel right. And not necessarily thinking about where I wanna end up. Which is kind of surprising for me, actually.

• 12:13Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, no, and it's often what deters people from spirituality because it's so much of a revelatory journey. I know that when we were trained in the ashram, it was always said that a spiritual journey is one that is received, not achieved. Like, we'd always hear that constantly to help us move away from that achievement mentality that we could do something.

• 12:39Speaker 01

  What does that mean? Received, not achieved. What does that mean? Explain that.

• 12:43Jay Shetty?

  What it means is that the spiritual journey is revealed to you. It's not something that you can say, "I've got it now, and I've bottled it up, and here it is. Look at my medal, look at my trophy of, I meditated for 18 hours today, look how great I am." It was, it had to be revealed to you, the answer, the next step. And kind of what you're saying now, that when you're present with your step, it's revealed, the next step is revealed to you. If that makes sense.

• 13:08Speaker 01

  Yeah, that makes sense. Wow. Cool.

• 13:12Jay Shetty?

  No, you made me think of it in what you were saying, of the idea of, if you are truly present...

• 13:19Jay Shetty?

  It's almost like, I mean, you're making me think about just ways of understanding it and explaining it. But it's almost like if you're trying to get across a river and there's lots of stones everywhere. It's like if you're present on this stone, you can then see the next one and, you know, where you want to jump to next. But if you're constantly looking at the other side, you may just fall into the river, right?

• 13:39Speaker 01

  I think about too, there's another analogy where you're driving, let's say you're driving from one coast to the next. You can't see the other coast. You just follow those headlights, right? You're just following the headlights. I mean, obviously it's daytime sometimes, but you're following the headlights essentially like showing you, you know, the next mile or the next half a mile or whatever. And it's not that you can see it, but you just keep following the lights, following the road.

• 14:07Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, that makes so much sense. That's a really good one. I really like that analogy. And how do you get comfortable with that uncertainty? Like, how do you get comfortable with really truly being present? Because like you said, in all areas of our life, we're all need the goal. We need to see the end. We need, and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. But how do you get comfortable in that discomfort and that uncertainty and that lack of surety of where this is going?

• 14:34Speaker 01

  I guess it's because, you know, I feel like this is an Abraham Hicks line, like, you can't get it wrong and you're never done. Like, I guess there's a thought in my head where I feel like I'm never going to know the answers to the universe anyway. So like, I don't even, it would be that, that would be my answer if I had to set a destination would be like, oh, I'll, I'll know everything there is to know. Like, I'll know everything there is to know about the nature of reality, which relates to me as a human. But I know that we won't get to know, like, until we die. So I guess I don't even know what destination to set because I'm so used to setting the furthest one. So I guess since I don't even know what to set, I just keep taking the next step.

• 15:17Speaker 01

  Maybe, maybe I need to use that in my professional and personal life too. Like, I don't, how much better could it get? Let's see, you know?

• 15:26Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, I think what you said was really interesting is you talked about how when the frequency of what you were experiencing in your career was no longer matching the frequency you were spiritually experiencing, that's when you kind of were able to let go. What do you think about for people who are almost maybe in a toxic work atmosphere? Or in a space where their career, where they don't have the opportunity, they haven't achieved that level of success where they now can move on or try something new? How have you thought about, and I'm sure you had to do this too, it's never perfect for anyone, it's like, how did you deal with the toxicity or the negativity while you had to, before you could move on and let go?

• 16:10Jay Shetty?

  Because I think that's where most of us spend our lives, like, most of us spend our lives where you have this energy and frequency around you and you somehow have to continue on every day, you have to wake up and go to work and switch on your Zoom call? I'm just thinking about the people in our audience and I'm sure you had that, you know, that bridge period.

• 16:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, and this is so relatable and applicable and useful. And I'd say, the first thing that I think about, like, for myself, I'm a dreamer, so for me, this is easy, this is natural, it's natural for me to think, what's next? Because again, I'm a future caster forward thinker, right? So, I would say that it's thinking about what it is that you actually want for your life. I feel like I should go backwards and say, if this is your situation, you get so uncomfortable, you really don't want to be there anyway, and so you by nature might even start to be seeking out other ways to exist, other ways to make money, whatever, whatever it's

• 17:14Speaker 01

  going to take for you to get out of your situation. But, but I would say like a tangible thing that you could do would be to just start, instead of focusing, again, back to perception, because perception's reality, if we stop, if you would stop, if I stop, you stop, we stop, thinking about the aspects about what we're doing that we don't like, by nature then getting more of it? And we start thinking about what it is that we want, and envisioning that, dreaming about that, embodying that, visualizing yourself in that life.

• 17:50Speaker 01

  I trust the universe enough to know that I can't help but get it.

• 17:54Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, I can relate to that advice. I think that's good advice. It's hard when you're in the moment, but it's good advice because I remember spending a few years in the corporate world in between monk life and what I do now. And it's like, I didn't really fit in, or I didn't necessarily love everything I had to do every day, but I was able to use the parts of that job that did make me feel alive and just amplify them as much as I could. And I was like, oh, I'm learning about technology, and I'm learning about this, and I'm learning about connecting with people, and whatever it was. And it was just, when you put your vision and your perception onto those things,

• 18:36Jay Shetty?

  all of a sudden, even something really meaningless can start to feel meaningful because you've started to notice the meaning in it. And I think we just live in a world where we think of it as like, this is meaningless, and this is meaningful. But even, I'm sure you could say this, that even on this side of doing things that are more spiritual, or meaningful, or fulfilling, there's still plenty parts of our lives that we have to do stuff we don't love.

• 19:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, absolutely. And it makes me think of too, you know, it's another thing. Abraham, I listen to a lot of Abraham too. But another thing that comes to mind is contrast. And how grateful we should be for contrast, because it's in the contrast that it shows us, when it shows us what we don't want, we know what we do want. And so, you know, just because something, and it also allows you an opportunity to shift your mindset to gratitude and go, this isn't fun, but I'm so glad I get to go on this vacation. Or whatever it is that comes as a result of it, because to think, like you said, that life is just, you know, this easy breezy flowing

• 19:41Speaker 01

  extension of vacation after vacation, after joyful experience, after joyful experience, like, it's not realistic. And sometimes we have to do things that we don't really want to do, but when we focus on why we're doing it, it gives it more meaning.

• 19:58Jay Shetty?

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• 20:30Jay Shetty?

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• 21:13Jay Shetty?

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• 21:53Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, absolutely. Tell us a bit about that practical daily spiritual journey that you're on. You mentioned yoga and meditation. We've seen on Instagram. Tell us about that morning routine of yours or your daily routine that's giving you that trust, that confidence, because I often feel like that trust, as you said, trusting the universe, that trust doesn't come from just a feeling or a belief. It comes from a set of practices in my experience of when you know you're doing something, to have that relationship of trust, because it's a relationship and a relationship requires investment. So what are some of the investments you're making every morning, every day, that you feel like giving you that sense of, some sense of structure and growth?

• 22:39Speaker 01

  Well, you have to find a way to get sort of quiet enough, present enough to notice the signs and synchronicities and feelings of not only yourself, but other people in your environment to navigate accurately where you're going, I think. To get more out of the head and into the body of truly what's sort of like the universe guiding you through messages, through those people or synchronicities. But I would say one of my first practices of, first morning practices I changed,

• 23:19Speaker 01

  this was, this was, I think, fall of 18. So it was a long time ago. I stopped watching the news. And I think that was one of the first most productive things. So it wasn't something I actually did. It was something that I didn't do anymore. So I used to wake up in the morning and I'd watch like Good Morning America or, you know, CNN or Today Show or whatever I'd watch. I just, that was my comfort zone. It was like a familiar pattern, familiar sound in the morning. And I'd just drink my coffee and make my breakfast. And then as soon as I stopped doing that, and this is something that everyone should know, is that anytime you want to change a pattern, There will always be discomfort.

• 24:03Speaker 01

  So I remember like, and it's not to like revert back because that's the easy thing to do. But it's to try and figure out something to do, like maybe it triggers something else that you do. So what I started doing is I started watching YouTube videos and like watching you on YouTube or watching our buddy Louis on YouTube or Abraham Hicks on YouTube or whatever it was. I'd start watching YouTube videos and um, and that was what really kind of like gave me a new morning routine. In fact, I think I just posted about it the other day. It was like, so this is my morning news and it was like breakfast with like a teal swan video or something. And so that's, that's like, that became the norm years ago.

• 24:47Jay Shetty?

  I love that. That is such a big one. I love that. That's so awesome. Like choose your news, like, you know, like choose your news rather than, uh, like you said, you had to disrupt that pattern. And, and that's the hardest thing to do. And you're so right. The morning pattern and the morning mood is, is everything, like it's everything. And I think we, we just start in the negatives and then spend the whole day trying to climb up to the positive as opposed to like starting in a strong place and then kind of being broken down throughout the day, which is, which is better than feeling like you're trying to play catch up all day.

• 25:26Speaker 01

  It's like, it's like school, you know? When you start off with an F, you might still end up with a B at the end of it. But that first quarter, all you're doing is playing catch up and you feel like you're never going to get there. But you start off with an A and you end up with, you know, I mean, it just seems so much easier to keep your grades up like when, and trust me, I'm really scrapping for history here because I haven't been in school since I was 16. But you know, it's, it's like that whole thing of just playing catch up or, or for me in my racing career, it was, it felt like if you could start off in the championship in a really strong way in the first sort of five races or so, it felt like you were always ahead of the game instead of playing catch up from a couple of DNFs to start the season off. So, um, it's the same thing, you know, micro macro with your day itself and the 24 hours that you have.

• 26:10Speaker 01

  So now I'd say in the last like sort of eight months, I've become much more regular with the routine of waking up in the morning and, um, rolling over. And it started when I lived in Indiana for the summer with my parents. And I have meditation pillows and so I just like threw it down on the ground and it it wasn't a big bedroom I was staying in and so there wasn't a lot of space so I just threw it next to the bed and I ended up realizing, oh, that's perfect. Like, you get up and you just go sit down. Like, that's the right spot to put it. So then when I moved back to Arizona and, you know, got my house and filled my, you know, my meditation spot up, like, it was,

• 26:51Speaker 01

  it's just right next to the bed. And so I get up and I sit down and I meditate and then sometimes I journal, sometimes I pull cards, like, I burn things, whether it be Palo Santo or certain incense. As we talked about in our interview, like, what was it? Sound, sight, set it, what was it again? Sight, sense and sounds. Yes, yes. So, setting that up. And, and then sometimes, like, you know, this morning I did yoga afterwards, but sometimes it's just going to the kitchen and having coffee. I really, I, for a little while, I was going to the kitchen and having coffee and then coming back and I'm like, no, no, no, no. I took like the body under control and I went, I

• 27:34Speaker 01

  know you want to automatically walk to that kitchen and get the coffee that you want to have, but like, take control of that and say, I am in, it is my decision what I do with the body and it's going to sit down and it's going to meditate now. The one thing that I'm trying to do, and this is like, I was just thinking about this the other day, and it's funny, I was about to go to bed and I was starting to do what I wanted to do and I was like, wait a second. My mom hasn't texted me back today and I left her a pretty good message, like, I thought she would have responded. I better not. This is what I want to do. Turn my, either leave my phone in the kitchen so that I don't go to bed and wake up looking at messages. For some reason, I have a default to like, look at my messages,

• 28:19Speaker 01

  like, first thing. And it's my alarm, if I need an alarm. So I'm like, I need to get one of those old school clocks. And I need to leave my phone in the kitchen. Or, because I also think of EMF, like radiation, like signals. So I think, so then I'm, at a minimum, I could at least turn my phone on, you know, off of wifi and onto airplane mode next to me. And then not, so I won't actually have, nothing will have come through in the night anyway. And then, once I'm ready, I can still use it as an alarm. But then when I'm ready, I can turn on all my systems and go. But that's what I need to do next. But it was like the other night, like, the ego was like, your mom might not be okay. And I didn't do it.

• 29:03Jay Shetty?

  I remember when I first trained myself to not look at my phone first in the morning, I used to lock my devices in my car outside. So I would lock my laptop, my phone, like all my devices outdoors, so that I couldn't even like get up and go and grab it from the other room, because I knew that it was too hard. Because, you're right, it was so hardwired. And I started waking up to a Post-it note that says, I am awareness, or I am the soul, or some sort of spiritual affirmation that resonates with me. And it would be in my handwriting, it's on a little Post-it note, it's next to my desk. And then now I've started to change that sometimes for a little quote that I read in the morning, or there's like just a highlighted line in a book.

• 29:46Jay Shetty?

  And I feel like when you start off that way, you stop your mind starting with anxieties. Like, I get anxious, I get worried, I, you know, I can wake up feeling, you know, misaligned. And that changes as soon as the first thought you consume from the external world is a thought that is aligned, and a thought that is powerful. And whether it's from someone's favorite book, or even from someone's favorite podcast. And I love that idea that you're sharing on helping yourself to stop, you know, to stop looking at your phone first in the morning. And I love the idea of the meditation pillow, right there. I think that's brilliant. It's a visual reminder, and I think we need these visual triggers and reminders

• 30:30Jay Shetty?

  to not have to make every decision in our head.

• 30:33Speaker 01

  Hmm, make it as easy as we can make it, right?

• 30:36Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 30:36Speaker 01

  Not put it in another room where you're like, oh, I haven't been in my meditation room in a while. Like it's it's that whole, it's definitely, it's like as every time I walk by to go to my bed, I have to walk by my table and walk by, walk by the pillow, walk by my rug, walk by everything. I've put a lot of intention into setting up so that the space is ready. Um, and to make it beautiful too, I'd say that too, like, you know, if you wanna create a practice, like, why wouldn't you decorate it? Why wouldn't you make it beautiful? Why wouldn't you make it inviting? Why wouldn't you put a beautiful rug down? Why wouldn't you have a pillow? You know, it doesn't have to be like something um that you have to endure.

• 31:20Speaker 01

  Like enjoy it. I, um, my, my ta- my meditation table, my altar has pictures of my family, pictures of my dogs. It has um, you know, crystals and certain significant things that I've picked up along the way. It has a mala that I do mantras to, or it has a pendulum that I'll ask questions to. It has decks of cards that I can pull from. It has books, it has journals. Like, it's beautiful.

• 31:48Jay Shetty?

  This episode is brought to you by State Farm. We talk a lot about intentional decision making, and that extends to the practical stuff too, like making sure your coverage actually works for your life. State Farm is there to meet you where you are, and they know how sweet it is to feel good about your decisions. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with a personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state. This episode is brought to you by Whole Foods Market. If you're talking about quality food,

• 32:28Jay Shetty?

  you can't forget Whole Foods Market, who've been holding themselves to the highest standards since they opened in nineteen eighty. That means you'll see thousands of organic products across their stores, from the produce department to the aisles. It also means you'll never see certain ingredients. They've banned artificial sweeteners and colours, high fructose corn syrup and more, so you can shop with peace of mind. Shop Whole Foods Market in-store or online. This episode is brought to you by Wayfair. Home should be a place that feels like a sanctuary, a space that truly reflects who you are. But it can be challenging to balance style, budget and endless options. I was looking to create a dedicated calm space for my morning meditation and reading,

• 33:12Jay Shetty?

  but I was struggling to find pieces that felt grounding but could also stand up to daily use. I went on Wayfair and found a beautiful, solid wood accent chair and a bookshelf. Now that corner is my favourite place to anchor my day. The quality is incredible, it's built to last, and it completely shifted the energy of the room. Plus, you can shop with Wayfair Verified, where product specialists carefully vet items for quality and functionality, so you can shop with more confidence. And if putting it all together sounds like a headache, Wayfair can handle delivery, installation and assembly. Join Wayfair Rewards today to get 5% back on every purchase and start saving on your next home upgrade. Head to wayfair.com to shop all things home. That's W A Y F A I R dot com.

• 33:57Jay Shetty?

  Wayfair, every style, every home. Yeah, oh, I love that. I had no idea. I love hearing about your altar. That's beautiful. It sounded, I'm going to backtrack a little. You reminded me, when you were saying you're walking past the pillow, it reminded me of like a mindful walk of shame. It's like, you're walking past this, this beautiful space to be mindful and you like feel the positive guilt of, I should use this space. Oh, now I want to talk about your altar. That sounds so amazing. I think the idea of having an altar... So I grew up with an altar in my home and, you know, my parents grew up Hindu. And so having an altar has been a very normal part of my life and having deities and having

• 34:38Jay Shetty?

  crystals and mahles and everything you were saying like and books, very, very normal in my house. And then even now, my wife and I have our altar in our home here. And we've placed our altar in our meditation space as the heart of our house. So whenever anyone comes to our home, it's the first place you see, everyone walks through it. It's, it's the first place I see after I wake up and come upstairs. I love the idea of setting up an altar. If someone doesn't know what that is, or if someone's more new to that concept, why has it been helpful and how did you even discover that? Was that common in your home or background or something you were aware of?

• 35:14Speaker 01

  No, this actually started back in North Carolina when I lived there. I lived there for five years. And for a while I was picking up things at antique stores. And it was like this old little cart thing. And then it just sort of like migrated into being a meditation table. And I had, you know, my eye pillow, I had like lavender spray and I had all kinds of little things on this table. And I was like, wow. And back in those days, if I would be sitting there meditating, I would have been called weird. So I didn't do it as much. But I had like a meditation table and I would do it sometimes when I was alone. But it was also originally really just a place to put a lot of really meaningful

• 35:59Speaker 01

  things to me. And I think if I'm pulling from like, you know, where I grew up and culture, it's like, almost feels blasphemous to say you have an altar.

• 36:08Jay Shetty?

  Right, yeah. That, yeah, I was wondering if that was the case.

• 36:11Speaker 01

  Yeah. And I, and since I, I didn't grow up in church, I didn't, in fact, my mom said not long, like a year or so ago, she was like, I'm sorry, I didn't take you guys to church. I'm like, that's okay. And not because there's anything wrong with it, just because it kept my scope really open. And also I don't have those really negative attachments of sort of it being blasphemous or wrong. And it's the intention that matters. That's what I focus on. So this intention of a of a space that's really dedicated to to loving not only myself, but loving people in my life. So that's kind of how it started. But I would guess that's what holds a lot of people back from creating what they would call an altar. You probably even heard me call it like a meditation

• 36:56Speaker 01

  table or just because it's it's lingo that's not

• 37:00Jay Shetty?

  Yes.

• 37:01Speaker 01

  It's just like a little more, a little more inappropriate.

• 37:05Jay Shetty?

  I do the same. I can relate to that. I do the same all the time. I'll say my meditation space or whatever. And it's, yeah, it's just because you you don't want to you don't want to alienate.

• 37:15Speaker 01

  What is the definition of altar?

• 37:17Jay Shetty?

  I don't know about the English dictionary definition, but I know about the definition of from a spiritual Vedic place, it would be that this is considered the the temple within your home. So and what is a temple? A temple is a place that reminds you of your eternal connection with higher energy, the divine, the source. So a place that is of spiritual memory would be considered the definition of, you know, having a temple in your home, a place that reminds you of who you are, what you believe in, and what you really care about.

• 37:52Speaker 01

  I went to I've gone to all kinds of churches in my life. I became a Catholic at one point in my life and went to that church. And then I went to Baptist church and then I didn't go to any church and I started off going to no church. But I remember what I always used to be able to say, I could be just as spiritual, just as religious at home. And it doesn't take this building to make it happen. And in fact, if I don't show up here and get a message, what's the point? That's blasphemous, right? So, yeah, I encourage everyone to have their own altar. Like, it helps kind of add to this sort of idea of like, make the space beautiful. If you had a spot that was filled with things that made

• 38:36Speaker 01

  you smile, wouldn't you want to go there?

• 38:39Jay Shetty?

  Exactly, and we don't have that. We don't have that. I think that's a great, great tip and great insight. And I don't think we've ever shared that message on the podcast before. I think it's a really, really great idea. And I loved how you described it there, a place that makes you smile. Danica, in your career, though, it's obviously you've had to be an extremely disciplined, focused individual to achieve what you've achieved. It doesn't come through anything but that hard work. Tell us about the idea of building a habit, because you had to build habits to become a successful race car driver. You've now built different habits to focus on your spiritual journey. If someone's listening and watching and going, how do I build better habits? Like, I just, I can't get myself, even if I built

• 39:24Jay Shetty?

  this beautiful decorated room and I put the pillow down, but I just walk past it. And now I feel guilty that I don't meditate. And I keep hearing everyone tells me to do yoga and Pilates and meditation. But I, you know, and some, and I'm sure you meet people who say this to you all the time, like, where does someone start with habit formation from your experience of building habits?

• 39:45Speaker 01

  Well, first off, I think it's very difficult to just say, everyone should XYZ, because it might not really be for you. I think there are so many different mindful modalities of life. And I know that I don't do all of them. I do some of them. So I think the important part is figuring out which of those some really are for you and easy for you. Like, it doesn't have to be hard. You know, maybe for someone, it's getting up in the morning and writing five things that they're really grateful for. And that feels easy for them. It's not something I do. But that is a practice of mindfulness,

• 40:25Speaker 01

  of gratitude, of spirituality, of getting in the right mindset. So for me, I think that it's more a matter of like, testing the waters of a bunch of different things that you could do that make you feel good. And, and so that's really just comes through testing. It just comes through testing. Some people You know, some people are gonna love meditation. Some people are gonna really love yoga. Some people are really gonna love a walk with their dog. Some people, there's so many different ways to connect with yourself, to create practices and habits. And so I guess maybe not thinking about, and not thinking about habits as being like, oh, these are the ones that you have to subscribe to.

• 41:10Speaker 01

  Go with the ones that feel natural to you. Like, go with the ones that feel good. Like, I love to work out. Guess what? It's a habit, you know? If I hated to work out, I'd probably try and choose a different sort of form of moving my body other than going in a gym and throwing some weights around. So, and I think, I think it's really about following what it is that it feels like is natural for you. And then it always ends up at a deeper level. I mean, we treat others as we treat ourselves. So if you feel like you're worth the time to have a habit, like, then you tend to respect others that do too. So it always just starts with yourself. It starts with the self-worth enough

• 41:52Speaker 01

  that you deserve the time to take an hour to go work out or take a half an hour to go meditate or take an hour and a half to go to a yoga class. Like, it starts with believing that you deserve it. And then also, your why. Like, why are you doing it? Are you doing it because you have to? Are you doing it because you are being guilted? Are you doing it because someone told you this is what's gonna be good for you? Are you doing it because you wanna feel good?

• 42:20Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 42:20Speaker 01

  Are you doing it because it does feel good? Are you doing it because you enjoy the place that you arrive at when you're done doing it? Find your why.

• 42:32Jay Shetty?

  I think that was a great piece of advice. I, I've been going on about this on the podcast, but it's, it's been real for me. And it's, what you're saying definitely aligns. So I've never enjoyed. Going to the gym or working out, but I've always enjoyed sports. So I love sports, extremely athletic, enjoy competition, like fun competition and back and forth. And during the pandemic, and since I've really moved to the US, I used to play football, soccer, twice, thrice a week in London, because all my friends play and that's where I grew up. And we'd play after work in the evenings. And then when I moved to the United States, for the first two years, I lived in New York and I was very busy with my career and didn't really make that much time for it.

• 43:14Jay Shetty?

  And then when I moved to LA, I realized that getting 22 people to play a game of football was pretty difficult any weekend, like that's pretty tough to do. And I recently took up tennis and I'm not good at tennis. I haven't played tennis historically, but I'm absolutely in love with it because it's playful. It's fun. I run and sweat more than I ever would if I went to the gym and I was on a treadmill. And I feel like I start my day just with this like childlike enthusiasm because it reminds me of being at school or, you know, that kind of feeling of like, I just played a game of tennis at the beginning of the day. And, and I do that every, I do that about three, four mornings a week now. And not only am I getting better at tennis, but the idea of what you're saying of like,

• 43:59Jay Shetty?

  you've got to have fun with it. And my why for exercising has always been to stay healthy and to never let my bad health be my own cause. Like, that's always been a very clear thing for me. It's like, if something's gonna happen to me, if it comes from the outside, that's fine. I don't want to be the one creating it for myself because of my negligence or whatever it may be. And, you know, but the why for me of going to the gym or like that feeling just never worked for me because I've never really been into like, oh, look at my muscles or this. That's not been my why. But for me, the idea of feeling happy every morning, like you said, feeling good. You know, it's a huge one. So yeah, I encourage everyone because for ages I didn't feel like I enjoyed working out. I kept questioning like what I was gonna do to stay fit.

• 44:42Jay Shetty?

  And then when you find it, it's like, oh, this is so obvious. But it's, it's been life changing.

• 44:48Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's so important. It's and there's so much, there's, look, there's something for everybody out there. So just because you don't fit into one box that somebody's talking about doesn't mean that you can't do it, you know?

• 45:01Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, yeah. I heard you say something on a podcast with our good mutual friend Rachel Hollis, I believe. And, and you, and it really stuck with me. I think it's a really powerful statement. And, and it's, it's not counterintuitive to what we said. It's, it's complimentary, but it's also exposing a different truth. And you said that I've never experienced growth without pain. And, and you know, and, and I think that that's so true as well, that, that, you know, we don't always experience that. Tell me about where in your life have you felt that that's just been so true? And, and something where you've got more used to that as well?

• 45:40Speaker 01

  Hmm. I mean, it's happened a lot, especially in the last four or five years. And it comes in the form of jobs changing, relationships changing, friends changing. It can, it's the whole, your new life's going to cost your old one thing. It's, it's, and that's hard. We're not, I don't think we're actually all that sad about where we're going because the idea is that you're improving and you're expanding. But there is an aspect of you that has to let something else die. And deaths are always sad. So the some, the idea that

• 46:23Speaker 01

  you'll never see someone again, you know, never live here again, never go to this job again, never park in that spot again. There's the, the nevers are the things that have to, we have to sort of die to that and die to the dream. It's when that has to go away that you have to allow that. That dream to die, and I think that's also a really painful thing. However, you know, on the other side of it, you know, and this is why when big things happen and the growing pains happen, you come out the other side and you're like, oh, that wasn't that bad. Like, you know, you, because you're ending up somewhere better ideally.

• 47:05Speaker 01

  Um, so I, I guess for me, it's come in the form of true emotional breakdowns. Like, I mean, just like where I like get it resonating in my body. I can feel it. I can feel it. And like, I always get a lot of action in my solar plexus, um, sometimes in my heart, but definitely my solar plexus. Sometimes I, I have this horrible thing where, um, uh, I feel it in my body before I know it in my mind. So that's a real bummer. Um, so I'm like, wait, what's going on with my, why don't I feel, why can't I, I, I ate a strawberry and I feel like I'm gonna buckle over. That's not right. Like, you know, my body's like,

• 47:44Speaker 01

  and then, you know, it's, it's sort of followed, you know, within the next days by something that is emotional and a breakdown of some sort. And all of a sudden, there's usually like a big flood of information that comes through. Um, but yeah, it's, it's, it's that pain, or even on a smaller level, explaining me not watching the news anymore. Right? So I wake up in the morning and it's wild. It's not maybe painful and I don't have some sort of physical reaction going on, but I kind of have a little bit of a mental one or, you know, a little bit of an emotional one where I'm thinking, well, I want to watch TV. And it's like, no, this shift is going to be uncomfortable. And, um, so it falls,

• 48:27Speaker 01

  it's a scale, you know, there's, you know, it's, it's happened in all facets of my life. And, uh, you know, I also describe it like, you know, with, with messages that come through to us as the universe comes knocking for what is it, what we resist persists. So, you know, it's like, it's knocking on the door and then it's like pounding on the door and then it breaks the door down and then it comes in, it can't find you and it burns your house down because you're somewhere in there. And that shadow is hiding somewhere.

• 48:58Jay Shetty?

  I've experienced that. I know what that feels like. Yeah, definitely. Where have you become more comfortable with letting go? Like, I loved what you explained about the, "I won't be able to park at that spot again, or go to that job again, or I won't see that person again." Like, I think that was such a... When you were repeating those things, I was like, "Yeah, those are the things we really worry about." Like, that's what we're holding on to. It's that repetition, it's that security, it's that comfort, it's that consistency. That's what you're losing. How have you become better, if you have? Or how have you become better at processing letting any of those things go? In a way that you think our listeners could today, maybe learn, apply, take a few of those things?

• 49:42Jay Shetty?

  Because I think, I mean, letting go is probably the hardest human emotion of anything, right? Of any of the things you have to let go, because we get so intimately connected with something.

• 49:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 49:59Speaker 01

  It's the familiarity of the discomfort. And this is where you start to learn that all these silly sayings are true. It's like finding comfort in the discomfort. And the comfort is just really just familiarity. You're like, "Oh, got it. I've been here before. I know how this goes." And you can sort of lessen the blow by surrendering a little bit more to it. Because it's in the resisting and the gripping that your house has to get burned down. So just don't let it get to that point where you can just go, "Okay, not for me." And that comes with, like, going all the way back to the beginning of the conversation

• 50:37Speaker 01

  about getting quiet enough that you can start to feel and notice the signs and synchronicities and like the doors that are opening and closing for you, instead of being so like attached to this idea of how things are supposed to go.

• 50:57Speaker 01

  I also think I have a little bit of an easier time because I'm... I'm a future thinker instead of a past thinker, so I think it is burdened on those who are really like, uh, symptoms of that would be someone who's like really nostalgic, um, someone who has a hard time forgiving. But if you keep thinking thoughts of the past, they start be, they, they can only be created in the future. And so, you know, you've got to, you've just got to learn to let go of them. I mean, look, a future caster has their own issues to deal with, destination syndrome. But, um, I think like everyone else, when something comes, you're like, no. And then I'm like, but what if it's better than I could ever imagine?

• 51:35Jay Shetty?

  Yes.

• 51:36Speaker 01

  And I like trick myself into thinking like, but what if it's gonna be better? And the idea is that it should be.

• 51:42Jay Shetty?

  Yes.

• 51:43Speaker 01

  Let the universe show you. You've got to make space in your world. You've got to make space in your, in your emotions and your perception, because your perception becomes reality. So, you know, there's a whole letting go. It's like, when I retired, I looked at it like a letting go, not quitting. And so learn the difference between letting go and quitting. Because

• 52:03Jay Shetty?

  Wow.

• 52:03Speaker 01

  there's a really, it's a nuanced difference. And to me, it came at the end of my career. That's what I had to realize was that, you know, I'd never had a problem with a sponsor before and they, they left at the beginning of the year. I had all these other projects going on that I had never had going on, all these other businesses starting. Um, the sponsor wasn't coming along. And so I'm looking at like, all these things are happening and I'm, I'm like, you know what? And I'm not that happy when I go to the track. And I'm like, mm, mm, I'm gonna look at all these signs and signs and synchronicities and symptoms. And, um, and just, um, this is letting go. This is not for me anymore. But we become so identified, you know, of course, like we become, and that's why it's so important

• 52:48Speaker 01

  to, uh, nurture other aspects of yourself, diversify. It's like a portfolio for anyone who invests or has an investor, you know, look at yourself like a portfolio. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Don't be all in, all in stocks and not in bonds or whatever, whatever your financial advisor does. It's all about like diversifying so that you have stability because then no matter what happens, one aspect drops out and you have other to support, others to support you.

• 53:17Jay Shetty?

  Great insight. I absolutely couldn't agree more with you on that. I think the idea of creating space to really let go and to realize that you can't change the direction you want to go in if you are still holding on tight to something that's being taken away from your grasp anyway. And often that's what creates more friction and more tension is when you're desperately holding on to something that doesn't exist anymore.

• 53:45Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 53:46Jay Shetty?

  And you're so right about it being, we always, we always ask the question like, what if something goes bad? And like your idea of like, well, what if there is an opportunity here for the best thing ever? So, I mean, this has been amazing, Danica. I've been so grateful for your time. We end every On Purpose episode with the final five. So this is one word or one sentence maximum. So this is your final five, Danica. Are you ready?

• 54:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:12Jay Shetty?

  Okay. So the first question is, what's the best advice you've ever received?

• 54:18Speaker 01

  Have fun.

• 54:20Jay Shetty?

  Ah, nice. Okay. What's one piece of advice you wish people would stop giving?

• 54:27Speaker 01

  I'm so guilty of it. Opinions. You should wait for someone to ask for them. I'm literally practicing this in my life. I'm like, only an opinion when someone asks for it.

• 54:38Jay Shetty?

  I couldn't agree more. All right, question number three. What's the biggest lesson you learned in the last 12 months?

• 54:44Speaker 01

  That I was supposed to be choosing myself all along. Like, my relationships were all about like, this is how it's gonna go and they're not choosing me. And then I'm like, oh, God, that's because I was supposed to be choosing myself. Thanks, Mirror. Thanks, great big Mirror. Love you. Hate you. Love you.

• 55:04Speaker 01

  So, yeah, it's like when we, when we treat ourselves a certain way, that's how we teach others to treat us. And so, you know, I, I didn't choose myself all the time and didn't prioritize myself enough in certain aspects. So, um, yeah, that's, that was the last, that was the lesson.

• 55:25Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. What's a, what's a skill or a habit or a mindset that you've learned now that you think would have helped you as a race car driver?

• 55:36Speaker 01

  More telepathy.

• 55:41Speaker 01

  You know, I think that I probably still didn't visualize enough. Visualization is so helpful. I mean, shoot, they've proven that you can literally increase your muscle mass with your mind.

• 55:58Jay Shetty?

  Yep.

• 55:58Speaker 01

  So I guess I would have done more visualization. I remember doing it when I was a kid in go-karting and I did it. Like I'd visualize a perfect lap before qualifying. But I'm saying like, you know, I did, like I said, in go-karting, I'm sitting there like, I don't even know what this is, but I'm like visualizing my perfect lap, executing it. But there's always more of that, right? If a little is good, a lot is better.

• 56:20Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, absolutely.

• 56:21Speaker 01

  So I could have visualized more perfect passing, more perfect laps, more perfect finishes, visualizing myself winning. I think I could have done more.

• 56:29Jay Shetty?

  I love that. That's great advice. Thank you for that. And fifth and final question, if you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?

• 56:40Speaker 01

  I say this hesitantly. It's because I think that it always comes out anyway. And if it was already put out on the front end, it would reduce a lot of confusion. However, hmm, it would be a different world, but it's something I seek every day. And that's just truth. I'm such a truth seeker and I feel like it always comes out anyway. And if you can't understand what's going on, it's because you don't have enough information because there's not enough truth included. And so I think that I just would say that everyone would have to be truthful. I mean, I'd also like to caveat that with kindness, but you know, sometimes the truth hurts too.

• 57:24Jay Shetty?

  That's great. Thank you so much, Danica. That's been an amazing time spending with you. Everyone, go and subscribe to Danica's podcast, Pretty Intense. And you can order a book by the same title. And Danica, again, thank you so much for being so generous with your time and energy with us. And I can't believe we still haven't met.

• 57:42Speaker 01

  I know.

• 57:42Jay Shetty?

  So I'm looking forward to that day when we can be in. In the same room together and share some energy and share more of these great insights. So I really, really look forward to that.

• 57:51Speaker 01

  I would just love that. I'm so, it makes me sad that we couldn't do this in person. But I, I know that day will come and it might not be in the form of podcasts. And maybe that's the luck is that maybe if we just let go of this idea that it was supposed to happen for the interview and now we get to go like have lunch or dinner. I meet your wife and maybe, maybe, maybe it's going to come in a whole different, more expansive form.

• 58:16Jay Shetty?

  Well, no, awesome, Danica. Thank you so much again. This was so much fun.

• 58:19Speaker 01

  Thanks, Jay.

• 58:20Jay Shetty?

  And I look forward to seeing you soon.

• 58:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, I hope so.

• 58:23Jay Shetty?

  Awesome.

• 59:00Speaker 03

  Mr. President, my company tore me of the explosion on our rig on October 2nd.

• 59:05Speaker 04

  Causing massive water displacement and triggering a tsunami. They all heap the blame on me. Tom Cruise is. Digger got us into this mess and Digger's gonna dig us up. From the director of Birdman and The Revenant.

• 59:17Speaker 05

  What would happen if I stopped going? You stall, you freeze to death, that's what.

• 59:21Speaker 04

  With great power comes great deniability.

• 59:24Speaker 05

  I'm not the first nanny.

• 59:25Speaker 04

  Digger. See the trailer online. Only in theaters October 2nd. Rated R. Under 17. Not a minute without parent.