Leveled Up Friendships is a show for adults who want richer, more meaningful friendships — but sense that something about their relationships isn’t quite working the way they hoped.
Maybe conversations feel surface-level. Maybe you’re always the one reaching out. Maybe a friendship feels tense, draining, or confusing and you’re not sure why. Or maybe you simply want friendships that are deeper, more honest, and more supportive than the ones you currently have.
On this show, host Zoe Asher explores the real dynamics behind adult friendships — the unspoken expectations, awkward conversations, misunderstandings, emotional blind spots, and growth moments that shape our relationships.
Through honest reflection, practical questions, and real-life examples, Zoe helps listeners become more self-aware and intentional in how they show up as a friend. Because the fastest way to improve your friendships isn’t trying to change everyone around you — it’s learning how to level up the kind of friend you are.
Episodes explore topics like navigating difficult conversations, repairing strained friendships, recognizing one-sided dynamics, reconnecting with old friends, setting healthy expectations, and building friendships that can handle honesty and growth.
If you’ve ever wondered:
-Why do some friendships fade while others grow stronger? -Why do certain relationship patterns keep repeating? -How do you build friendships that actually last?
You’re in the right place.
Because great friendships don’t happen accidentally. They level up when we do.
www.accidentallyintentional.com . To contact the podcast and/or request a booking for Zoe to be on your show or speak at your event, please email: contact@leveledupfriendships.com
This Brain HACK Helped Me Reach My Goals 50% Faster! Will It Help You Do The Same?
•Zoe Asher
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This brain hack is NO JOKE! I can't believe it continues to work! I'm here to share how the results of this one collegiate study gave me what feels like a Jedi mind trick...that continues to help me reach and achieve my goals faster than ever before! I even tried it on my friends...it worked on them too! Will it work for you? Can't wait to find out!
Join the conversation and follow along on Instagram! I respond to DM's! Let's converse! Say hi, or share your biggest takeaways! I'm all ears! @accidentallyintentional or @zoeasher
Want to work with Zoe 1-on-1 for personalized friendship coaching for that extra push and source of accountability? Zoe has limited slots available on a rolling basis, so please email contact@leveledupfriendships.com (subject line: COACH ME) and the team will be in touch with next steps!
This is the accidentally intentional podcast. I'm your host, Joe, I hate small talk, and I'm ready to have meaningful conversations that build us. Let's go. Because I love you, I want to share with you the number one brain hack I have used over the past six months in my life that has helped me hit my goals faster and more consistently than ever before. It all started when some researchers at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign campus decided to do a study on people building puzzles. It wasn't the puzzle building aspect that was important. It's what they had the test groups do beforehand. You see participants in subjects of the study were split into two groups, group one was tasked with spending one full minute before going into actually build the puzzle, hyping themselves up and basically saying, I will build this puzzle, I will, I can do it. I've got this. Let's go. I will, I will, I will just on repeat for one full minute before building the puzzle. Group two, though, had a very different assignment. And this one was interesting, because they had group two, instead of saying, I will ask questions like, Will I build this puzzle? How will I do it? If so, and they had to start to navigate and think of ways that they would actually be able to do it, there was a shocking discovery behind this. Okay. If you were thinking group one was going to build this puzzle faster. That's incorrect. Get this group to the group that was actually questioning and thinking to themselves will I build the puzzle made and built the puzzles 50% Faster than group one, when I heard the results of the study, I was blown away and decided I need to implement this immediately into my life. What the study found is that when we use questions, instead of declarative statements, it puts us in a posture of openness, where we're actually more ready to grow, learn and change, which made me realize, okay, our brains actually love challenges. So when I come at it with a question, my brain gets excited about solving the puzzle, whether it's a real honor or not. And by simply asking the question, we're cluing our brain in that it's very possible, we don't have it all figured out yet. And that's okay. So here's how I made this apply in my own life. A lot of people do affirmations, and one of the ways in which people write affirmations down is I am statements. So I am a podcaster. I am a healthy eater. I am a great friend. But what I decided to do is actually continue on with my affirmation. So now an affirmation that I would say would look like this. I am a podcaster. But will I act like one today? Or I am a healthy eater? And will I choose to eat healthy today? So my brain is getting excited? Will we do this? I don't know. But we got to work for it now that we're thinking about it. And honest to God, saying this has changed so many things for me. And I didn't stop there. I wanted to use this tactic on my friends as well to help encourage them and get them going. So for instance, a couple weeks ago, a friend reached out to me, because she's really been contemplating starting her own podcast, but wanted to get my input, having done it and ask questions like, do I need to be consistent? How much time does it take? So I was honest with her, and I said, 100%, you got to be consistent, it takes way more time than you would expect. So it's got to be a passion project at the end of the day. But before we ended the phone call, I said I need you to write down one sentence. And I gave her this whole spiel. And at the end, I said, here's what I want you to write down, will I be a podcaster? And she said she was going to think about it for two weeks. And get back to me. Would you believe she got back to me two weeks later, she said, I'm going to be a podcaster. And I was like, Oh my gosh, this works. And considering that I named 2021. My year of curiosity in which my goal is to write down three questions I have every day, whether it's about faith, my life, the world in general, this practice of turning, I will into weilai Question statements has just fallen perfectly in place for me and really helped me to take that posture of a curious learner. I'm not a scientist. So I'm not going to tell you this correctly. But there's a part of your brain that lights up when you're learning something new. So I think we all got to get in the practice of lighting up our brains a little bit more. And I know we're in a culture where we think that just being positive and thinking positive can solve a lot of things. I would venture to say that that's not completing the picture. Because we got to get our brains excited to actually go forward and pursue whatever it is So what I'm doing, instead of saying, like, I can do this, I'm saying, Can I do this? And when I do it, it's amazing. I get so excited, because now I have to figure it out. Here's my question for you. You have something that you're excited about you're passionate about, and you haven't done it yet. Will you do it? Today? Will you take? Maybe It's one small step? Will you be whatever you want to be? As you are going through this season of transformation? Will you be that awesome friend today? Will you be a healthy eater? Will you be active today? Will you be the person that goes after your dreams? I want to know? And will you have the courage to write it down in the comments so that you have some accountability to make it happen? I don't know. The choice is yours. But I will eagerly be waiting to see what choice you make. Was there someone that came to mind as you were listening to this episode? Because if so, please share it with them. We're so passionate about this message, and we want to give value to the people that would benefit from it. We drop a new episode every other Thursday, so be sure to subscribe to get the latest conversations. Oh, and one more thing. If you enjoy this episode, and this podcast, I would be so honored. If you would leave a review. It helps us to better connect with the intended audience of this podcast by doing so. And I truly am so grateful for any amount of time that you choose to spend with me because trust me, I know how many options are out there and I do not take it for granted. Seriously, I just wow I just really appreciate you and take I may not know your name yet, but let's change that connect with me on Instagram at XO Asher, or on Twitter at combos with xo. But hey, even if I don't know your name yet, what I do know for certain is that you're amazing. I love you. You have something that the world needs and you are always more than enough. So hey, we'll see you next time on The accidentally intentional podcast.
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