Madefor Co-Founder, Pat Dossett, was featured on the March 15, 2022 episode of the Dear Mind, You Matter podcast to talk about the Power of Setting Intentions. Dear Mind, You Matter is associated with Nobu, a mental health and wellness app that helps you set and track goals. Pat joined hosts Allison Walsh and Dr. Angela Phillips to talk about Madefor, what he learned from his time and experience as a Navy SEAL, and how Madefor is helping people make real, lasting change with small steps that take only 10 minutes a day. Pat gave his unique insights on the power of the Program, why it works, and how individual change replicates and impacts a community for the better.
Pat recounted his experience on the SEAL Team, his business ventures, and transitioning into his co-founding of Madefor. He talked about the mission of Madefor and how it revolves around a few key questions: “How can we help people show up better for themselves in their own lives? How can people unlock the potential in regard to wellbeing – physical, mental, emotional health? What are the things science says about that to help people?”
Pat recognizes that Madefor isn’t just about individual change, but also about inspiring others on how to unlock their potential too. In short, Madefor believes that when someone feels better and shows up for themselves, by proxy, they lift up others around them.
What is the Madefor Program?
Pat explains how he, along with Blake Mycoskie and with the help of Dr. Andrew Huberman, built a year-long program to help people direct their attention and effort in the smallest ways possible. A small commitment, literally just a couple of minutes each day, built around some very foundational areas of wellness, things like hydration, gratitude, movement, nature, rest, and social connection. Pat says those Focus Areas are the macronutrients of wellness, it’s things that our grandparents told us, “Hey, go outside, drink more water.” These small things we don’t really think about are really good for you. But for whatever reason, people have grown disconnected from our capacity to engage these easy-to-incorporate habits in such a way that really is meaningful and transformational.
The goal of Madefor isn’t that someone gets to the end of the program to only have a checklist of 10 things they have to do every day to be their best. But rather, their reflexive self becomes their best self. It’s about giving yourself greater self-compassion, giving yourself grace, and realizing the challenges you are facing aren’t a result of the inability to be successful, instead they are a sign of what it feels like to progress and move closer towards the things that you care most about.
The Underrated Importance of Intention
The Madefor Program centers around intention. It all comes down to the one thing you really care about. We walk our members through the science of setting an intention, and how to set an intention for what it is you hope to achieve as a result of going through this Program. We ask questions like: Where do you want to be in a year’s time? If you achieve that, why does that matter to you? Why will that inspire you to do the work between today and tomorrow and the end of the Program? And, if you do that and you achieve it, what happens? What’s different? How is it going to make your life better? But how also, is it going to make the lives of those around you better?
~ Pat Dossett
When we walk them through the intention process, they start to say, “Okay, this is the bigger thing that drives me that I’m working towards.” That clarity does a lot for people. I can’t overstate the importance of intentionality and that there is no one way to achieve optimal wellness. There are some overarching principles, and everyone is familiar with these. But there’s no one way. However…
There is a better way, and it’s our responsibility to figure out what it is. Madefor really tries to be the guide in that process to help that person define what “right” looks like for them and how they can be as effective as possible in moving toward the things they care about.
Pat, Allison, and Angela went on to discuss the importance of authentically celebrating every significant win, the individual nature of intention setting, motivation, and building community through intention and encouragement. Learn more about these topics and why mission is so important to Pat on this 30-minute podcast.
Listen to the episode here!
