The Cabrera Lab Podcast

Episodios

• 
  #137: Are You Burnt Out? Or Just Stressed? 16.09.2026 33m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code BURNOUT20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera think through the difference between stress and burnout—and why treating them as the same thing can lead us to solve the wrong problem. They explore stress as something that can sometimes be functional, while burnout emerges as a longer-term pattern of depletion without enough recovery. Rather than blaming the individual, they show how burnout can be understood as ...
• 
  #136: The Four Thinking Tools That Replace Thousands 09.09.2026 29m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code UNIVERSE20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera explore why the most powerful thinking tools are often the simplest. They unpack the ideas of universality and elementalism: the importance of learning the fundamental patterns that show up across cooking, sports, business, medicine, education, and everyday problem solving. Instead of memorizing thousands of recipes, frameworks, or facts, Derek and Laura explain w...
• 
  #135: How to Raise Kids Who Can Solve Their Own Problems 02.09.2026 39m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code LRL20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University answer a practical question from a listener: how do we help kids run the Love Reality Loop for themselves? They explore how adults can move from solving conflict for kids to coaching kids through the process of testing their own mental models against reality. The conversation breaks down how children can learn to pause, regulate emotions, separate...
• 
  #134: How Do You Know If You’re a Good Person? 26.08.2026 40m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code MORALS20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera explore how to build and test your own moral compass. They discuss what happens when a pre-made moral structure—such as religion, family norms, or inherited beliefs—no longer fully guides you, and how systems thinking can help you develop a more conscious ethical framework. Using DSRP, they unpack the moral implications of identity and other, part-whole systems, rel...
• 
  #133: The Real Reason People Get So Triggered 19.08.2026 29m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code IDENTITY20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera explore why everyday disagreements can escalate so quickly. They explain how identity works as a boundary—and why people often feel threatened when their beliefs, opinions, roles, politics, or preferences are challenged. The problem is not disagreement itself, but identity conflation: mistaking what you think, believe, or do for who you are. When that happens, eve...
• 
  #132: Goop Is Everywhere—And It’s Making Us Worse 12.08.2026 28m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code GOOP20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera expand the idea of “goop” beyond food and into the systems all around us. They explore how heavily processed food, social media, education, news, consumer products, and even AI can become forms of goop: things that appear useful, nutritious, or informative, but are often stripped of real value and repackaged in ways that manipulate us. From chicken nuggets and plug-in...
• 
  #131: How Healthy Couples Handle Conflict 05.08.2026 32m

  Get 25% off any STSI course with code FIGHT25 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera answer a personal question from Training Camp: how do they handle conflict as a couple? They explain how understanding mental models changes the way people disagree. Instead of seeing conflict as “you versus me,” they show how many disagreements are really differences between two mental models—two ways of organizing information and interpreting reality. That shift ma...
• 
  #130: How to Adapt When Everything Changes 29.07.2026 29m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code STUDIO20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cabrera Research Lab explore what really happens when we go through change. Using their move to Montana and the new podcast studio as a starting point, they unpack the difference between change itself and the transition into a new reality. They explain why change often feels stressful—not because the change is “bad,” but because our old mental models no longer ma...
• 
  #129: Stop Putting Out Fires—Fix the System 22.07.2026 25m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code PATTERN20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore why the same problems keep showing up in organizations, relationships, and teams—even when they look different on the surface. They break down the difference between an instantiation and a pattern, showing how people often get stuck solving individual conflicts, communication breakdowns, or “fires” without seeing the deeper structural ...
• 
  Episode #128: What I Wish I Knew as a Neurodivergent Kid 15.07.2026 32m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code NEURO20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore neurodivergence through a systems thinking lens. Derek reflects on what it means to understand your own mind, why neurodivergence itself is not the problem, and how friction often comes from living inside systems designed around the neurotypical norm. They discuss structure, self-knowledge, masking, passive aggression, focus, hyperfocus, ...
• 
  #127: How to Make Invisible Thinking Visible 08.07.2026 28m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code OOT20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explain the power of OOTing: object-oriented thinking. They explore why getting ideas out of your head and into visible, movable objects—whether blocks, drawings, sticky notes, whiteboards, or even visual objects in your mind—can dramatically improve thinking, communication, and understanding. By making mental models visible, OOTing helps people s...
• 
  #126: How to Stop Misalignment Before It Starts 01.07.2026 19m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code ISISNOT20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University break down one of the simplest and most powerful systems thinking tools: the Is/Is Not List. They explain why this move is not just about making a list, but about building a strong distinction—one that clarifies what something fundamentally is, what it is not, and where the boundary really belongs. From leadership and management to safety, AI, ...
• 
  #125: Stop Holding Everything in Your Head 24.06.2026 20m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code LIST20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore one of the simplest but most powerful thinking tools we use every day: lists. They break down why lists are more than just a way to remember tasks—they are a systems thinking tool that helps us distinguish what matters, break overwhelming wholes into manageable parts, and create perspective on what actually needs to get done. From moving,...
• 
  #124: How to Take Feedback Without Getting Defensive 17.06.2026 22m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code FEEDBACK20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore what happens when someone gives you difficult feedback—and why your first reaction may not be the most useful one. Starting with a question about being perceived as “argumentative,” they unpack the difference between reacting and understanding, how our internal voice can interfere with genuine listening, and why self-awareness is one ...
• 
  #123: Think It Through: Why Smart Teams Still Don’t Work Together 10.06.2026 22m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code TEAM20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University answer a common leadership question: why do talented people often struggle to work together as a team? They explore the difference between a group and a true team, showing how friction, duplicate effort, competing priorities, and communication breakdowns often stem from one root cause: misaligned mental models. Using systems thinking and DSRP, the...
• 
  #122: What Great Leaders Understand About Culture 03.06.2026 28m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code CULTURE20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore a powerful idea: culture may be the single greatest advantage an organization can create—and most leaders fundamentally misunderstand how it works. Starting with an unexpected question about marketing, they unpack why changing minds—not promoting products—is the real work behind both marketing and leadership. They explore how organizat...
• 
  #121: Why “I’m Trying” Is Often a Cop-Out 27.05.2026 24m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code YODA20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore the difference between “trying” and “doing”—and why that distinction matters more than most people think. They unpack how words like “trying” or “I didn’t mean to” can function as subtle ways of avoiding reality, ownership, and feedback. Through examples from parenting, communication, goals, and relationships, they show how systems thinki...
• 
  #120: You’re Already Thinking — Just Badly 20.05.2026 41m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code SYSTHINK20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle three common misconceptions that stop people from becoming systems thinkers. They explore the difference between unconsciously using DSRP patterns and purposefully applying them with awareness, why more information does not automatically lead to better understanding, and how hidden “externalities” distort the way we make decisions. Thr...
• 
  #119: You’re Not Responsible for Everyone’s Feelings 13.05.2026 31m

  In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore one of the most difficult systems thinking challenges in relationships: understanding responsibility for our emotions. They unpack the dynamic between action and reaction, why emotional regulation creates agency and empowerment, and how faulty mental models can lead people to either take responsibility for everyone else’s feelings—or none of their own. Through ideas like “buttons,” emotional wounds, constructive vs. ...
• 
  #118: How to Think Clearly in a Crisis 06.05.2026 20m

  Get 20% off any STSI course with code CRISIS20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore how to think through moments of crisis using systems thinking. They break down a critical first step—questioning whether something is truly a crisis or a product of inflated thinking—and show how unchecked mental models and worst-case assumptions can create unnecessary stress. Using the DSRP framework, they walk through how to set bound...