Matthew McConaughey didn’t build his life by trying to control every outcome. He built it by learning when to let go and when to trust.

Today, Jay sits down with Matthew for a raw, unfiltered exploration of purpose, faith, discipline, and what it really means to live well. It’s an honest conversation about the moments that shape us, and the choices that quietly define who we become. Together, they move through certainty and surrender, ambition and presence, effort and trust.

Matthew opens up about his lifelong relationship with achievement and his growing desire to create space for stillness, daydreaming, and reflection. He shares how writing became a way to strip away filters and speak more directly to his truth, and how fatherhood reshaped his understanding of responsibility, humility, and love. Jay and Matthew explore failure as a sign of growth, and how disappointment when met with self-awareness, can teach rather than define us. Together they reveal a powerful insight: growth doesn’t come from trying to perfect ourselves, but from learning how to stay present, curious, and grounded through every season of life.

Matthew reflects on the balance between taking responsibility and letting go, between striving for excellence and accepting imperfection. He shares why he believes the world is conspiring to make us happy, not through ease, but through meaning, effort, and alignment.

In this interview, you'll learn:

How to Trust Life Without Losing Control

How to Redefine Success Beyond Achievement

How to Learn From Failure Without Shame

How to Build Trust Before You Need It

How to Stay Present Without Chasing Perfection

How to Strengthen Love Through Daily Intention

How to Find Meaning When Answers Aren’t Clear

Life isn’t asking you to be perfect, it’s asking you to be present. To stay curious. To keep learning. To choose courage over comfort and intention over autopilot. No matter where you are right now, progress is still possible, meaning is still available, and your next step matters.

Explore Matthew McConaughey’s reflections on faith, belief, and the human experience in his book Poems & Prayers: http://poemsprayers.com/

With Love and Gratitude,

Jay Shetty

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Check out our Apple subscription to unlock bonus content of On Purpose! https://lnk.to/JayShettyPodcast

What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro

01:16 The Drive for Purpose and Accomplishment

04:23 Living With a Beginner’s Mind

07:20 What Chapter of Life Are You In Right Now?

13:21 Why You’re Exactly Where You Need to Be

16:25 How Your View of Success Shapes Failure

20:39 Humility Means Being Honest With Yourself

23:15 The Power of Consequences

25:47 You Just Need to Take One Step at a Time

30:49 Staying Grounded in Faith Through Real Life Experiences

34:37 Ways to Strengthen Your Spiritual Practice

45:29 What is Truly Fascinating About Being Human?

50:45 Are We Expecting Too Much From Others?

58:57 Where Do You Seek Validation?

01:01:56 Learning to Trust Without Losing Control

01:08:28 When Everything Matters, Nothing Does

01:13:24 A More Realistic Way to Think About Love

01:24:14 Understanding Both Sides of Consequence

01:27:49 Matthew on Final Five

Episode Resources:

Poems & Prayers | http://poemsprayers.com/

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/officiallymcconaughey/

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChH3PVceKAMkFXHza0PlX_Q

X | https://x.com/McConaughey

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/MatthewMcConaughey/

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@officiallymcconaughey_m

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, Jay invites us to rethink everything we’ve been taught about breaking bad habits. Instead of blaming willpower, discipline, or personality traits, he reframes habits as systems shaped by our triggers, emotions, and environments. He explains why most habits aren’t character flaws but subconscious coping strategies designed to provide comfort, escape, or relief. With this approach, we end up battling ourselves instead of breaking the loop that’s actually sustaining the habit. The real shift begins when we stop asking “What’s wrong with me?” and start asking “What is this habit doing for me?”

Jay then breaks down the four-part habit loop: trigger, emotion, behavior, and reward and shows how interrupting just one part can collapse the entire pattern. He explains that our environment matters more than motivation and if you want to change a habit, you have to change the cues that trigger it. Rather than quitting habits cold turkey, he encourages replacing the reward with a healthier form of relief, reminding us that the brain will always seek comfort. Through simple, practical examples, he shows how small interruptions, conscious pauses, and thoughtful substitutions can dismantle habits that once felt impossible to break.

In this episode, you'll learn:

How to Break Bad Habits Without Relying on Willpower

How to Identify the Hidden Triggers Fueling Your Habits

How to Interrupt the Habit Loop

How to Stop Fighting Habits and Start Understanding Them

How to Build an Identity That Makes Good Habits Stick

How to Use Small Replacements to Create Big Change

Every habit you want to change once served a purpose, now you get to decide what serves you going forward. When you become aware of your triggers, redesign your environment, and choose support over struggle, growth becomes lighter and more sustainable.

With Love and Gratitude,

Jay Shetty

Join over 750,000 people to receive my most transformative wisdom directly in your inbox every single week with my free newsletter. Subscribe here.

What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro

00:34 How Do You Actually Break a Bad Habit?

02:06 You Are Not Your Habits

05:04 The 4-Part Loop that Creates the Habit

07:11 Action #1: Redesign Your Triggers

08:44 Action #2: Replace the Reward not the Habit

11:33 Action #3: Interrupt the Loop In Real Time

12:48 Action #4: Build a New Identity Around Your Choices

15:00 The #1 Mistake in Breaking Habits

15:51 90-Day Habit Breakup Blueprint

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.