The Cabrera Lab Podcast
Join Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera from Cornell University as they inspire you to approach life's challenges with a fresh perspective. Witness their use of GOAT-level thinking to enhance your problem-solving skills. Discover new possibilities, approaches, and solutions you never knew existed. Elevate your thinking and get better every day with their entertaining guidance.
#145: Why You Keep Repeating the Same Mistakes
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera explore the difference between an isolated event and a recurring pattern—and why confusing the two can keep us stuck for years.
They begin with a familiar example: someone receives feedback about a repeated behavior but immediately defends themselves by pointing to one moment when they didn’t do it. That response may protect us from feeling wrong in the moment, but it can also prevent us from seeing the larger pattern that actually needs...
#144: The Real AI Takeover Isn’t What You Think
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In this special episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera take on AI, human intelligence, and the question everyone seems to be asking: should we be worried about an AI takeover?
Rather than focusing only on science-fiction scenarios, they explore several possible ways AI could reshape everyday life—from robotics and automation to unintended conflicts between human and machine goals. Derek argues that some of AI’s biggest effects may emerge not from malicious intent, but from systems interacting in ways nobody planned.
#143: Why Everyone Leaves the Same Meeting Thinking Something Different
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera unpack why so many meetings feel busy, repetitive, and unproductive—and why the problem may be deeper than the agenda.
They argue that most meetings focus almost entirely on information, while ignoring how that information is being organized into meaning. The result is that everyone can hear the same words, leave the same room, and still walk away with completely different mental models of what was decided, what matters, and what happens next.
D...
#142: Is College Still Worth It?
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera ask a fundamental question: what is college actually supposed to do?
As confidence in higher education declines, they argue that conversations about cost, careers, credentials, and politics may be missing the most important purpose of education: teaching people how to think. Information changes rapidly, careers evolve, and knowledge becomes outdated—but the ability to organize new information, build mental models, question assumptions, and adapt to reality remains valuable across a lifetime.
Derek and L...
#141: You Built the System That’s Stressing You Out
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera explore a simple idea with big implications: your calendar is a mental model.
What you schedule—and what you leave off—reveals something about how you organize your priorities, time, work, and life. Derek and Laura discuss how calendars, to-do lists, meetings, and deadlines can become useful tools, but can also create busyness, unnecessary pressure, and systems that quietly dictate our behavior.
They also explore the difference between progress and productivity, intrinsic versus...
#140: The Mental Model Keeping Your Team Stuck
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera deconstruct a familiar phrase: “That’s just the way it is.”
They explore the difference between accepting reality and surrendering to an outdated mental model. Sometimes “that’s the way it is” means acknowledging a real constraint. Other times, it means accepting a pattern, policy, culture, or way of working simply because it has existed for a long time.
The conversation examines how individual and collective mental models shape behavior, why successful old patterns can...
#139: What Does It Mean To Be "Smart"?
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera challenge the way we think about intelligence.
They argue that most people do not have an intelligence problem—they have a problem with the structure of their thinking. Rather than defining “smart” by IQ, credentials, memorized information, or expertise, they explore intelligence as the ability to adapt to reality, reorganize information, solve novel problems, and respond to feedback.
The conversation explores the difference between information and organization, why expertise can sometimes create blind spo...
#138: How to Think Better Without Thinking Harder
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera tackle a deceptively difficult question: how do you explain systems thinking to someone who knows nothing about it?
They start with one simple idea: your brain is constantly taking information and organizing it to create meaning. That meaning becomes your mental models—and those mental models directly shape your decisions, actions, emotions, and behaviors. Systems thinking helps you become more aware of how you are organizing information, not just what you are thinking about.
...
#137: Are You Burnt Out? Or Just Stressed?
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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 a systems problem involving workload, recovery, motivation, sleep, monotony, expectations, and the larger environment a pers...
#136: The Four Thinking Tools That Replace Thousands
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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 why mastering a small set of universal thinking structures can help you adapt to almost any situation.
The conversation also ex...
#135: How to Raise Kids Who Can Solve Their Own Problems
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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 thoughts from feelings, ask better questions, observe what is actually happening, and become more cu...
#134: How Do You Know If You’re a Good Person?
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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, relationships, perspectives, consequences, and the balance between self and others.
The conversation also explores values...
#133: The Real Reason People Get So Triggered
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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, even a simple difference of opinion can feel like an attack on the self.
The conversation explores DSRP...
#132: Goop Is Everywhere—And It’s Making Us Worse
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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 air fresheners to social media echo chambers and memorization-based schooling, they show how goop replac...
#131: How Healthy Couples Handle Conflict
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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 makes conflict less personal, less emotionally charged, and much easier to work through.
The conversation explores emotiona...
#130: How to Adapt When Everything Changes
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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 match the new situation we are living in.
The conversation explores...
#129: Stop Putting Out Fires—Fix the System
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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 issue that keeps producing them. Using systems thinking, metaphors, analogies, fractals, and shared mental models, they explain why repeated problems are usually...
Episode #128: What I Wish I Knew as a Neurodivergent Kid
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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, and why learning how your brain works can be a powerful “cheat code” for navigating school, work, relationships, and life.
The conver...
#127: How to Make Invisible Thinking Visible
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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 stop conflating parts with wholes, see relationships more clearly, and build shared meaning with others.
The conversation also breaks down why or...
#126: How to Stop Misalignment Before It Starts
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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, systems thinking, and even the classic “is a hot dog a sandwich?” debate...
#125: Stop Holding Everything in Your Head
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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, parenting, schoolwork, and sleepless nights to shared family lists and the dopamine hit...
#124: How to Take Feedback Without Getting Defensive
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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 of the most powerful skills we can develop. The conversation dives into metacognition, emotional reactions, feedback, defensive thinking, and the impo...
#123: Think It Through: Why Smart Teams Still Don’t Work Together
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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, they break down how people can use the same words, work on the same problem, and still be operating fr...
#122: What Great Leaders Understand About Culture
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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 organizational culture emerges whether you shape it or not, why shared mental models matter more than policies or processes, and how leaders...
#121: Why “I’m Trying” Is Often a Cop-Out
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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 thinking helps us see the mental models underneath our language and behavior.
The conversation also dives into listening, integrity...
#120: You’re Already Thinking — Just Badly
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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. Through examples ranging from neuromarketing and AI to education, relationships, and organizational leadership, they show how people often miss the underlying structure and patterns driving outcom...
#119: You’re Not Responsible for Everyone’s Feelings
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. destructive conflict, and the Love Reality Loop, they show how awareness, communication, and metacognition transform the way we navigate relationships.
They also explore why feed...
#118: How to Think Clearly in a Crisis
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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 boundaries, break a crisis into parts, examine relationships, and take multiple perspectives to regain clarity and control.
#117: The Psychology of Motivation, Emotion, and Thought
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University break down a powerful systems thinking model for understanding human behavior: the dynamic relationship between cognition (thinking), emotion (feeling), motivation (conation), and embodiment.
They explore how these elements constantly interact in feedback loops—how thoughts shape emotions, how motivations frame what we see, and how emotional or motivational “debt” can quietly constrain our ability to think clearly. They also dive into one of the most overlooked drivers of behavior: motivation, and how...
#116: Why Better Thinking Makes You a Better Person
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore the deeper layer of systems thinking that most people miss: its connection to ethics, empathy, and human behavior.
They break down how the four patterns of DSRP—distinctions, systems, relationships, and perspectives—shape the way we include or exclude others, assign responsibility, regulate emotions, and take perspective. From the idea of the “nerf knife” to the importance of a simple pause before reacting, they show how better thinking doesn’t just improve...
#115: How to Learn When Words Don’t Work for You
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore how systems thinking can transform the way we learn—especially for people who struggle with traditional, language-based learning.
They break down why reading alone doesn’t lead to understanding, and how organizing information structurally—through visual, tactile, and object-oriented thinking—can dramatically improve comprehension, memory, and communication. From mapping ideas in the margins of books to building mental models you can “see” and manipulate, they show how shifting from words to structure u...
Episode #114: How to Raise Better Thinkers
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore a fundamental systems thinking challenge: the tendency to confuse our mental models with reality itself.
They unpack how the brain constructs meaning, why we often blend what we think with what actually exists, and how this conflation leads to misunderstanding, poor decisions, and unnecessary conflict. Through systems thinking principles, they show how separating reality from our interpretations creates clarity, improves judgment, and strengthens our ability to navigate complex situations.
#113: Why Nothing in Your Life Is Changing
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore a powerful systems thinking principle: the purpose of a system is what it does—not what it was intended to do.
They break down the critical difference between aspirational outcomes and actual outcomes, and why so many organizations, policies, and personal habits consistently produce results that don’t match their goals. Through real-world examples—from corporate incentives to classrooms to everyday behaviors—they show how system structure determines behavior...
#112: Think It Through: How to Break Big Changes Into Manageable Parts
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In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore how to navigate big life changes without getting overwhelmed. Whether it’s moving, getting married, having a baby, sending a child to college, or making a major career shift, they break down why these transitions can feel so heavy—and how systems thinking can help.
They unpack how we often conflate big change into one giant mental cloud, why the future picture in our heads can make things...
#111: Stress Is a Systems Problem (Not Just an Emotional One)
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University unpack a powerful idea: stress is not just something that happens to you—it’s a reaction to the mental model you’re using to interpret what’s happening.
They explore how stress grows when we assume we can’t handle a situation, how anxiety comes from projecting those assumptions into the future, and why so much overwhelm is caused by conflating many separate concerns into one crushing mental knot. The conversation...
#110: How to Train Your Brain to Think Systemically
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University answer a listener question: what are the biggest things that prevent someone from becoming a systems thinker?
They break down three major barriers—reality bias, confirmation bias, and the lack of deliberate practice in how we organize information. The conversation explores how mental models shape everything we see, why people often confuse their mental model with reality, and how learning the structural “moves” of thinking can dramatically improve decision-making and problem solving...
#109: Think It Through: When Reality Isn’t What You Want It to Be
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In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle a hard question: what do you do when reality is showing you something you don’t want to believe?
They break down what “love reality” actually means (it’s not about enjoying it), why most “sudden” crises are built one tiny decision at a time, and how fear, denial, and catastrophizing can trap you in a mental model that makes things worse. From being stuck on the side of a mountain...
#108: Stop Believing Frameworks That Haven’t Been Tested
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University unpack one of the most overlooked distinctions in science—and in life: the difference between studying whether something exists and studying its effect.
Before you measure outcomes, before you test benefits, before you publish results, there’s a deeper question that most fields skip entirely: does the thing you’re talking about even exist in the way you claim it does?
From corporate culture to SWOT analyses to systems thinking itself...
#107: Love Is a Behavior, Not a Feeling
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University unpack a radical but deeply practical idea: love is not a feeling — it’s a behavior.
While most of us are taught to think of love as romance, chemistry, or intense emotion, the Cabreras argue that those experiences are often hormonal surges or evolutionary drives mistaken for something deeper. Real love, they explain, is built through repeated micro-decisions — small, consistent behaviors that accumulate over time into something solid, secure, and trustworthy.
They...
#106: Passive-Aggression Isn’t Passive—It’s Just Dishonest
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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University unpack one of the most uncomfortable—but important—distinctions in human behavior: the difference between being passive-aggressive and being direct.
They challenge the common belief that passive aggression is somehow “nicer” or less harmful than open aggression, and explain why passive-aggressive behavior is actually a form of dishonest aggression—one that hides intent, creates confusion, and slowly erodes trust. Through everyday examples, cultural patterns, and systems thinking concepts like externalities, identity, an...
