Dr Rangan Chatterjee on his upcoming Bord Gáis Theatre show!

Ciara Kelly (0:00)

The Hard Shoulder, with Ciara Kelly and Shane Colman. On Newstalk, with Ciara.

And I am delighted to be joined now by GP, author and podcaster, who some of you may know from the BBC show, Doctor in the House or from his many millions of followers on social media, Doctor Rangan Chatterjee. Rangan, you're very welcome. Let me start by asking you about the Thrive Tour, which of course is coming to the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on Sunday, the 15th of November. Tell us about it.

Rangan Chatterjee (0:32)

Well, I think I'm coming to Dublin in 13 days. I'm very, very excited because I haven't actually done a live event in Dublin for a few years now, and I know what Dublin crowds can be like. I certainly remember the last time I was there. It was absolutely fantastic. Look, I've created something called the Thrive Tour that went to 16 cities in England and Scotland and Wales last year and Australia.

This year, I did two shows in Canada in September, and I'm doing five European dates this November, including Dublin in literally two Sundays' time, which I can't wait. Basically, it's this live interactive show that really puts the question to all of us, what does it mean to thrive in 2026? Right at the start of the show, I basically come up with my model for thriving. There's three components, mindset, values, and action. And then throughout the evening, we go through exercises, there's music, there's light, there's storytelling, there's some video clips from my podcast, and there's lots of interaction between me and the audience. So it's a very interactive show that people who've come so far really seem to enjoy. And I literally can't wait for my show in Dublin in just under two weeks.

Ciara Kelly (1:53)

And I'm sure that those who have tickets will be feeling the exact same way. And obviously you've millions of followers as well on social media who I know will be very interested to know what they could expect from a live show and indeed to hear what you want to talk about.

I know both of us have talked there a little bit about lifestyle medicine and about changing lifestyle and how that can affect change, how small changes to lifestyle can have big changes to your life. You're a believer in morning routines?

Rangan Chatterjee (2:25)

I am. Look, I think morning routines have become a little bit cliched now in the modern world because of all the kind of influencer videos and YouTube videos on complex, elaborate morning routines. But the way I look at it is that every single person has a morning routine whether they're aware of it or not. Now, your morning routine could be to have your smartphone wake you up with an alarm at 6.30, and then you go on to e-mail, you go on to the news, and you go on to social media. I'm not judging that at all. I understand that's the norm for most of us these days. At the same time, we have to understand that that will have a certain impact on the rest of your day. That is a routine.

You may not be intentional and aware that you are actually having that routine every day. I have realized, particularly since I had children, and my oldest is now 16 years old, so I guess I've been a dad for just over 16 years. I realized once I became a dad that I was a better human being in every possible way when I had some time to myself each morning. I was a better father, better husband, better doctor. I'm frankly, better human being. For me, it doesn't have to be elaborate. I think there are three M's which form the basis of a really good framework for morning routines for those people who are interested. The three M's are mindfulness, movement, and mindset. Now, you don't have to do them all. Some people literally will say they don't have time. I would say, okay, forget about the three M's. Can you choose one M, whether it's movement or mindset or mindfulness, can you choose a practice that will literally take you one or two minutes, try that for seven days, and then you can see for yourself, does that change how you are? Are you less reactive? Are you more present? Are you more patient?

That's the theme that I'll be talking about at my live show actually, Ciara, is that I think these days we become confused by all of this health information that we get from people like me and you. People get bombarded and they go, well, should I have a morning routine? Should I not? Should I eat low carb or should I eat vegan?