1 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: All right, hello and welcome to another episode of Wide 2 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: Open with Ashland Harris. Today, I am so excited to 3 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:23,480 Speaker 1: be talking to Yale professor, scientist, podcaster and happiness expert 4 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: doctor Lori Santos. Doctor Santos, Welcome to the show. Thank 5 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: you so much for being here. What a important time 6 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: right now. 7 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 2: It's so good to meet you, be here with you. 8 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 2: You are the guru everyone talks about you. Welcome to 9 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 2: the show. 10 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 3: Well, thank you so much for having me on. It's 11 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 3: an honor. You know. 12 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: Wide Open means a lot of things in life, whether 13 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: it's sport, whether it's your personal journey, whether you know, 14 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: it's just about being honest and vulnerable in a lot 15 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: of ways. And what a better conversation to really just 16 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: dive into who you are. I'm just curious to start 17 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,039 Speaker 1: the show by saying, who are you? How do you 18 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:11,039 Speaker 1: show up in the world outside of what you do, 19 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: because that's a big important factor of this show. 20 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, well, I think you know one of you know, 21 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 3: one of the reasons I study happiness and study well 22 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 3: being is that, like I'm curious about it in my 23 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 3: own life, right, you know, like this is something that 24 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 3: you know, I occasionally struggle with a lot. You know, 25 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 3: I got really interested in the science of happiness in 26 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,040 Speaker 3: part because I was seeing such mental health issues in 27 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 3: my college students, right, I mean right now. Nationally, more 28 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,400 Speaker 3: than forty percent of college students report being too depressed 29 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 3: a function. Over sixty percent say that they're overwhelmingly anxious, 30 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 3: like our students are struggling. But the reason I really 31 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 3: got into this was that I was noticing some of 32 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 3: the same patterns in myself. You know, I wasn't experiencing 33 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 3: suicidality or like clinical depression, but I was just watching 34 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 3: like stress and overwhelm just take the joy out of 35 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 3: the stuff that I was experiencing in life. And I 36 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 3: just thought, you know, I need to teach my student 37 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 3: skills to deal with this stuff, but I also need 38 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,400 Speaker 3: to learn these skills for myself. And so part of 39 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 3: my journey that like sounds scientific and sounds nerdy and 40 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 3: the guruy and whatever, is really a journey to kind 41 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 3: of help myself and try to learn from myself what 42 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 3: are the things that really matter in life. 43 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 1: And it's such an important thing to talk about because 44 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:25,639 Speaker 1: everyone just expects it. Everyone just expects us to be happy, 45 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: even though we live in. 46 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:29,799 Speaker 2: This really complex culture and. 47 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: World where things are very different than they used to be. 48 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:39,960 Speaker 1: And yeah, I'm curious though, what got you here? Before 49 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 1: we dive into the incredible work you do as a 50 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:45,359 Speaker 1: scientist professor. 51 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 2: What got you here? 52 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: What was the driving factor to say, this is what 53 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: I want to do, This matters, and this will change 54 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: the landscape of how people are on the pursuit of happiness. 55 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, well, for me, it started you know my little 56 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 3: girl you know career path was like I think I 57 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 3: was always a psychologist at heart. I was always like 58 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 3: curious about people, especially curious about adults. I was like 59 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 3: the little kid that the parents would be like, get 60 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 3: out of here, go play with your friends, like, you know, 61 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 3: stop paying attention to us. So I think I was 62 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 3: sort of fascinated by human nature, like ever since I 63 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 3: was a little kid, And so you know that naturally 64 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 3: drew me. And it's like a nerdy academic to study psychology. 65 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:25,640 Speaker 3: When I first started, I was really interested in this 66 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 3: question about what makes the human mind special? And why 67 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:30,800 Speaker 3: are you and I here having a podcast where we 68 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 3: talk about going wide open and know other you know, 69 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 3: chimpanzee or amiba is doing the same thing, right, like, 70 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 3: why are we on the only species that gets to 71 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 3: do this fun stuff? And so I spent a lot 72 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 3: of my time studying animals trying to figure out what 73 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 3: makes humans unique. I work with this kind of strange 74 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 3: population of monkeys that lives on an island off the 75 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 3: coast of Puerto Rico, studying them and comparing them with humans. 76 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 3: I just spent a lot of time like studying these 77 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 3: very Ivory Tower questions, but it was really interacting with 78 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 3: my students where I started to realize how how many 79 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 3: young people are struggling that I thought, you know, my 80 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 3: field of psychology might have some answers for this stuff. 81 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 3: I started to realize that, like, you know, the skills 82 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 3: that people were studying in this field of positive psychology, 83 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 3: those are the kinds of things that like everybody should 84 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 3: learn about. And so I think my transition happened from 85 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 3: kind of being more of like an Ivory Tower professor 86 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 3: to thinking about, like, Okay, how can we translate these 87 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,839 Speaker 3: skills into like easy ways that people can use this stuff. 88 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 3: How can we communicate this stuff outside the university so 89 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 3: that everybody who's struggling in this world, as you mentioned, 90 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:31,600 Speaker 3: which especially in the modern day is so tough. How 91 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 3: can we give everybody these tools? 92 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: Oh? 93 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 2: And I love that. 94 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 1: And you know what I love so much about who 95 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: you are and how you show up and how you've 96 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: dedicated your life to this work. 97 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 2: Is you make it really digestible. 98 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 1: You make it easy to understand for everyday people wanting 99 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: the same thing, joy and happiness. And I'm curious with that. 100 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: Is there a difference between joy and happyiness? 101 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, I think you know. 102 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 3: One of the things, one of the things we have 103 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 3: to start with when we develop this science of happiness 104 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,479 Speaker 3: is like to get some definitions on the table. So 105 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 3: let's first like talk about how scientists define happiness, because 106 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 3: it tends to be a little bit different, I think, 107 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 3: than how lay people think about happiness. So scientists divine 108 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 3: happiness as this sense of being happy in your life 109 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 3: and being happy with your life. So let's break that down. 110 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 3: So being happy in your life is sort of the 111 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,159 Speaker 3: extent to which you have lots of positive emotions and 112 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 3: have a decent ratio between your positive emotions and your 113 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,080 Speaker 3: negative emotions. It doesn't mean happiness, doesn't mean having no 114 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:37,600 Speaker 3: negative emotions. I think we'll talk about this the negative 115 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,720 Speaker 3: emotions are normative. We don't want to get into toxic positivity, 116 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,480 Speaker 3: like we want them to be there, but ideally you 117 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 3: balance them out with a set of good emotions. Right. 118 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:49,600 Speaker 3: Being happy with your life is just your sense that 119 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 3: like things feel good, You're satisfied with your life, you 120 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 3: have a sense of meaning and purpose. You kind of 121 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 3: think your life is going well. So scientists call this 122 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 3: a kind of affective or emotional part of happiness, kind 123 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 3: of cognitive or sort of thinking part of happiness. Now 124 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 3: we get to joy, and how that's different. I would 125 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 3: say that joy is sort of an emotional state, kind 126 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 3: of that being happy in your life part that so 127 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:13,840 Speaker 3: many of us need to experience. Right, So it's kind 128 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:16,680 Speaker 3: of one component of being happy. But what scientists would 129 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 3: think about it differently. And so the goal of all 130 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:20,840 Speaker 3: the work that I do is to figure out, Okay, 131 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 3: what are some tips of strategies behavior as mindsets that 132 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 3: we can engage in to make us a little bit 133 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,280 Speaker 3: more happy in our lives and hopefully a little bit 134 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 3: more happy with our lives too. 135 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:35,919 Speaker 1: I love that, and you know I'm thinking in real 136 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: time and why this is this conversation is so valuable 137 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: for me personally as you know you might know, I 138 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,280 Speaker 1: am a newly retired professional athlete. 139 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:49,800 Speaker 2: I was lucky enough to be asked to speak. 140 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: At the Wellness Oasis with Deepak Chopra and Art Basle. 141 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:03,239 Speaker 2: And what my topic on stage was was about joy. 142 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 1: And happiness and in the landscape, the current landscape, you know, 143 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: how do we show up and choose joy and happiness? 144 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: And I got really candid and I got really open 145 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: because I think faking joy and happiness is really toxic. 146 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 2: And I got. 147 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: Really vulnerable, and I like really got wide open in 148 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: front of a lot of people, and I said, happiness 149 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 1: is really difficult and joy is really difficult for me 150 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 1: personally as a professional athlete because of my job, because 151 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 1: of the expectation of my job. 152 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 2: I don't know what happiness is. 153 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 1: I don't know what joy is because if I wasn't suffering, 154 00:07:55,880 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 1: I wasn't doing my job. And it really like gave 155 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 1: me whiplash in a lot of ways. And I left 156 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: that and I was like, Wow, what does happiness mean 157 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: to me? Did I even enjoy my career? 158 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 3: Yeah? 159 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 2: You know, I win a world championship. Great? Did that 160 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 2: check the box? 161 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 1: I don't even sit in it to enjoy it and 162 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: the journey, the hard work. 163 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 3: Yeah. This this, this is a bias that psychologists called 164 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 3: the arrival fallacy, where you when we're kind of planning 165 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 3: for something, we kind of get in our head, you know, 166 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 3: I'm going to get that national championship and that'll be it. 167 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:33,199 Speaker 3: I'll kind of leave like halfway ever after when I 168 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,599 Speaker 3: arrive at that point, I'll be good. But then we 169 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:38,079 Speaker 3: get there, and what the research shows is it's never 170 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 3: doesn't make us as happy as we think, and it 171 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 3: doesn't make us as happy for as long as we think, 172 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:44,319 Speaker 3: And then I think we're kind of like it's that 173 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 3: whiplash you talked about about, Like now I'm blindside. What's 174 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 3: the next thing. Well, I guess I need to get 175 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 3: an international championship, or I need to win the next one, 176 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 3: or I need to like you know, be MVP or 177 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 3: whatever it is. We just like immediately jump on to 178 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,320 Speaker 3: the next carot. And I think that, you know, like 179 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:02,080 Speaker 3: for you, as professional athlete, those carrots were you know, 180 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 3: accolades in your sport. I think for other people it 181 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 3: can be money, it can be trying to find the 182 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 3: perfect relationship, you know, getting married, getting that next promotion 183 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 3: at work. I think so many of us fall prey 184 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 3: to this arrival fallacy where we're not enjoying the journey 185 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 3: at all. We just have this kind of you know, 186 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 3: this carrot in the future in our minds, and we 187 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 3: chase there. But even in the rare cases where we 188 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:24,880 Speaker 3: get it, you know, when we achieve the excellence we wanted, 189 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 3: we're not satisfied with that. We just move on to 190 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 3: the next hurdle. 191 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 1: And I unfortunately think our culture now has really affected our. 192 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 2: Ability to be present. 193 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: You know, you talk about social media, you talk about 194 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 1: you know, these kids at a very early age. Just 195 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:50,320 Speaker 1: like you said, whether it's athletics or academic, these kids 196 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:54,960 Speaker 1: are being professionalized at such a young age. Like when 197 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: I grew up playing, I played everything like I When 198 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: I think about my child childhood, I do think about happiness, 199 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 1: and I do think about joy because I didn't have 200 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 1: the expectation of being the greatest, you know, to win 201 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:14,440 Speaker 1: these championships, to pave the way for these all these 202 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: young women looking up you know, to our team and 203 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 1: us as athletes and individuals like I just don't see 204 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: kids playing outside like I did as as a young child. 205 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:29,680 Speaker 1: Has this really affected our children and how they see 206 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:31,840 Speaker 1: themselves and how they view happiness. 207 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure. A former Stanford dean has christened this 208 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 3: term cages of enrichment. Right. The idea is like, you know, 209 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:39,839 Speaker 3: you want to give your kid, you know, I don't know, 210 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:42,199 Speaker 3: access to the best like soccer team, so they can 211 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 3: play and get good at it. But because all of 212 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 3: these kinds of things that we're doing to help kids 213 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:50,079 Speaker 3: feel like there's kind of pre professional that they're kind 214 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:52,120 Speaker 3: of very goal oriented, that you have to kind of 215 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:54,200 Speaker 3: get to the point and be excellent all the time. 216 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:56,680 Speaker 3: It's almost like a cage. Like, yeah, they're getting this 217 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:58,959 Speaker 3: sort of enrichment, but they're sort of trapped in it, right, 218 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 3: And I think that you're exactly right that this kind 219 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 3: of thing is happening more and more and more from 220 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 3: athletics to you know, academics. I mean, I talk to 221 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,559 Speaker 3: so many of my student athletes who will say things 222 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:12,959 Speaker 3: like you, like you kind of think in this moment 223 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:14,800 Speaker 3: of like sort of sharing a deep dark secret of 224 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,640 Speaker 3: like I hate my sport. I hate it. I just 225 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 3: don't want to do it anymore. And it's so incredible 226 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:22,880 Speaker 3: that these students who dedicated so much time to being 227 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:25,640 Speaker 3: excellent this thing, you know, hate this thing that they've 228 00:11:25,679 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 3: become excellent at. And I just think that's just such 229 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,040 Speaker 3: an indictment of our culture right now, and in some 230 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 3: ways an indictment of parenting. I think parents sometimes get 231 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 3: a lot wrapped up in this sort of carot chasing 232 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:38,920 Speaker 3: and really want their kids to be excellent at whatever 233 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 3: they're doing. And so I think parents need to step 234 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:43,960 Speaker 3: away and ask the question, Okay, do you really want 235 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,920 Speaker 3: that excellence at the cost of your kid's mental health, 236 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:48,920 Speaker 3: at the cost of their enjoyment, at the cost of 237 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:51,360 Speaker 3: their kind of relishing the journey along the way? 238 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 1: And I love that you bring that point up because 239 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:56,559 Speaker 1: it is really important to me. And I get this 240 00:11:56,640 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: question a lot is these parents like bumba me and 241 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 1: is like, are like, what advice can you give my child? 242 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:09,960 Speaker 1: Your child eight like, yes, exactly, My advice is to you. 243 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 1: My advice is exactly what you said. This is supposed 244 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 1: to be the best time of their life. 245 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 2: And I'm like, just they should just be having fun. 246 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, And what we know one of the things we 247 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 3: know about the power of fun, the power of playfulness, right, 248 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 3: which is often how it's defined right, which is that 249 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,480 Speaker 3: you're doing something not for some extrinsic reward, like you're 250 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:31,240 Speaker 3: trying to get a trophy, you're trying to you know, 251 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:33,320 Speaker 3: get into a good college. You're just doing it for 252 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 3: the intrinsic internal enjoyment of things. Research shows that the 253 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 3: more we play, especially when you're young, the better we 254 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 3: develop stress coping strategies that just like doing things that 255 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 3: you enjoy can help you kind of gain resilience when 256 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 3: the tough stuff in life comes up, you know, not 257 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:50,240 Speaker 3: to mention, it's also just like fun, so it makes 258 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:53,000 Speaker 3: you feel good and gives you positive emotions. And I 259 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:54,880 Speaker 3: think you're right. I think we really have moved away 260 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 3: from fun. And it kind of raises a question of, like, 261 00:12:57,679 --> 00:12:59,280 Speaker 3: you know, Okay, if you're kind of a person like 262 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:01,680 Speaker 3: you who's been doing this for so long, how do 263 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 3: you step out of it? How do you get back 264 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 3: to what researchers call a journey mindset where you're kind 265 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 3: of not waiting for the arrival but sort of enjoying 266 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 3: the journey along the way. How do you fight back 267 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:12,599 Speaker 3: against these cultural tendencies? 268 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:17,320 Speaker 2: Oh, and I love that. Stay tuned. 269 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:29,800 Speaker 1: We'll be right back after this, you know, as I 270 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 1: shared with you about a very humbling moment for me 271 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 1: now trying to understand my identity outside of sport. I 272 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:44,840 Speaker 1: think that conversation of joy and happiness really split me 273 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:48,839 Speaker 1: wide open. And I ask every person on this podcast 274 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:54,040 Speaker 1: show that you know, what was the defining moment in 275 00:13:54,080 --> 00:14:00,040 Speaker 1: your life that really split you wide open, that really changed. 276 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 2: Everything for you, that made you sit. 277 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: Back and be like, oh, like this is going to 278 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 1: make or break me. 279 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:12,840 Speaker 2: What was that moment for you? 280 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 3: Yeah? Well, I think it came a little bit after 281 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 3: I sort of dove into this field of the science 282 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 3: of happiness. As I mentioned, I was working really closely 283 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 3: with these students. I was actually living with them on 284 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 3: campus in this role as a head of college on campus. 285 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 3: This is this kind of weird role at Yale where 286 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:28,760 Speaker 3: you're like, as a faculty member, you live with students 287 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:30,560 Speaker 3: and eat with them in the dining hall and kind 288 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 3: of you're just like in student life much more closely. 289 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:35,120 Speaker 3: And that was where I started to see really this 290 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:38,000 Speaker 3: college student mental health crisis up close and personal. Right. 291 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 3: So I developed this new class that idea. As I'm 292 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 3: teaching students all these great strategies, you know, my class 293 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 3: went a little bit viral because everybody pays attention to 294 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 3: what's happening at Yale, and I think there was this 295 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 3: question about, like, oh my gosh, these kids who are 296 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 3: nineteen and at Yale University, if they are all desperate 297 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:55,200 Speaker 3: to take a class on happiness, like, you know, what 298 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:57,960 Speaker 3: about the rest of us? You know, So there's news articles, 299 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 3: there's I started my podcast, which came soon after that, 300 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 3: and juggling being a professor, being ahead of college, being 301 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:07,840 Speaker 3: a podcast host, being an expert and a speaker on happiness. 302 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 3: And that was when the pandemic hit, and you know, 303 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:13,800 Speaker 3: there was a lot more you know, need for folks 304 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,800 Speaker 3: who are interested in science. I want to talk, and honestly, 305 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 3: I just got really burned out, especially the part about 306 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 3: running this college on campus when we had kind of 307 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 3: unceremoniously kicked everyone out for COVID. It was just really hard, 308 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:29,360 Speaker 3: and I just started to notice all the kind of 309 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 3: clinical signs of burnout, you know, the one we think about, 310 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 3: which is a sense of emotional exhaustion. But it's not 311 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 3: like the usual physical exhaustion. It's like even if you 312 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 3: take a break, you just kind of can't even you're 313 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,160 Speaker 3: just emotionally not able to keep doing it. That's sort 314 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 3: of clinical sign number one. Clinical sign number two is 315 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:51,080 Speaker 3: what folks call depersonalization, but it's really a sense of cynicism. 316 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 3: It's just like everybody is getting on your last nerve, right, 317 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,480 Speaker 3: you just start of interpret everyone around you's intentions as bad. 318 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 3: And I knowed this in a kind of really embarrassing 319 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:04,480 Speaker 3: moment that I've talked about before, but it still kind 320 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 3: of strikes me when I talk about it. As a 321 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 3: head of college, you often get, you know, emergency situations 322 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 3: from students who might need, you know, finances or need something. 323 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 3: And I got an email from a student that I 324 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 3: was really close with who desperately needed a root canal. Right, 325 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 3: his tooth was all messed up. He needed some money 326 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:21,280 Speaker 3: for a root canal. And instead of what I hope 327 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:23,520 Speaker 3: would be my usual reaction of just compassion, like oh, 328 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 3: this poor kid, he's in the middle of midterms and 329 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 3: he you know, so sucks, you know, my immediate reaction 330 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 3: was like, oh, I have to send another damn email. 331 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 3: And I was like WHOA, Like that is something's wrong there? 332 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 3: Like I ha, do you to kind of think about this, 333 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,240 Speaker 3: you know? And so that was clinical sign number two. 334 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:42,800 Speaker 3: Of my burnout and then clinical sign number three is 335 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 3: that you experience what what researchers call a sense of 336 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 3: personal ineffectiveness, which is this idea that like, even if 337 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,200 Speaker 3: I was doing my job perfectly, even if I was 338 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 3: hitting every mark, every deadline, it still wouldn't matter. It 339 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:57,320 Speaker 3: still would kind of feel meaningless. And that was really 340 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:00,400 Speaker 3: happening during COVID, where I'm like, what are we even 341 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 3: you know, what are we even doing? Like running a 342 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:04,920 Speaker 3: college where everyone's like on screens and zooms and there's 343 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 3: no athletics, right, there's no music, there's no anything happening 344 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:11,400 Speaker 3: on campus, and so it was really it was really 345 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 3: that moment, you know, when I got that email and 346 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 3: had that reaction that I was like, I have to 347 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 3: make change, Like I am not living up to all 348 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:22,399 Speaker 3: this stuff that I'm teaching other people, and so I 349 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:24,360 Speaker 3: stepped away from my role as a head of college. 350 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,520 Speaker 3: I took a like an unpaid year leave from Yale. 351 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:30,360 Speaker 3: I really tried to get more in touch with kind 352 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:32,680 Speaker 3: of what I was doing wrong in the spots where 353 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:36,520 Speaker 3: I wasn't following my own advice. And that was really transformative, right, 354 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,800 Speaker 3: I think I got back into social connection. I developed 355 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 3: some better self talk strategies to give myself, you know, 356 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,960 Speaker 3: a little self compassion despite being a kind of perfectionist 357 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:48,960 Speaker 3: in my own ways. I think it was really important. 358 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,679 Speaker 3: It was an important realization and it's been a journey 359 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:52,360 Speaker 3: since then for. 360 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:55,440 Speaker 1: Me, and I'm sure it took a lot to get 361 00:17:55,560 --> 00:18:00,440 Speaker 1: to the place of understanding what burnout actually is and 362 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:05,560 Speaker 1: having a enough like agency over your own mental health 363 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,920 Speaker 1: and well being to say I need to put myself first, 364 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 1: which you know, a lot of people don't understand, you know, 365 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:19,520 Speaker 1: they're themselves enough or don't have the ability to take 366 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:24,359 Speaker 1: a step back to say, hmm, I'm I'm heading into 367 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:29,480 Speaker 1: this place and I really need a reset. Y. 368 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:33,199 Speaker 3: Yeah. So I think another thing is that, you know, 369 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 3: we mentioned a little bit negative emotions before. I think, 370 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 3: you know, especially people kind of type A folks who 371 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:41,880 Speaker 3: push themselves. I throw professional athletes into this category, right, 372 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:44,320 Speaker 3: you know, with all you talked about suffering, it's kind 373 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:46,520 Speaker 3: of like whenever you experience a negative emotion, it could 374 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:49,439 Speaker 3: be like inconvenient, like, oh, that sense of overwhelm I'm 375 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:51,560 Speaker 3: feeling right now, that sense of burnout. Don't have time 376 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 3: for that on this random Tuesday. I'm going to push 377 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:56,199 Speaker 3: that away, right, And I think what I came to 378 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:59,119 Speaker 3: realize is that, you know, our negative emotions are kind 379 00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 3: of like the dash or light in our car. You know, 380 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:03,719 Speaker 3: if your tire light goes on or your engine light 381 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:06,359 Speaker 3: goes on, that's inconvenient. You might not be able to 382 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 3: pull over right at that second to deal with this. 383 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:11,600 Speaker 3: But like, unless you deal with it soon and take 384 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 3: it seriously, you know your car is going to get 385 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,080 Speaker 3: much more messed up. And I think our bodies and 386 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,280 Speaker 3: our minds wind up getting much more messed up when 387 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,040 Speaker 3: we're not listening to our negative emotions, because they're like 388 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:24,400 Speaker 3: an alert signal. Right. If we're experiencing loneliness, that's telling 389 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:26,880 Speaker 3: you something important about you need a little bit more 390 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:30,040 Speaker 3: social connection. If you're experiencing a sense of overwhelm at 391 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,240 Speaker 3: work or burnout, that's a really important signal that you've 392 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,360 Speaker 3: got to take something off your plate. If you're experiencing 393 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,680 Speaker 3: sometimes resistance, you know, this is the thing. I think 394 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 3: my students and my student athletes are feeling like I 395 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:43,359 Speaker 3: hate my sport. I'm like that is an honest signal 396 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:46,199 Speaker 3: that something about this relationship and this dynamic and your 397 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:49,520 Speaker 3: values have to change, right, And so I think we 398 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:52,640 Speaker 3: ignore those negative emotions at our peril, even if they're 399 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,680 Speaker 3: ones that are really inconvenient. That suggests, you know, a big, 400 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 3: wide open change needs to come. We still need to 401 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:00,680 Speaker 3: pay attention to those absolutely. 402 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 2: So what would you say is like the biggest misconception 403 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:07,480 Speaker 2: about happiness. 404 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:09,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, we talked about one of them, right, which is 405 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:13,399 Speaker 3: this idea that happiness is really about no negative emotions. Right, 406 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,880 Speaker 3: that's toxic positivity. That's just wrong. A rich, good life 407 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:19,600 Speaker 3: is going to include negative emotions because they're your signal 408 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:22,120 Speaker 3: for like, you know what you really need to kind 409 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 3: of experience more joy and be more satisfied with your life. 410 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:28,440 Speaker 3: I think a different misconception is that happiness is all 411 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 3: about your circumstances, right, It's what you achieve in life. 412 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 3: It's your money, it's your accolades, it's you know, you 413 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:38,879 Speaker 3: got that national championship. But those things just don't impact 414 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,160 Speaker 3: our happiness for as long or for as much as 415 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:44,680 Speaker 3: we even think. And so I think that's honestly, the 416 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 3: biggest misconception I see in my students is like I 417 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:49,439 Speaker 3: have to change something in my life or get something 418 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 3: or earn something or win something to feel happy, and 419 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,080 Speaker 3: study after study just shows that's not it. 420 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:00,199 Speaker 1: So if trust me, I live this, and I just like, 421 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:03,560 Speaker 1: I love your work so much, and my brain right 422 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:07,760 Speaker 1: now is just literally doing cartwheels or jumping jacks. I 423 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:12,159 Speaker 1: really don't know which one, but something in between. What 424 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 1: are like the tangible things. 425 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 2: That people can do. 426 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:23,840 Speaker 1: To get to a place of happiness, Like how when 427 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 1: you are doing your work and you're you know, you're 428 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:29,679 Speaker 1: talking to people like me. I'll be very honest, I 429 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:32,959 Speaker 1: feel more at home and suffering than I do in happiness. 430 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 1: Not looking for like a therapy session. But I think 431 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:41,720 Speaker 1: a lot of people feel this because the journey to 432 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,600 Speaker 1: happiness is like not as easy. Like people get so 433 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 1: comfortable and suffering and so comfortable and misery and so 434 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: at home in that space of being in the trenches. 435 00:21:56,119 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 1: I'm just curious of what are actionable steps that we 436 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:05,000 Speaker 1: could be taking or checking ourselves or rewiring our self 437 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:09,480 Speaker 1: talk and self worth to putting one step one foot 438 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:13,399 Speaker 1: in front of the other and really like practicing the 439 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 1: art of happiness. 440 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, well, a big step is changing your mindset, changing 441 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 3: yourself talk, as you mentioned, And I think there's a 442 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 3: couple of things we can start with. Right. One is 443 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 3: if you're kind of in the mindset of suffering and 444 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:29,879 Speaker 3: that's what you gravitate towards, it'll take your mind a 445 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:32,040 Speaker 3: little bit of training to notice some of the good 446 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 3: stuff in the world. So this has often been called 447 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 3: like a gratitude practice, where you try to notice the 448 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:40,880 Speaker 3: things that you're grateful for. If that feels heavy, which 449 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:43,520 Speaker 3: it does for some people, I like to suggest a 450 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,240 Speaker 3: slightly different practice, which is to notice the delights in 451 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,960 Speaker 3: the world. Gratitude can feel really heavy of like, oh 452 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 3: my gosh, I have so much privilege. It kind of 453 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,880 Speaker 3: feels overwhelming. But delights are like, oh my gosh, you know, 454 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,520 Speaker 3: my morning coffee cup. You know, when I was walking 455 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:58,199 Speaker 3: over here to get set up for the podcast, there 456 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:00,639 Speaker 3: was just like somebody driving by, like black some like 457 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 3: Motley Crue. And also that's like a little delight, you know, 458 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 3: it's a little yeah. And so it's like delights are 459 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:08,399 Speaker 3: great because they're they're just tiny, you know, They're just 460 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,000 Speaker 3: these moments where your heart's like, oh, you know, like warm, 461 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:15,439 Speaker 3: happy feelings, right, And the act of noticing them is 462 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:17,680 Speaker 3: it doesn't seem like it, but what you're really doing 463 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 3: is practicing over time, right, just like you do you know, 464 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,080 Speaker 3: sprints or I don't know, like you know, kicking this. 465 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:25,399 Speaker 3: I was never a soccer player, I mess up all 466 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 3: my soccer metaphors, right, But like, just like you do 467 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,920 Speaker 3: that kind of practice and athletics, the act of noticing 468 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:34,160 Speaker 3: delights makes it easier for your brain to notice them, right. 469 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:37,359 Speaker 3: You're kind of retraining what your mind naturally pays attention to. 470 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 3: So if your brain is like on the lookout for 471 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,200 Speaker 3: things that you're grateful for, things that are cool, things 472 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 3: that are delightful, you'll kind of train away what's often 473 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:49,280 Speaker 3: called a negativity bias. Our mind's just evolutionarily naturally notice 474 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:51,560 Speaker 3: the negative stuff, but you can kind of train that 475 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 3: away with a little bit of practice. And so that's 476 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 3: kind of finding delights, finding gratitude. I think that can 477 00:23:57,119 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 3: be a a big mindset shift for a lot of us. 478 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:02,720 Speaker 3: Another one that I think sounds like, you know, perfectionists 479 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:05,200 Speaker 3: or folks who are kind of their whole career and 480 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:08,080 Speaker 3: how they approach things we're suffering. I think a big 481 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:10,919 Speaker 3: mindset shift there that can really help is to develop 482 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 3: a little bit of self compassion, which sounds like wooy 483 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,359 Speaker 3: and whatever, but really it's just the practice of talking 484 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:20,840 Speaker 3: to yourself and giving yourself the benefit of the doubt, 485 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,200 Speaker 3: just like you would with a good friend or someone 486 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 3: you really cared about. And so Kristinneff, who's a researcher 487 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:29,080 Speaker 3: at UTI Austin, does a lot of great work on 488 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:31,880 Speaker 3: self compassion, and she sort of defines it as having 489 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:35,480 Speaker 3: these three steps. One is sort of mindfulness, like I'm 490 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,560 Speaker 3: struggling right now, this sucks right now, I'm feeling really overwhelmed. 491 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,320 Speaker 3: Right now, you sort of notice where you are and 492 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:43,960 Speaker 3: what could be tough. You kind of mindfully notice that. 493 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,280 Speaker 3: The second step is what she calls calmon humanity, which 494 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:50,040 Speaker 3: is especially hard for the perfectionists, but you know, practice 495 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:53,120 Speaker 3: you get good at it. Common humanity is just and 496 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:55,439 Speaker 3: that makes sense that I'm overwhelmed and struggling because I'm 497 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 3: just human. I'm not like a superhuman robot. I'm not 498 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 3: like the perfect you that's never going to make a mistake. 499 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:04,600 Speaker 3: I'm actually human, and it makes sense that I'm going 500 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:07,159 Speaker 3: through this and it's a normative experience. I'm not alone, 501 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:10,399 Speaker 3: right That's a common humanity step. And then the final 502 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:13,239 Speaker 3: step is what she calls self kindness. This is kind 503 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,320 Speaker 3: of treating yourself like you treat a friend. You say, 504 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 3: you know, what do I need right now? What can 505 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:19,639 Speaker 3: I take off my plate? Right? And this idea of 506 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:21,879 Speaker 3: treating yourself like you treat a friend, I think is 507 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,680 Speaker 3: a helpful way to frame self compassion for perfectionists, because 508 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,440 Speaker 3: I think sometimes perfectionists confuse self compassion with self indulgence. 509 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:31,800 Speaker 3: They think that being nice to yourself is like just 510 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,800 Speaker 3: letting yourself off the hook, just screwing up. But really, 511 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:38,520 Speaker 3: what self compassion is, it's like being a really good coach, 512 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:41,840 Speaker 3: like a really empathic coach. Like if you are actively 513 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:44,080 Speaker 3: screwing up, your coach wouldn't be like, that's fine, I'll 514 00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:46,600 Speaker 3: just pretend it's okay, but they would be like, hey, 515 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 3: what is up? What is going on? Can we talk 516 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 3: about this and like figure it out? A good empathic 517 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:54,399 Speaker 3: coach would go into like problem solving mode but not 518 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:57,879 Speaker 3: accusing mode, right. And that's the sort of attitude you 519 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:00,360 Speaker 3: bring to yourself. It's not like you're can of letting 520 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:02,879 Speaker 3: yourself off the hook if you're really screwing up, but 521 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:04,679 Speaker 3: you come in there with like a little bit of 522 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,959 Speaker 3: compassion and problem solving rather than just like beating yourself 523 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,639 Speaker 3: up all the time, and self compassion can be an 524 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:14,879 Speaker 3: incredibly powerful mindset. Research shows that it allows you to 525 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,920 Speaker 3: treat your future self better. Suit eat healthier, you exercise 526 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,520 Speaker 3: more when you're a little bit more self compassionate. If 527 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,080 Speaker 3: you have a big project, you're less likely to procrastinate 528 00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 3: because you're not beating yourself up, So it makes it 529 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 3: easier to do hard things. And self compassion research shows 530 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:32,480 Speaker 3: can actually help even in just really extreme situations of suffering, 531 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 3: like trauma. Kristin has done work with Afghan and Iraqi 532 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,679 Speaker 3: veterans who've been in combat, and she founds that teaching 533 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:43,680 Speaker 3: them these self compassion strategies mean they get lower rates 534 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:47,320 Speaker 3: of PTSD post traumatic stress disorder even going through trauma. 535 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,840 Speaker 3: So it's kind of like it's like a really good strategy, 536 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:53,680 Speaker 3: but is one that can be really hard for perfectionists, 537 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:55,359 Speaker 3: so it too kind of takes a little bit of 538 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:56,919 Speaker 3: time and practice to get used to. 539 00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think what it boils down to is 540 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:02,879 Speaker 1: just giving yourself grace, which I'm learning in real time. 541 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:07,320 Speaker 1: And I say this all the time. You know, there's 542 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:10,639 Speaker 1: so many people that have opinions of me and my 543 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:15,240 Speaker 1: performance always, you know, the days of making a mistake 544 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:20,520 Speaker 1: and walking off the field and not thousands, if not 545 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,720 Speaker 1: millions of people watching it and having an opinion on it. 546 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:30,560 Speaker 1: It's been a weird process growing up in a space 547 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:34,920 Speaker 1: of social media with people having opinions of you, and 548 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:37,880 Speaker 1: then you internalize the way they see you. And it's 549 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:44,680 Speaker 1: just this really wild spiral that I had to go 550 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:50,280 Speaker 1: through as a as a performer, player, perfectionist, all these things. 551 00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:52,680 Speaker 1: And what I did know is no one was harder 552 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:58,439 Speaker 1: on me than me, and I really had to learn grace. 553 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:04,119 Speaker 1: I had to really humanize myself a lot, because I 554 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,160 Speaker 1: am not a perfect person. I am not a perfect athlete, 555 00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:09,600 Speaker 1: and I am going to make mistakes all the time. 556 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 2: I really hold on to that grace part. 557 00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:18,520 Speaker 1: I really hold on to understanding boundaries, which I'm learning 558 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:24,240 Speaker 1: to set now, because for every five hundred beautiful, nice 559 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:28,120 Speaker 1: comments that people think I'm so lovely and I'm doing 560 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,440 Speaker 1: great work and they're so encouraging, the two, three, four, 561 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:35,800 Speaker 1: five comments that absolutely destroy me I weirdly hold on 562 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:36,800 Speaker 1: to completely. 563 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 3: I mean, that is the negativity bias, right Like, your 564 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:41,720 Speaker 3: brain can see hundreds and hundreds of nice things and 565 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:43,960 Speaker 3: the one terrible thing. It's like, oh, let me lock 566 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:47,160 Speaker 3: onto that. We do the same thing with comparison, right. 567 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:49,520 Speaker 3: You know, you can be a better player than you are, 568 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 3: a better player than literally billions of other people on 569 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:54,880 Speaker 3: the planet, but the one or two players that are 570 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 3: better than you, like that will stick in your mind, 571 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:00,760 Speaker 3: and whatever your comparison is at the time, your brain 572 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,320 Speaker 3: will lock onto the one that makes you feel worse 573 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,920 Speaker 3: about yourself. I was doing I was doing some training 574 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:11,480 Speaker 3: with professional basketball players and I was showing the power 575 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:13,680 Speaker 3: like how bad our brains are at comparison. And I 576 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:16,200 Speaker 3: was asking them like, you know, what, what's the comparison 577 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:18,800 Speaker 3: point for like, you know, free throws? And I was like, oh, 578 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 3: that's Steph Curry, you know, because he's so good at it. 579 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 3: Like yeah, I was like, what's the comparison point for 580 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:24,360 Speaker 3: you know, I don't know how much people are earning 581 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:26,160 Speaker 3: at the time. Stuff was making a lot and they're like, oh, yeah, 582 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 3: Steph Curry again. And I was like, Okay, what's the 583 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,600 Speaker 3: comparison point for height? And they're like, well, that's not 584 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:32,440 Speaker 3: Steph Curry, you know, because he's kind of short. He's like, 585 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:34,400 Speaker 3: that's like taco fail. He's like really tall. I'm like 586 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:36,680 Speaker 3: Why did your brain let stuff off the hook for 587 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:38,440 Speaker 3: that one? Why didn't it like allow you to feel 588 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,640 Speaker 3: better because you're taller than him. It's like, that's just 589 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 3: not how brains work, you know. And so if it's 590 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:45,880 Speaker 3: your performance at work, you know, you're gonna pick the 591 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:48,360 Speaker 3: highest performer at work. If it's your look, she'll pick 592 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:49,440 Speaker 3: someone off social media. 593 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:49,600 Speaker 1: Right. 594 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:52,719 Speaker 3: It's like whatever you are feeling is relevant to your 595 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:56,080 Speaker 3: identity at the time, you tend to pick comparison points 596 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:59,760 Speaker 3: that make you look the worst possible, right, And because 597 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:01,800 Speaker 3: you know, know, none of us are perfect, there's gonna 598 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:04,680 Speaker 3: always be some dimension on which we're not, you know, 599 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:08,120 Speaker 3: the best ever in the history of universe, and that's 600 00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 3: just going to make us feel kind of crappy. There's 601 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:12,880 Speaker 3: a very famous study on this, on this kind of 602 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:15,680 Speaker 3: form of comparison that was done actually with athletes, So 603 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:19,400 Speaker 3: it was with Olympic athletes on the metal stand, just 604 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:21,880 Speaker 3: asking kind of who's happiest, and of course you predict, 605 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:23,440 Speaker 3: like you know, when you win a gold medal, you're 606 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:25,280 Speaker 3: going to be the most happy. It's the gold medalists 607 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:28,840 Speaker 3: who are the most happy, and they are happy. But interestingly, 608 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 3: if you look at the silver medalists, they're not kind 609 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:34,240 Speaker 3: of second happiest. They're actually showing emotions on the metal 610 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:38,160 Speaker 3: stand that look like contempt, deep sadness, grief. Right, and 611 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:40,120 Speaker 3: you're like, oh my gosh, you're second best in the world. 612 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:42,360 Speaker 3: You're taking home a metal for your country. Why do 613 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:44,920 Speaker 3: you feel so crappy? Well, they feel crappy in part 614 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,680 Speaker 3: because of this comparison. There's a really salient thing they 615 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 3: didn't get, which is the gold medal. But what's interestingly 616 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 3: is if you look at if you look at bronze medalists, 617 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:56,560 Speaker 3: you might predict that they'd be experiencing even more contempt 618 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:59,520 Speaker 3: and grief than the silver medalists, but not so. There's 619 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 3: sailing comparison isn't gold. You know, they weren't gonna you know, 620 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:05,960 Speaker 3: they're multiple points away or multiple seconds away or whatever, 621 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:09,200 Speaker 3: and whatever sport they're in. Their sailing comparison is like, 622 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 3: oh my gosh, if I was just a little bit worse, 623 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:13,440 Speaker 3: I wouldn't get any metal at all. And so it 624 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:15,240 Speaker 3: turns out that if you look at on the stand, 625 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:18,680 Speaker 3: the bronze medalists on average are like smiling, more like 626 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:22,760 Speaker 3: feeling this relief. They're feeling ecstatic even though objectively they 627 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:26,160 Speaker 3: actually did worse than silver medallists, they're feeling better. And 628 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,240 Speaker 3: so my joke from you know, these studies with Olympic 629 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:31,760 Speaker 3: athletes is instead of looking for the silver lining, we 630 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:33,640 Speaker 3: all have to look for the bronze lining, right, We 631 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:36,440 Speaker 3: need to look at the spot where you know it 632 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:38,840 Speaker 3: might not be as good as we are, like find 633 00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:41,440 Speaker 3: comparisons that kind of make you feel a little bit 634 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 3: better about your own identity. 635 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:45,000 Speaker 1: And that is so that is I love what you 636 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:51,080 Speaker 1: said there, and it's so important. This is wide open 637 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:53,240 Speaker 1: and I'm your host, Ashlyn Harris. 638 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:54,280 Speaker 2: We'll be right back. 639 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:09,240 Speaker 1: You know, in the culture of sport is that, you know, 640 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:12,280 Speaker 1: really contradicts what we were trying to talk. 641 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:15,440 Speaker 2: About what we're unlearning in a lot of ways, because 642 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:19,320 Speaker 2: they teach you to suffer. They teach you. 643 00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 1: That that's how you become the best. And now that 644 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:27,080 Speaker 1: I'm on the other side, I'm like, holy shit, I 645 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:32,240 Speaker 1: have so much unlearning to do because of it and 646 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:35,000 Speaker 1: because of how it now affects how I move in 647 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:35,880 Speaker 1: the real world. 648 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:40,080 Speaker 2: How how does that. 649 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:44,120 Speaker 1: Make you think based on all the studies you've done, 650 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:48,560 Speaker 1: based on your life commitment in this you know, happiness 651 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:53,240 Speaker 1: section of psychology. Like I just feel now that I 652 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:56,680 Speaker 1: think back on my younger self, I'm like, oh my gosh, 653 00:32:56,800 --> 00:32:57,840 Speaker 1: no wonder. 654 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 2: I can't sleep. I always think someone's working hard than me. 655 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:01,920 Speaker 2: No wonder. 656 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:05,240 Speaker 1: I have this weird complex that nothing is ever enough, 657 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 1: that how I do anything is how I do everything, 658 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:12,080 Speaker 1: and like, I run these things through my head because 659 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:15,640 Speaker 1: I'm so branded to do so, and it really does 660 00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:19,560 Speaker 1: affect my overall well being and happiness and how I 661 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:22,240 Speaker 1: show up for my friends, my work, my. 662 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:23,400 Speaker 2: Family, my kids. 663 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:27,640 Speaker 1: And I'm curious what you think about this, because it 664 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:30,680 Speaker 1: is a part of our culture as athletes to be 665 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:34,440 Speaker 1: brainwashed to suffer because that's what makes us great. 666 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:37,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, well, I think this is I mean, that's a theory, right, 667 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:39,120 Speaker 3: that what makes athletes great is that you have to 668 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 3: force them to suffer. And we have this kind of 669 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,720 Speaker 3: theory in a lot of performance careers and domains. 670 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:44,960 Speaker 1: Right. 671 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 3: I did some work with retired Navy seals, you know, 672 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:51,200 Speaker 3: and they have similar kinds of phrases eat the pain, right. 673 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:54,320 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, things right. But it raises a question of like, 674 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:56,040 Speaker 3: is that the best way to perform? 675 00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:56,480 Speaker 1: Right? 676 00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:59,800 Speaker 3: It turns out that if you look at performance data 677 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:02,880 Speaker 3: you often find is that people's overall levels of mental 678 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:06,120 Speaker 3: health correlate with their performance in all kinds of different domains, 679 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:10,640 Speaker 3: including athletics. Right. I think we have this assumption that like, 680 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:13,359 Speaker 3: you know, suffer suffer, suffer, no pain, no gain, push 681 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:16,560 Speaker 3: through it is the right move. But it might be 682 00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:21,440 Speaker 3: that like recognizing your own boundaries, recognizing your limitations, you know, 683 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:26,360 Speaker 3: that might actually make athletes who not only perform really well, 684 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:29,080 Speaker 3: but might have longevity in the sport part because they 685 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:31,279 Speaker 3: continue to enjoy it and they don't hate it. Right, 686 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:33,719 Speaker 3: And I do think there are some athletes out here 687 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:37,360 Speaker 3: there that, despite their excellence, have trained in ways that 688 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:39,799 Speaker 3: are like less kind of you know, eat the pain 689 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:43,440 Speaker 3: and more like self compassion. On my show, I talked 690 00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:47,279 Speaker 3: to the Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan and was surprised that, 691 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:50,080 Speaker 3: you know, even though she just like achieved such you know, 692 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:53,040 Speaker 3: excellence at her sport, she kind of was able to 693 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:55,360 Speaker 3: maintain a little bit of a journey mindset. Somehow she 694 00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:58,240 Speaker 3: kind of fought off all those arrival fallacy kinds of things, 695 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:01,520 Speaker 3: and she had these lovely examples of it. You know. 696 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:03,280 Speaker 3: She talked about when she would go to the Olympics. 697 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:05,680 Speaker 3: Her favorite part was that she would get to skate 698 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:09,480 Speaker 3: across the ice where they had the Olympic rings embedded in, 699 00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:12,319 Speaker 3: and she talked about like skating over those colors and 700 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:14,200 Speaker 3: just trying to say, I'm just going to be present 701 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:15,640 Speaker 3: with like, I don't care about what happens. I just 702 00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:17,600 Speaker 3: kind of want to be present with this, right. And 703 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:21,759 Speaker 3: so I think somehow there are excellent athletes who've avoided 704 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:23,799 Speaker 3: this suffering mindset. I think as a culture, we're not 705 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:25,680 Speaker 3: good at that, and we push because we think that 706 00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:28,680 Speaker 3: that's the only way to become excellent. But I think 707 00:35:28,719 --> 00:35:31,600 Speaker 3: more and more as people see the research, they realize, actually, 708 00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:34,799 Speaker 3: you perform better like with self compassion. Actually you have 709 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:38,919 Speaker 3: longer careers, right, longer more successful careers if you treat 710 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:41,600 Speaker 3: yourself well. And so I hope is that my hope 711 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:44,279 Speaker 3: is that a new generation of coaches who see these 712 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:46,680 Speaker 3: real performance dat are going to say, hang on, maybe 713 00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:49,640 Speaker 3: we can achieve the same kind of performance in sport, 714 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:52,799 Speaker 3: but do it with a little bit more compassion, like 715 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:55,640 Speaker 3: a kind of smart way that kind of understands psychology better. 716 00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:59,600 Speaker 2: And I love that, and I wish I knew more 717 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:03,359 Speaker 2: while I was young because I do. I agree with you. 718 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:06,839 Speaker 1: I think if I could have found more happiness and 719 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:12,719 Speaker 1: joy through the journey, I think I would have been 720 00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:15,160 Speaker 1: a better teammate. I think I would have been a 721 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:18,840 Speaker 1: better human. I think I would have been a better, like, 722 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,480 Speaker 1: you know, person outside of sports too. I just I 723 00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:29,960 Speaker 1: felt that I carried that mindset in everything I did. 724 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:33,520 Speaker 1: And you just brought up something that really. 725 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:35,760 Speaker 2: Made me think. 726 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:39,640 Speaker 1: You said something about boundaries, and I don't think we've 727 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:43,280 Speaker 1: really touched on that with the landscape of social media. 728 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:47,800 Speaker 1: You know, let's pull away a little bit outside of sport. 729 00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:55,600 Speaker 1: The current landscape of our country, new presidency, things are 730 00:36:56,040 --> 00:37:02,480 Speaker 1: bonkers right now. It's really affecting everyone overall. 731 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:06,560 Speaker 2: Well being, mental health. As a queer woman who has 732 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:10,879 Speaker 2: adopted two black children, I'm terrified most days. I got 733 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:15,879 Speaker 2: to be really honest. How do we start setting boundaries? 734 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:17,040 Speaker 2: How do we. 735 00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:23,640 Speaker 1: Help protect ourselves in a landscape where you know, we're 736 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:27,880 Speaker 1: always picking this damn thing up and checking what everyone 737 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:28,640 Speaker 1: else is doing. 738 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:30,240 Speaker 2: The country's on fire. 739 00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:35,960 Speaker 1: Everything is just like whoa spiraling absolutely out of control. 740 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,160 Speaker 1: And it does affect the way we move, It does 741 00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:41,040 Speaker 1: affect the way we show up, It does affect the 742 00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:44,440 Speaker 1: way we see ourselves. How do we set boundaries, like, 743 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:48,480 Speaker 1: how do we really figure out a way to protect 744 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:49,120 Speaker 1: our peace? 745 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:51,880 Speaker 3: Yeah? Well, I think the first step gets back to 746 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:53,960 Speaker 3: something we spoke a little bit about before, which is 747 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:57,760 Speaker 3: like mindfully noticing these negative emotions. I think it helps 748 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:00,960 Speaker 3: to kind of notice what you're feeling after you're on 749 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:02,959 Speaker 3: your phone. Right, So, say you, you know, scroll through 750 00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:05,000 Speaker 3: Instagram or look at what the news is showing you, 751 00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:07,640 Speaker 3: and you know, at least I'm like you, like the 752 00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:09,920 Speaker 3: last New Week's wonder're having this conversation, it's been like 753 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:14,080 Speaker 3: utter terror, utter frustration, that kind of sense of loneliness 754 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:17,400 Speaker 3: and disconnection, just like yucky, yucky feelings. Right, But I 755 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:19,760 Speaker 3: think there's a moment to take a breath and notice 756 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:22,520 Speaker 3: those feelings, right like, because they're not you know, this 757 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:25,279 Speaker 3: is what the administration is. This is kind of where 758 00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:29,360 Speaker 3: we find ourselves breath, notice and ask the question, Okay, 759 00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:31,319 Speaker 3: what do I need right now? How can I take 760 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:33,920 Speaker 3: care of myself? Right? And often what you realize is 761 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:36,399 Speaker 3: like it's not another half hour scrolling through the same 762 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:39,319 Speaker 3: news feed, right, it's you know, to put the phone 763 00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:41,920 Speaker 3: away and go spend time with your kids, right it's 764 00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:44,200 Speaker 3: to put the phone away and just like take a 765 00:38:44,239 --> 00:38:46,440 Speaker 3: deep breath, maybe move your body around a little bit 766 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:49,520 Speaker 3: so you can get some endorphins, right, Like, it's really 767 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:52,120 Speaker 3: asking yourself what can I do to take care of myself? 768 00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:55,719 Speaker 3: And a very practical kind of set of strategies that 769 00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:57,719 Speaker 3: I often use that I teach my students is this 770 00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:01,480 Speaker 3: very specific meditation practice that was popularized by the meditation 771 00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:04,120 Speaker 3: teacher tar Brock. It goes by the acronym of rain 772 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:09,440 Speaker 3: RAI in which stands for recognize, allow, investigate, and nurture. 773 00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:11,360 Speaker 3: And so you know, let's say you're scrolling through the 774 00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:13,799 Speaker 3: newsfeed and you see what's going on in the world 775 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:17,600 Speaker 3: right now, and you just you know, that's when you say, okay, 776 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:21,279 Speaker 3: do a quick rain, take a step away, recognize what 777 00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:23,680 Speaker 3: are the specific emotions I'm going through, and really try 778 00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:27,000 Speaker 3: to categorize them, Like this time, it's just like it's anxiety, 779 00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:29,600 Speaker 3: or it's anchor, or it's just overwhelmed, Like I just 780 00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:31,759 Speaker 3: feel like the problems of the world can't fit with 781 00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:34,440 Speaker 3: everything I have on my plate. Just kind of notice 782 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:38,480 Speaker 3: and try to categorize what you're feeling. That's step one. Recognize. 783 00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:40,520 Speaker 3: Then you say the next one is a hard step. 784 00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:43,759 Speaker 3: You say, allow, just gonna allow those feelings to be 785 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:45,960 Speaker 3: there just as they are. Right. I think this is 786 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:48,560 Speaker 3: the spot where your training is as an athlete comes in. Right. 787 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:51,160 Speaker 3: You're good at allowing pain or allowing things. You're gonna 788 00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:53,880 Speaker 3: allow these emotions and sit with them and look at them, right, 789 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:56,359 Speaker 3: But you give your brain something to do while you're 790 00:39:56,400 --> 00:39:59,880 Speaker 3: doing that, And that's the eye step. Investigate. You say, Okay, 791 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:03,040 Speaker 3: deep breath, when I'm feeling the sense of overwhelming anxiety, 792 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:05,120 Speaker 3: where do I experience it in my body? You really 793 00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:07,320 Speaker 3: kind of get deep. Is it in my chest? Maybe 794 00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:10,400 Speaker 3: my brow is furrowed? Whatever. And the reason this step 795 00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:12,440 Speaker 3: works is, you know, there's so much work in clinical 796 00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:15,880 Speaker 3: psychology and clinical training that talks about how our emotions, 797 00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:18,000 Speaker 3: our cravings, they're sort of like a wave. Right when 798 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:20,000 Speaker 3: we first start to pay attention to them, they'll kind 799 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:21,879 Speaker 3: of go up, and they might feel more intense when 800 00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:23,759 Speaker 3: you're really looking at it. But if we give our 801 00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:26,720 Speaker 3: emotions time, they'll just sort of pass like a wave. 802 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:30,160 Speaker 3: This is often a process that's called urge surfing, and 803 00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:32,439 Speaker 3: that investigates step. Let you do that because you're looking 804 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:36,520 Speaker 3: directly at it. Like, oh, my chest, my body's fluttering, 805 00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:39,960 Speaker 3: my stomach feels gross. But you're like feeling that thing 806 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:43,000 Speaker 3: head on, and inevitably in a couple minutes, usually like 807 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,320 Speaker 3: three to five minutes. A lot of the science suggests 808 00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:47,960 Speaker 3: that will pass, but you don't stop there. There's one 809 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,640 Speaker 3: last step of rain, and that's the end nurture. You say, 810 00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:54,279 Speaker 3: what can I take off my plate? What do I 811 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:58,239 Speaker 3: need right now? Sometimes those answers will be inconvenient. Right, 812 00:40:58,239 --> 00:41:01,040 Speaker 3: It's like I got to ask somebody for help, right, 813 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:04,120 Speaker 3: I need to, you know, cancel these meetings that feel important. 814 00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:07,440 Speaker 3: I need to really take a break. But kind of 815 00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:09,920 Speaker 3: give yourself that grace and kind of do that. I 816 00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:13,440 Speaker 3: think rain is a really nice way to notice the 817 00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:16,480 Speaker 3: bad things in the world, recognize and allow like we 818 00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:19,120 Speaker 3: might not be able to solve them, and that sucks. 819 00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:23,000 Speaker 3: But deep breath, let's feel that emotion and kind of 820 00:41:23,040 --> 00:41:23,960 Speaker 3: let it take its course. 821 00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:27,719 Speaker 1: And that's important what you just said, because I do 822 00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:33,239 Speaker 1: find that the times I get the most overwhelmed are 823 00:41:33,280 --> 00:41:34,800 Speaker 1: when I can't control things. 824 00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:38,200 Speaker 2: There's a lot of this world I can't control. 825 00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:41,759 Speaker 1: So I think that's the spiral in me where I'm like, 826 00:41:41,840 --> 00:41:44,440 Speaker 1: oh my god, that's when I get uncomfortable. That's when 827 00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:46,719 Speaker 1: I start crawling out of my skin. That's when it's 828 00:41:46,760 --> 00:41:50,600 Speaker 1: like I can't directly impact this, but it's affecting me 829 00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:51,400 Speaker 1: so much. 830 00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:54,160 Speaker 2: So I love that you suggest that. 831 00:41:54,239 --> 00:41:58,160 Speaker 1: And I hope you know everyone watching and listening, you know, 832 00:41:58,239 --> 00:42:03,200 Speaker 1: can take something away here because there's no question why 833 00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:06,920 Speaker 1: your class is the most popular class and Yale, what 834 00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:07,319 Speaker 1: is it. 835 00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:10,400 Speaker 2: Three hundred years something? 836 00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:15,680 Speaker 1: The work is so important and I want to first 837 00:42:15,719 --> 00:42:19,480 Speaker 1: and foremost say thank you for the way you serve 838 00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:26,399 Speaker 1: your community, your students, all of us. Like I love 839 00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:30,080 Speaker 1: your podcast, you know, the Happiness Lab. It's such an 840 00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:33,760 Speaker 1: important practice you've dedicated. 841 00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:37,839 Speaker 2: Your life to. And like, I want to end there 842 00:42:37,880 --> 00:42:38,560 Speaker 2: a little. 843 00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:42,000 Speaker 1: Bit and talk about that, because so much of what 844 00:42:42,120 --> 00:42:43,880 Speaker 1: you do is serving other people. 845 00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:48,920 Speaker 2: So I'm going to, you know, remove that for a second. 846 00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:53,319 Speaker 1: Like the legacy you're leaving behind through your work is 847 00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:58,439 Speaker 1: so beautiful, it's so powerful, and I wonder if you 848 00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:02,760 Speaker 1: ever take a step back and realize the work you've 849 00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:07,640 Speaker 1: done to bless all of these people on this pursuit 850 00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:09,600 Speaker 1: and journey of happiness, Like. 851 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:13,000 Speaker 2: Do you think about that? What is the legacy you 852 00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:14,600 Speaker 2: want to leave behind? 853 00:43:14,760 --> 00:43:19,160 Speaker 1: Like, what what's next for you? You know, You've done so 854 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:23,840 Speaker 1: much in this space, and I'm so grateful for your work, 855 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:26,839 Speaker 1: and I needed to tell you that personally. 856 00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:29,000 Speaker 3: Thank you. It's great to hear, especially coming from you. 857 00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:32,120 Speaker 3: It's nice, yeah, fans of fans, but yeah, yeah, yeah. 858 00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:35,880 Speaker 3: You know. I think one one great thing about the 859 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:37,879 Speaker 3: work that I've done, and I think you'll see this, 860 00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:40,960 Speaker 3: you know on your podcast Wide Open, is that this 861 00:43:41,120 --> 00:43:44,560 Speaker 3: act of helping other people, sharing good stories, helping your 862 00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:47,719 Speaker 3: viewers and your listeners and winds up helping you too, right. 863 00:43:47,760 --> 00:43:49,840 Speaker 3: It really gives you a sense of meaning and purpose. 864 00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:53,520 Speaker 3: It forces you when you're sharing these kinds of ideas 865 00:43:53,520 --> 00:43:56,560 Speaker 3: and strategies to make sure you're adopting them yourself. And so, 866 00:43:57,160 --> 00:43:59,200 Speaker 3: you know, I'm proud of the work I've done. I 867 00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:02,239 Speaker 3: feel incredible humbled that it's helped so many people. But 868 00:44:02,320 --> 00:44:04,640 Speaker 3: I'm also just like so happy that I get to 869 00:44:04,680 --> 00:44:08,279 Speaker 3: do it because I get something very selfishly out of it, too, right, 870 00:44:08,320 --> 00:44:11,239 Speaker 3: I get these strategies and get the great feeling and 871 00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:13,160 Speaker 3: meaning and purpose that comes from this work. 872 00:44:14,200 --> 00:44:17,840 Speaker 1: I love it and I'm very grateful for you, and 873 00:44:17,920 --> 00:44:22,200 Speaker 1: I will continue following you. Please tell everyone the listeners 874 00:44:22,239 --> 00:44:26,200 Speaker 1: and everyone tuning in where they can. 875 00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:27,200 Speaker 2: Access your work. 876 00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:29,960 Speaker 1: Not all of us are lucky enough to go to Yale, 877 00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:33,359 Speaker 1: but the good thing is is everyone can access you 878 00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:35,000 Speaker 1: and your podcast and your work. 879 00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:38,279 Speaker 2: Please let everyone know where they can find you. 880 00:44:38,560 --> 00:44:41,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, well, they can subscribe to the Happiness Lab, which 881 00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:43,880 Speaker 3: is my podcast wherever they get their podcasts. And if 882 00:44:43,920 --> 00:44:46,000 Speaker 3: you want to take a short version of the Yale 883 00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:47,799 Speaker 3: class that I teach, you can check it out on 884 00:44:47,880 --> 00:44:50,440 Speaker 3: Coursera dot org. It's called the Science of well Being 885 00:44:50,760 --> 00:44:53,080 Speaker 3: and it's really available to anyone who wants to take it. 886 00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:56,560 Speaker 1: Thank you for being wide Open, thank you for being vulnerable, 887 00:44:57,160 --> 00:45:00,880 Speaker 1: and thank you for showing up today. I think this 888 00:45:01,040 --> 00:45:03,480 Speaker 1: was a really great conversation and I think a lot 889 00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:06,680 Speaker 1: of people will learn something new and take something away. 890 00:45:06,760 --> 00:45:09,120 Speaker 1: So doctor Santos, thank you so much. 891 00:45:09,400 --> 00:45:11,320 Speaker 3: Thank you, thanks for having me on the show. 892 00:45:11,239 --> 00:45:13,800 Speaker 2: And I hope to see you down the line. 893 00:45:14,440 --> 00:45:18,759 Speaker 1: I will definitely tell them all my athlete friends if 894 00:45:18,840 --> 00:45:22,440 Speaker 1: they haven't tuned into your work, they're missing out. So again, 895 00:45:22,800 --> 00:45:26,319 Speaker 1: thank you for being here this week, and we'll see 896 00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:33,080 Speaker 1: everyone next week. Wide Open with Ashland Harris is an 897 00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:34,880 Speaker 1: iHeart women's sports production. 898 00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:38,279 Speaker 2: You can find us on the iHeartRadio. 899 00:45:37,480 --> 00:45:41,480 Speaker 1: App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Our 900 00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:47,280 Speaker 1: producers are Carmen Borca, Coreo, Emily Maronov, and Lucy Jones. 901 00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:53,960 Speaker 1: Production assistants from Malia Agudello. Our executive producers are Jesse Katz, 902 00:45:54,239 --> 00:45:58,400 Speaker 1: Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Jenny Kaplan 903 00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:03,799 Speaker 1: and Emily Rudder and I'm Your Host Ashlyn Harris