The Buffering Pathway

In today’s episode, we cover the pursuit meaning and fulfillment with Yael Schonbrun. Yael is a clinical psychologist, assistant professor at Brown University, co-host of Psychologists Off the Clock, and the author of Work, Parent, Thrive: 12 Science-Backed Strategies to Ditch Guilt, Manage Overwhelm, and Grow Connection (When Everything Feels Like Too Much). 

The pursuit of meaning has taken a back seat in the last few decades and we’re paying the price, so what can you do to introduce more meaning into your life, how should you balance meaningful and pleasurable pursuits, and how can you you strengthen the relationships that already give you meaning?

What to Listen For

• Introduction – 0:00
• Is it more fulfilling to be great at one role in life or divide your time between multiple roles?
• How should you balance the pursuits of meaning, pleasure, and purpose?
• Prioritizing the different roles in your life – 16:16
• How do you determine which roles you should prioritize in your life when you have to take other people in your life into consideration?
• What should you do to preface regular one-on-one check-in conversations with your significant other and kids to strengthen the important relationships in your life?
• Strategies to Create Space for Strengthening Relationships – 29:40 
• What strategies can you implement on a weekly basis to make sure the relationships you care about don’t fall apart? 
• Adding for improvement vs subtraction for simplicity – 46:54
• Should we prioritize adding things to our lives or subtracting things from our lives if we want to be happier and more fulfilled?

It can be difficult to determine how to balance the different pursuits of meaning, pleasure, and purpose in our lives. We often have a lot of competing demands on our time and energy. But if we want to live happier and more fulfilling lives, it’s important that we take the time to figure out what’s most important to us and then put in the effort to make sure those things stay a priority. There is no one perfect answer for everyone – each individual will need to find what works best for them. 

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Resources from this Episode

• Work, Parent, Thrive: 12 Science-Backed Strategies to Ditch Guilt, Manage Overwhelm, and Grow Connection (When Everything Feels Like Too Much)
• Dr. Yael Schonbrun | Dos and Don’ts of Modern Dating
• Dr. Yael Schonbrun on Twitter
• Katy Milkman | Eliminate Unhealthy Habits Today with 3 Scientifically Proven Strategies

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