Stress over getting to the airport is a fundamental puzzle whether you're an economist or not. I think most of us just say well just tell myself that it's not anything to worry about and that doesn't work, he says. Ethan Cross wrote a brilliant book called chatter which is really all about that self-talk. He finds it can be really helpful to use the third person so when we are talking to ourselves we do better.
Behavioral scientist Katy Milkman of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania talks about her book How to Change with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. What can we learn from research in psychology and behavioral economics about breaking the habits we want to change? Is that research reliable? And should Russ Roberts accept being overweight or keep working at finding the thinner man trying to get out?