10% Happier with Dan Harris Jonathan Haidt on: The Upside of Striving, How to Build a Stronger Mind, And What to Do with Ideas You Hate
In this engaging discussion, Jonathan Haidt, a renowned social psychologist and author from NYU, shares insights on happiness, morality, and the effects of social media. He talks about the value of acknowledging our own irrationality and the importance of embracing differing opinions. Haidt delves into historical patterns of societal crisis and renewal, emphasizing resilience in the face of adversity. He also highlights the alarming impact of overprotection and social media on young girls' mental health, offering practical strategies for navigating modern challenges.
53:26
Elephant and Rider Metaphor
- Our minds are like a rider (reason) on an elephant (intuition/emotion).
- The rider often justifies the elephant's actions, highlighting the power of unconscious processes.
Training the Elephant
- Train your "elephant" through introspection, meditation, CBT, and self-hypnosis.
- Strive for harmony between your rational and emotional minds, not rider dominance.
Social Media's Impact on Democracy
- Social media democratizes intimidation, making individuals afraid to express diverse viewpoints.
- This creates structural stupidity in institutions, hindering constructive disagreement and progress.
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Intro
00:00 • 2min
Mind and Metaphor: Navigating Inner Conflicts
02:12 • 8min
Navigating Internal Harmony in a Digital World
10:16 • 20min
Cultivating Tolerance Through Understanding Diverse Perspectives
29:49 • 2min
The Challenge of Self-Awareness and Hypocrisy
31:55 • 2min
Finding Happiness in Work and History's Cycles
33:32 • 5min
Striving for Happiness: Balancing Attachment and Growth
38:09 • 11min
The Role of Adversity in Personal Growth and Mental Health
49:38 • 3min
The Impact of Overprotection and Social Media on Girls' Mental Health
52:55 • 6min
Embracing Joy in Struggles and Looking Ahead
58:30 • 2min
Celebrity Memoirs Overview
A Collection of Notable Memoirs
Various Authors
Celebrity memoirs have become increasingly popular, offering readers a glimpse into the lives of famous figures.
Recent releases include Cher's 'Cher: The Memoir, Part One', Bill Clinton's 'Citizen', and Keke Palmer's 'Master of Me'.
Other notable memoirs include Elliot Page's 'Pageboy' and Britney Spears's 'The Woman in Me'.
These books often delve into themes of identity, trauma, and personal growth.
Spelling Bee
Spelling Bee
Jill Sherman
Laura Zarrin
10% Happier
Dan Harris
In '10% Happier,' Dan Harris shares his personal journey of discovering the benefits of meditation.
Initially a skeptic, Harris, a news anchor, found himself on a path of self-discovery after a nationally televised panic attack.
He delves into the world of spirituality and self-help, encountering various figures including brain scientists, CEOs, and spiritual leaders.
The book explores how meditation can reduce stress, improve focus, and enhance overall well-being without compromising one's ambition or edge.
Harris emphasizes the importance of mindfulness in making one more resilient and better equipped to handle life's challenges, though it does not eliminate problems entirely.
Wellness
Derrick Thompson
The Five Minute Journal
Intelligent Change
The Five Minute Journal is a structured gratitude journal that guides users to focus on the positive aspects of their lives.
It includes daily prompts, inspirational quotes, and weekly challenges to help users develop a habit of gratitude.
The journal is undated, printed on sustainably sourced paper, and features a simple, easy-to-follow format that takes only 5 minutes to complete each day.
It aims to improve mental wellbeing, relationships, and overall optimism by encouraging users to reflect on the good things in their lives.
The hero with a thousand faces
Joseph Campbell
In this book, Joseph Campbell explores his theory of the 'monomyth', a universal pattern found in the mythological narratives of various cultures.
He details the stages of the 'hero's journey', which include departure from the ordinary world, initiation into a supernatural world, and return with a boon.
Campbell draws on a wide range of mythological sources and integrates insights from psychology, particularly from Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, to illustrate the common elements of heroic myths across different cultures.
The Righteous Mind
Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Jonathan Haidt
In this book, Jonathan Haidt draws on twenty-five years of research on moral psychology to explain why people's moral judgments are driven by intuition rather than reason.
He introduces the Moral Foundations Theory, which posits that human morality is based on six foundations: care/harm, fairness/cheating, loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion, sanctity/degradation, and liberty/oppression.
Haidt argues that liberals tend to focus on the care/harm and fairness/cheating foundations, while conservatives draw on all six.
The book also explores how morality binds and blinds people, leading to social cohesion but also to conflicts.
Haidt aims to promote understanding and civility by highlighting the commonalities and differences in moral intuitions across political spectra.
Atomic Habits
James Clear
Atomic Habits by James Clear provides a practical and scientifically-backed guide to forming good habits and breaking bad ones.
The book introduces the Four Laws of Behavior Change: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying.
It also emphasizes the importance of small, incremental changes (atomic habits) that compound over time to produce significant results.
Clear discusses techniques such as habit stacking, optimizing the environment to support desired habits, and focusing on continuous improvement rather than goal fixation.
The book is filled with actionable strategies, real-life examples, and stories from various fields, making it a valuable resource for anyone seeking to improve their habits and achieve personal growth.
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Sir Michael Howard
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
Meditations is a series of private writings composed by Marcus Aurelius, one of Rome's greatest emperors, as he struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe.
Written between 170 and 180 CE while on military campaigns, this work combines Stoic philosophy with personal observations on leadership, duty, mortality, and human nature.
Through twelve books of intimate thoughts never intended for publication, Marcus Aurelius explores themes of self-improvement, resilience in the face of adversity, and living virtuously while accepting what cannot be changed.
Station Eleven
Emily St John Mandel
Big Business
A Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero
Tyler Cowen
In 'Big Business', Tyler Cowen challenges common misconceptions about large corporations, arguing that they are integral to the functioning of American society.
He highlights their role in spurring innovation, rewarding talent and hard work, and creating the economic bounty that Americans depend on.
The book addresses various criticisms of big business, including issues of CEO pay, tech industry ethics, and the influence of corporations on government.
Cowen emphasizes that the benefits of big business outweigh its flaws and that it is a fundamental institution in American life.
The Happiness Hypothesis
Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom
Jonathan Haidt
In 'The Happiness Hypothesis,' Jonathan Haidt delves into the nature of happiness, fulfillment, and meaning.
He discusses the division of the self into two parts: the primitive limbic system and the rational neocortex, using the metaphor of a rider and an elephant to explain the relationship between conscious and unconscious processes.
Haidt examines 'Great Ideas' from ancient thinkers like Plato, Buddha, and Jesus, and evaluates them in light of contemporary psychological research.
He argues that happiness is influenced by both internal and external factors, including biological set points, life conditions, and voluntary activities.
The book also explores the importance of social relationships, the role of adversity in personal growth, and the concept of 'vital engagement' in work and life.
The Coddling of the American Mind
Jonathan Haidt
Greg Lukianoff
The book explores how the ideas 'what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker,' 'always trust your feelings,' and 'life is a battle between good people and evil people' have become embedded in American culture.
These 'Great Untruths' contradict basic psychological principles and ancient wisdom, leading to a culture of safetyism that interferes with young people’s social, emotional, and intellectual development.
The authors investigate various social trends, including fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised play, and the impact of social media, as well as changes on college campuses and the broader context of political polarization in America.
Sea of Tranquility
Emily St John Mandel
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Usually episodes of this show are organized around one big question, but today’s guest, Jonathan Haidt, is just too interesting for one clear focus. In this episode, we dig into a ton of fascinating topics, including: why it can make you happier to see your own irrationality and hypocrisy, the value of interacting with ideas you do not like, how to navigate social media sanely, how to get ahead at work (and stay happy in the process), the upside of striving, the wisdom of the Stoics, and more.
Jonathan Haidt is a renowned social psychologist from New York University’s Stern school of business and the author of many books, including: The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, and The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. Since 2018, he’s been studying the contributions of social media to the decline of teen mental health and the rise of political dysfunction.
One other note: heads up that this conversation includes mentions of self-harm and suicide.
In this episode we talk about:
- Haidt’s elephant and rider metaphor that explains how our minds’ operate
- How to use different techniques from hypnosis to Buddhist and Stoic practices to tame our unconscious
- Why we’ve evolved to be hypocrites and how admitting our flaws can help us come out ahead
- Buddhism as a counterpoint to our success oriented culture
- The deleterious effects of social media on democracy and young people’s mental health
Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jonathan-haidt-567