Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Arianna Huffington: Microsteps and Rituals to Help You Thrive #136

Dec 2, 2020

Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post and advocate for well-being, dives into the essential connection between health and performance. She emphasizes the power of 'microsteps'—small, manageable habits that can lead to significant lifestyle changes. Arianna discusses her innovative Thrive app, the necessity of 'compassionate directness' in communication, and the vital role of sleep in personal wellness. She also shares tips for establishing healthy tech boundaries in family life, underscoring that small daily practices can combat stress and enhance overall quality of life.

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ANECDOTE

Public Speaking Practice

Arianna Huffington overcame her fear of public speaking by practicing at the Cambridge Union.
This practice gave her confidence and taught her how to use words to move hearts and minds.

INSIGHT

Micro-habits and Habit Stacking

Micro-habits and habit stacking, like Arianna Huffington's Thrive app and Dr. Chatterjee's 5-minute workouts, are effective for change.
These methods offer manageable steps backed by science and data.

ADVICE

Start Small for Lasting Change

Incorporate micro-habits into your daily life for lasting change without guilt or shame.
This approach avoids the cycle of attempting large changes and then abandoning them.

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In times of uncertainty, anxiety and stress, taking care of your wellbeing is more important than ever and no one knows this better than my guest on today’s episode. Arianna Huffington is author and businesswoman who founded the original ‘internet newspaper’, The Huffington Post. She’s also one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and on Forbes’ Most Powerful Women list.

After collapsing at her desk from sleep deprivation and exhaustion in 2007, Arianna became more passionate about the connection between wellbeing and performance. She therefore launched a company called Thrive Global with a mission of ending the stress and burnout epidemic by offering individuals, companies and communities sustainable, science-based solutions to wellbeing.

Arianna and I share a desire to show millions of people globally that habit change and healthy living doesn’t have to be hard. We are both passionate that tiny ‘microsteps’ that we can all take each day, can have a dramatic impact on our health and the quality of our lives.

Arianna talks me through her Thrive app, which is like a ‘health coach in your pocket’ and how it uses the concept of ‘microsteps’ to show that behaviour change doesn’t have to be a huge commitment. Small things you can do that, if regular and consistent, will add up to significant and lasting benefits.

We discuss the idea of ‘compassionate directness’ as a way of resolving tensions both at home and at work. Arianna shares her wisdom on sleep, motherhood, on creating boundaries when working from home, and on having rituals to mark the end of the day. We also speak about the importance of solitude and discuss how modern life is sending many of us back to ancient wisdom and texts such as the Bhagavad Gita.

This conversation is full of brilliant tips and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Show notes available at drchatterjee.com/136

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