381. Change Your Mindset, Your Health, Your Life | Dr. Ellen Langer
Aug 31, 2023
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Dr. Ellen Langer, Harvard's first tenured female psychology professor and acclaimed "mother of mindfulness," shares insights from her latest work. She discusses how intentional awareness and humility can transform health and mindset. The conversation delves into the effects of time perception on aging and disease, and how reframing suffering through faith can empower us. Langer emphasizes the importance of directing attention intentionally to foster personal growth and tackle bureaucratic challenges in research. An inspiring exploration of mindfulness awaits!
Intentioned awareness and humility contribute to a healthier mindset and body.
Perception of time influences disease and aging effects.
Conquering tragedy and suffering is possible through faith and hope.
Directing attention purposefully offers significant benefits for overall well-being.
Deep dives
Importance of Mindful Awareness for Health and Well-being
Dr. Ellen Langer's latest book, The Mindful Body Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health, emphasizes the significance of intentional awareness and humility for improving mindset and body. By noticing new things about familiar aspects of our lives or adopting a mindset of uncertainty, we can naturally move towards a more mindful state. Mindfulness involves active noticing and removing the assumptions of absolutes, allowing for multiple interpretations and possibilities.
Mindfulness as Paying Attention to What You Pay Attention To
Mindfulness is described as paying attention to what one is paying attention to, actively noticing new things, and exploring different perspectives. By recognizing that our attention shapes our reality, we can break free from mindlessness and engage in a more mindful way of living. Mindfulness involves habitually challenging our assumptions and preconceptions, exploring new perspectives, and embracing the unknown and uncertain.
The Power of Mindfulness in Challenging Conventional Wisdom
Mindfulness challenges conventional wisdom and the notion of absolutes. It encourages exploring new possibilities and interpretations rather than accepting fixed beliefs and assumptions. By examining common beliefs and opening ourselves to new perspectives, we can overcome biases and limits, leading to personal growth and expanded horizons. Mindfulness promotes flexibility and adaptability, fostering a mindset of continual learning and growth.
The Relationship Between Mind and Body in Health and Healing
Mind-body unity plays a crucial role in health and healing. Studies have shown that mindset and perception can impact physical well-being. For example, perceiving one's work as exercise can result in weight loss and improved health markers. Research also suggests that perceived time, such as clock time, can affect wound healing and insulin levels. By recognizing the connection between mind and body, we can harness the power of our thoughts and beliefs to positively influence our health and well-being.
Attitudinal shift leads to a smoother transition
The speaker shares their personal experience of working at Harvard and the realization that they should be happy with the outcome regardless of what it was. This shift in attitude helped them transition out of Harvard smoothly, even though it was accompanied by grief and the belief that Harvard was a very admirable institution.
The University of Toronto's decline in quality
The speaker experienced a decline in the quality of the University of Toronto over a 20-year period. They discuss how the institution lacked the professionalism and commitment to excellence they had seen at Harvard. They mention the increase in rules and regulations, bureaucratic impediments, and challenges in conducting research due to the lengthy approval processes.
The importance of attention to variability
The speaker emphasizes the importance of paying attention to variability in situations, such as illness or stress. They explain the benefits of tracking symptom variability and multiple potential understandings. By doing so, individuals can discover moments of improvement and find alternative ways of understanding their experiences. This mindfulness and embracing of variability can lead to positive changes in health outcomes.
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson and “The mother of mindfulness,” Dr. Ellen Langer discuss her latest book, The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way To Chronic Health. From this they explore how intentioned awareness paired with humility allows for a healthier mindset and body, how the perception of time impacts the effects of disease and age, the way to view tragedy and suffering so that we may conquer it through faith and hope, and the immense benefits found in carefully considering to what, where, and who you direct your attention.
Ellen J. Langer was the first woman to be tenured in psychology at Harvard, where she is still professor of psychology. The recipient of three Distinguished Scientists awards, the Arthur W. Staats Award for Unifying Psychology, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Liberty Science Genius Award, Dr. Langer is the author of eleven other books, including the international bestseller Mindfulness, as well as The Power of Mindful Learning, Counterclockwise and On Becoming an Artist. Her trailblazing experiments in social psychology have earned her inclusion in The New York Times Magazine’s “Year in Ideas” issue. She is known worldwide as the “mother of mindfulness” and the “mother of positive psychology”. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Order your copy of “The Mindful Body” today https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/705365/the-mindful-body-by-ellen-j-langer/
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