Dr. Sunita Sah, a Cornell University professor and organizational psychologist, shares her insights from her book, 'Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes.' She redefines defiance as acting in harmony with one's true values amidst social pressures. Dr. Sah discusses the concept of conditioned compliance, revealing how early socialization can stifle authenticity. The podcast highlights five stages of defiance, emphasizing the necessity of clarity in personal values to combat fear and ensure actions align with one's principles.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Stigler's Defiance
Franz Stigler, a German fighter pilot, defied orders to shoot down a damaged American bomber in WWII.
He escorted it to safety, embodying a principle over compliance, even at great personal risk.
insights INSIGHT
Redefining Defiance
Defiance is not about rebellion but acting on your values despite pressure.
Individual acts of defiance shape our society, impacting our lives and communities.
insights INSIGHT
Conditioned Compliance
Many fail to align actions with beliefs due to being wired for compliance from childhood.
This conditioning equates compliance with goodness and defiance with badness.
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In this episode, we explore the nature of taking a stand.
Our guest, Dr. Sunita Sah (author of Defy), a professor at Cornell University and an organizational psychologist, joins us to delve deep into the concept of defiance. Dr. Sah proposes a new definition of defiance—acting in alignment with your true values when there is pressure to do otherwise. She reveals insights from her research that suggests most of us are conditioned from an early age to comply and how this conditioning affects our ability to act on our values.
We also discuss the five stages of defiance that individuals go through as they act according to their principles. Dr. Sah emphasizes the importance of explicitly knowing and writing down our values to ensure that our actions align with them.
Key Learnings:
Defiance Redefined: Defiance is not about rebellion but about acting in alignment with your true values, despite external pressures.
Conditioned Compliance: From a young age, we are conditioned to comply and this affects our ability to act in alignment with our values.
Insinuation Anxiety: We often hesitate to speak up or correct others because we fear insinuating that they are wrong or unethical.
Stages of Defiance: The five stages—tension, acknowledgment, escalation, threat of non-compliance, and act of defiance—help us understand the process of standing up to pressure.
Value Clarity: Knowing and explicitly writing down our values can help reduce stress and align our actions with our principles.
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Daily Creative with Todd Henry 
