Happiness is the subject of thousands of articles, podcasts, and scientific studies. Yet all this focus on happiness doesn't seem to be making people any happier. In fact, the more they try to be happy, especially by fighting to get rid of bad feelings and cling to good ones, the more unhappy people often become.My guest would say that the first step in escaping this negative cycle is redefining what happiness even means — thinking of it not as a state of feeling good but of doing good.His name is Russ Harris and he's a therapist and the author of The Happiness Trap.Today on the show, Russ explains how struggling against difficult feelings and thoughts just makes them stronger — amplifying instead of diminishing stress, anxiety, depression, and self-consciousness — and how simply obeying your emotions doesn't work out any better. He then unpacks the alternative approach to happiness espoused by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. With ACT, you allow both hard and pleasant feelings to coexist, and unhook from the latter so that they no longer jerk you around. This allows you to focus on taking action on your values to create a meaningful, flourishing life, or in other words, real happiness.Resources Related to the EpisodeAoM Podcast #614: Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life With the Founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Steven HayesAoM Article: From Overwhelmed to Empowered — How Labeling Your Emotions Can Help You Take ControlConnect With Russ HarrisRuss' Website

Psychological flexibility expert Dr. Steven Hayes discusses the power of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in hacking our thoughts, building habits aligned with our values, and achieving psychological freedom. He explores the importance of setting values-based goals, navigating the modern world, and catching and observing our thoughts. The episode provides actionable steps and additional resources for listeners to apply these concepts to their own lives.

The podcast delves into Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), comparing its efficacy to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) across various conditions. Dr. Steven Hayes discusses the evolution of Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and its impact on therapy techniques. It explores the deep-rooted connection between learning, cooperation, and evolutionary success, emphasizing psychological flexibility through therapy processes and embracing acceptance for personal growth. The podcast also touches on the importance of empathy, genuine connection, and exploring spiritual wisdom in different traditions.

Explore core yearnings that guide behavior, the role of agency and purpose in life, embracing a range of emotions, staying present for value-driven actions. Learn how yearnings can be misdirected and harnessed for better living. Delve into belonging, competence, embracing emotions, and mindfulness through physical activities.

Dr. Steven Hayes, founder of ACT, joins the host to discuss psychological flexibility in supporting mindful drinking. They explore overcoming struggles, values alignment, and integrating ACT with recovery traditions. The conversation includes skateboarding parallels to life and insights on psychological flexibility for personal growth.

Explore Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Steven Hayes, focusing on psychological flexibility and living a vital life. Dive into cognitive distortions and the importance of embracing pain. Learn about the evolution of cognitive behavioral therapies and integrating Eastern wisdom traditions. Discover the six core processes of cognitive flexibility and how to navigate mental battles with drama in life. Choose to live a vital life through values and commitment.

Angela Duckworth, an expert on grit, Laura Huang, a scholar on success, storyteller John Livesay, and clinical psychologist Steven Hayes share powerful insights on overcoming self-doubt. They discuss the vital difference between talent and effort, emphasizing that grit—passion combined with perseverance—is key to success. The guests elaborate on breaking down goals to make them achievable, trusting intuition, and confronting fears to pave the way for personal growth. They highlight how resilience and social skills can effectively navigate life's challenges.

Dr. Steven Hayes, co-founder of ACT, discusses living a process-based life, the six core processes of psychological flexibility, the importance of family and understanding old age, achieving personal growth through perseverance, and the power of processes in therapy and personal growth, including the use of psychological flexibility and mindfulness in a World Health Organization trial with refugees.

When most of us run into obstacles with how we think and approach the world -- whether in terms of dealing with mental health issues like depression and anxiety or simply making progress with our relationships and work, we typically try to focus in on solving the perceived problem, or we run away from it. In either case, instead of feeling better, we feel more stuck. My guest today says we need to free ourselves from these instincts and our default mental programming and learn to just sit with our thoughts, and even turn towards those which hurt the most. His name is Steven Hayes and he's a professor of psychology, the founder of ACT -- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy -- and the author of over 40 books, including his latest A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot Toward What Matters. Steven and I spend the first part of our conversation in a very interesting discussion as to why traditional interventions for depression and anxiety -- drugs and talk therapy -- aren't very effective in helping people get their minds right, and how ACT takes a different approach to achieving mental health. We then discuss the six skills of psychological flexibility that undergird ACT and how these skills can be used not only by those dealing with depression and anxiety but by anyone who wants to get out of their own way and show up and move forward in every area of their lives. Get the show notes at aom.is/liberatedmind.

In this engaging conversation, Ralph Waldo Emerson, a pioneer of transcendentalism, Steven Hayes, a leading psychologist in acceptance and commitment therapy, and Phil Stutz, an innovative psychiatrist, delve into the art of resilience. They share riveting stories from a chess tournament, illustrating the emotional rollercoaster of competition. The trio discusses how swift recovery from mistakes, akin to chess strategies, can transform setbacks into growth opportunities, emphasizing mental toughness and the life lessons embedded in the game.