The Jason Wright Show

Many studies have explored the association between gratitude and depression, but no meta-analysis has been reported. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to fill that gap. The meta-analysis synthesized the association in 70 reported effect sizes from 62 published and unpublished articles, involving a total of 26,427 child, adolescent, and adult participants. The studies were completed by different research teams, using different samples, different measures, and various correlational research designs. The results showed a significant association between gratitude and depression, r = -0.39 (95% confidence intervals -0.44, -0.34), indicating that individuals who experience more gratitude have lower levels of depression. The results did not vary significantly with the measure of gratitude or depression used, whether the study was longitudinal or cross-sectional, the age of participants or the percentage of female participants, suggesting a robust connection between higher levels of gratitude and lower levels of depression. The findings show a substantial association between gratitude and depression. The association provides a reason to explore further the effects of gratitude-focused interventions as a method to alleviate depression and to prevent the development of depression.* Jo A Iodice, John M Malouff* and Nicola S Schutte University of New England, Australia

I’ve mentioned before ‘The Stone Chiseler’ was inspired by Viktor Frankl’s ‘Man’s Search for Meaning.’ One of my favorite quotes of Frankl’s is “Between action and reaction is space.” We all have a choice to determine how we react in any circumstance. Granted sometimes it is much harder than others. However, if we can master this ‘space’ between action and reaction, we will gain control of our actions as well as the reaction of others profoundly. In Chapter 7 Giovanni is given this lesson at a time when he wants to react with anger. I hope you enjoy Chapter 7 of ‘The Stone Chiseler.’ Available on Amazon HERE Follow me on Insta @jasonwrightnow visit jasonwrightnow.com

I am a recovering fixed mindset sufferer. For years I was so much more worried about performance and how others perceived me I let it limit jobs I took, opportunities I pursued you name it. I was so worried that if I failed at something, it would mean I was a failure and that’s how others would see me. However, since adopting a growth mindset much of that has changed. I now attempt things that are so hard I might just fail. I’ve learned to enjoy the process of trying and the benefit of learning. In this episode of The Best Friday Ever I discuss areas where a fixed mindset can have adverse consequences on our lives. Much of the research on this topic was pioneered by Stanford researcher Dr. Carol Dweck. Here is bit about her. American psychologist Carol Dweck is primarily interested in the influence of mindset on motivation and self-regulation. She believes that the right mindset can be the key to our success. She specifically focuses on fixed and growth mindsets, which she believes are two ends of a spectrum of how people view their abilities. Those towards the fixed end believe their abilities are innate and unchangeable, whereas those who lie towards the growth end of the continuum believe that their abilities are malleable, and success can be achieved through hard work. Dweck promotes a growth mindset as more adaptive than a fixed mindset and encourages parents and teachers to guide children in developing a growth mindset. Her ultimate goal is to reduce stress and encourage people to persevere when faced with challenges. Individuals with a fixed mindset tend to stay down when they fall. Dweck stresses the importance of getting back up and trying again, reminding us that, with dedication and hard work, we are all capable of achieving great things.“ Test scores and measures of achievement tell you where a student is, but they don’t tell you where a student could end up. – Carol Dweck in her 2006 book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Kyle McDowell is widely known for his inspiring approaches to transforming bosses into leaders and reshaping corporate cultures. Learn how nearly three decades of experience leading tens of thousands of employees at some of the biggest companies in the United States could impact your business. From a tiny cubicle to leading tens of thousands of employees at some of the biggest companies in the world, to embarking on his life’s mission: cultivating and inspiring a world of WE-oriented leaders. 1993 At the age of 17, McDowell’s leadership journey in Corporate America begins. He joins a regional bank as a front-line customer service representative. 1998 Graduates with a BA in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida. 2006 While leading Service Operations for a government sponsored health plan, McDowell’s organization is awarded the JD Power award for outstanding customer service – one of the first ever given to a health plan. 2014 McDowell leads operational bail-out of several states struggling to implement ACA, Health Insurance Exchanges – opening up healthcare for hundreds of thousands of citizens. 2014 McDowell earns an MBA from the #1 ranked business school in America, The Kellogg School of Management, at Northwestern University. At graduation, he proudly delivered the commencement speech for his graduating class. 2017 McDowell pens The 10 WEs, which quickly become the cultural manifesto for the 15,000 employee, $5B program he leads. 2022 Convinced Corporate America has more to offer than what current leaders are enabling, McDowell publishes the soon-to-be best seller, Begin With WE – 10 Principles for Building and Sustaining a Culture of Excellence. Please consider supporting the Tyler Innovation Pipeline HERE Follow me on Insta at jasonwrightnow Visit my website HERE Sign up for The Vitruvian Letter HERE

In this chapter we follow the artist back to his hometown of Florence where he spent his young years as an apprentice. He meets up with his sponsor who has commissioned him to paint a portrait of his new bride. I hope you are enjoying The Stone Chiseler. I will continue releasing a new chapter every week until the story reaches its conclusion. I hope you will recommend and consider purchasing a copy of the book. Thank you so much for listening. Purchase a copy HERE Visit my website HERE Subscribe to The Vitruvian Letter HERE Follow me on Instagram HERE Checkout my YouTube channel HERE

“So live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!”-Viktor Frankl Wait Vik. What the hell are you talking about? It’s very simple. Take the time to give yourself a draft folder. Think through your toughest decisions. Play out the scenario in your mind about what you are about to do. Think through the ramifications. Feel the emotion your action will most likely insight. Give Yourself a “Do Over” Before You Need a “Do Over” Best Friday Ever Now. Think as though you have the opportunity to do it a second time. It’s like a do over before you need a do over. So often what we call “mistakes” are not mistakes at all. They are just bad, poorly thought out decisions. You didn’t end up in bed with someone who wasn’t your spouse by mistake. Nope. you knew exactly what you were doing. So maybe if you had thought about that decision prior to and then did the right thing you wouldn’t be in the position you’re in now with a broken marriage or a relationship hanging by a thread. Take the time to create a decision “draft folder.” I can tell you, when mine is operational, it’s amazing. When it’s not, woof. Have a great weekend. Thanks for listening. JW Visit My Site Follow me on Insta Subscribe to My Newsletter “The Vitruvian Letter”

The Jason Wright Show Monday Mission “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.”-Richard P. Feynman Why do we lie to ourselves? Why to we act as though the things we tell ourselves are not impactful on how we act and live? In this Monday Morning Mission I ask you to do something that has been life changing for me-tell yourself the truth. Why do we lie to ourselves? There are three primary reasons To avoid-We don’t want to change so we lie to ourselves to avoid itTo protect-We don’t want to shame ourselves so we try to protect ourselves by lyingTo win-We want to think of ourselves as winners. We tell ourselves we are doing the thing we know to be wrong as a means of being successful. Often the things we lie to ourselves about for self protection are actually just self rejection. We lie to ourselves because we reject the truth about ourselves. STOP! Be honest with yourself. Why? It’s simple. The thing you are telling yourself to feel good is actually keeping you from doing the things that are good for you. Be honest with yourself. The top three things research has found people lie to themselves about. How many calories they eatHow much they drinkHow much they exercise Why do we lie to ourselves about these things? Finally, if you are bullsh***** yourself, others are aware of it. You may think your lies you use to fool yourself work on others, but they don’t. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: TELL YOURSELF THE TRUTH! Have a great week. Keep improving always in ALL ways! JW

The Stone Chiseler Chapter 5 In this chapter we learn more about the artist who would become a mentor to the young stone chiseler. Learn about the old man as he makes his way back to Florence where he himself will begin and finish his greatest work. Thanks for listening to Stone Chiseler Sunday. To purchase a copy of The Stone Chiseler CLICK HERE

Mastering, Dealing With NOT Eliminating Fear Fear can be crippling. I have dealt with fears my whole life. As a result I’ve been less than a good friend and mate. I’ve been less than a good co-worker. I’ve jumped ship from jobs as a result of fears. Mark Twain once said, “Courage is the resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” Fear will always exist. We need it for survival. There are actually people who have a debilitating condition by which they do not have fear. As a result they are in constant danger. Most of our fears if we really examine them are tiny little specs of dust we’ve imagined into great mountains. I equate them to The Wizard of Oz. They appear as this loud blustery demon yet when we pull back the curtain we find they possess little power at all. Here is a great exercise I discuss in this episode that Tim Ferriss refers to as “Fear Setting.” Tim Ferriss Fear Setting Exercise The biggest takeaway is to deal with your fears. Most of them are in fact False Evidence Appearing Real! Don’t be ruled by false evidence. Finally, I discuss Stoic philosophy in this episode. Seneca once said, “We suffer more often in imagination than reality.” The Stoics were obsessed with separating which is within our control vs. that which is not. Learn to focus on what is within your control and manage it accordingly. Finally, I discuss “The Process” made famous by University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban. By obsessing over that which is in our control vs. that which is not, we have much greater potential for success. Thanks for listening. JW

Dr. Andrew Huberman The Jason Wright Show In this episode of the Monday Mission I give you one small task. It’s to get 2-10 minutes of direct sunlight in your eyes early in the day. However, I don’t want you to just take my word for it. I incorporated the help of Dr. Andrew Huberman to help me make my case. Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and tenured Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He has made numerous significant contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills and cognitive functioning.  Huberman is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award in 2017, given to the scientist making the most significant discoveries in the study of vision. His lab’s most recent work focuses on the influence of vision and respiration on human performance and brain states such as fear and courage. He also works on neural regeneration and directs a clinical trial to promote visual restoration in diseases that cause blindness. Huberman is also actively involved in developing tools now in use by the elite military in the U.S. and Canada, athletes, and technology industries to optimize performance in high stress environments, enhance neural plasticity, mitigate stress, and optimize sleep.  Work from the Huberman Laboratory at Stanford School of Medicine has been published in top journals including Nature, Science, and Cell and has been featured in TIME, BBC, Scientific American, Discover, and other top media outlets. In 2021, Dr. Huberman launched the Huberman Lab Podcast. The podcast is frequently ranked in the Top 25 of all podcasts globally and is often ranked #1 in the categories of Science, Education, and Health & Fitness. ***Credit to The Tim Ferriss Show for the Huberman clip. Hear Tim’s complete interview here. Follow me @jasonwrightnow on Insta http://www.jasonwrightnow.com Subscribe to my newsletter @www.jasonrightnow.com