#344: A.J. Jacobs — 10 Strategies to Be Happier Through Gratitude
The Tim Ferriss Show
Combatting Negative Bias with Gratitude
Humans are wired with a negative bias, remembering insults over compliments, rooted in evolution for survival. To counter this, focus on gratitude by appreciating the many things that go right daily, rather than the few that go wrong. Gratitude is a powerful tool recommended by psychologists to combat the negative bias, which can alleviate depression and anxiety.
A.J. Jacobs (@ajjacobs) takes over the show for a special episode. A.J. is a kindred guinea pig of self-experimentation who chronicles his shenanigans in books that seem to keep winding up as New York Times best sellers. The Know-It-All was about his quest to learn everything in the world. In The Year of Living Biblically, he tried to follow all the rules of the Bible as literally as possible. Drop Dead Healthy followed his well- (and ill-) advised experiments to become the healthiest person alive. My Life as an Experiment is about exactly what it sounds like, and It's All Relative aimed to connect all of humanity in one family tree.
His latest book, Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey, chronicles his journey around the world to personally thank everyone along the supply chain who makes his morning cup of coffee a possibility: the farmer of the coffee beans, the barista, the designer of the logo for the coffee, the truck driver who transported the coffee beans, the guy who painted the yellow lines on the road so the truck wouldn't veer into traffic, the inventor of the cardboard sleeve that goes around the coffee cup (aka the paper zarf) so you don't burn your fingers, and on and on.
In this episode, A.J. will be taking us through 10 strategies for being happier through gratitude in these stressful times and his agreement to do so just builds upon the gratitude I already have for this man. I hope you enjoy, and if you benefit in some way from these strategies, please feel free to reach out and thank him.
Bonus: if you pre-order his latest book or let him know how much you've appreciated his earlier work, he may even personally thank you back with a handwritten card (details found here)!
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