How to Reframe Your "Problems" as "Puzzles" | A.J. Jacobs

About this episode

<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p>---</p> <p>A counterintuitive way to become more clear, creative, and persistent, via a writer who calls himself a "human guinea pig."</p> <p><br /></p> <p><a href="https://ajjacobs.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A.J. Jacobs</a> is an author, journalist, podcaster, and human guinea pig. His new podcast "The Puzzler" is produced by iHeart and is in the Top 20 Apple Podcasts. He has written four New York Times bestsellers that combine memoir, science, humor and a dash of self-help. Among his books are "The Year of Living Biblically" and "The Know-It-All." He has told several Moth stories, has given several TED talks that have amassed over 10 million views. His latest book is "The Puzzler," which Booklist called "ridiculously entertaining," and The New York Times called "a romp, both fun and funny." </p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>In this episode we talk about:</strong></p> <ul> <li>The "puzzle mindset" and how it can change the way you approach your problems </li> <li>Creating a puzzle that will take billions of years to solve</li> <li>How puzzles can help us during dark times</li> <li>The dark side of the puzzling world</li> <li>How his gratitude project made him better at talking to himself</li> <li> Learning to appreciate everyday objects and people he sees all the time</li> <li>How pretending to be a good person helped him actually learn to be one – most of the time</li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Sign up for Dan's weekly newsletter</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/3QtGRqJ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>here</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Follow Dan on social:</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/3tGigG5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>Instagram</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/3FOA84J" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>TikTok</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Ten Percent Happier online</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/46TZglY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>bookstore</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Subscribe to our</strong> <a href= "https://bit.ly/3FybRzD" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>YouTube Channel</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Our favorite playlists on:</strong> <a href= "https://spoti.fi/3Qa8kMT" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>Anxiety</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href= "https://spoti.fi/3MjtMxF" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>Sleep</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href= "https://spoti.fi/3QvyA5J" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank"><strong>Relationships</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="https://spoti.fi/3QxZASc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Most Popular Episodes</strong></a></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Full Shownotes:</strong> <a href= "https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank">https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/aj-jacobs-688</a></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Additional Resources:</strong></p> <p>Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: <a href= "https://10percenthappier.app.link/install" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank">https://10percenthappier.app.link/install</a></p>