Modern Life Numbs You. Here's The Neuroscience Of Waking Up | Tali Sharot

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><em>---</em></p> <p>It's so easy, especially these days, to numb out. To get bored. To move through life on autopilot. There is even a scientific term for this: habituation.</p> <p>Today we're talking to a researcher who co-authored a new book about the neuroscience of habit and how to wake up again. To make things exciting. Or as she says, to "re-sparkle". </p> <p>Tali Sharot is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London and MIT. She's written several books including The Optimism Bias and The Influential Mind. Her latest, co-written with Cass Sunstein, is called <a href= "https://www.amazon.com/Look-Again-Power-Noticing-Always/dp/1668008203" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There</em></a><em>. </em></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>In this episode we talk about:</strong></p> <ul> <li>What habituation is and what's going on in the brain when it happens</li> <li>How it negatively impacts the joy we feel in life – and inversely – how it can make us stop noticing the bad stuff</li> <li>Key strategies for disrupting habituation and introducing change and variety into your life</li> <li>The interesting relationship between creativity and people who habituate slowly</li> <li>How habituation impacts our relationships</li> <li>Why it's important to break up the good experiences, but swallow the bad whole.</li> <li>How to wake up from a "technologically induced coma"</li> <li>How people emotionally habituate to dishonesty and lying</li> <li>And lastly, we talk about the dangers of habituating to a slow, incremental rise in tyranny – and how dis-habituation entrepreneurs can help</li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Related Episodes:</strong></p> <p><a href= "https://www.happierapp.com/podcast/tph/katy-milkman-345" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#345 How to Change Your Habits | Katy Milkman</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.happierapp.com/podcast/tph/michael-norton" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How Turning Habits Into Rituals Can Help You At Home, At Work, And When You're Anxious | Michael Norton</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.happierapp.com/courses/habits" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Making and Breaking Habits, Sanely | Kelly McGonigal</a></p> <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://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/tali-sharot-828" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank">https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/tali-sharot-828</a></p> <p><br /></p>