#936 - Alex Hutchinson - How To Rewire Your Brain To Take More Risks

Robert Sapolsky, a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, wrote Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst to explore the myriad influences on human behavior.

As a child, Sapolsky became both fascinated and horrified with the atrocities of the Holocaust, and strove to understand the science behind how people could do such terrible things. That fascination grew into a lifelong study of science and people and led directly to this book.

In this guide, we’ve divided Sapolsky’s ideas along classic “nature versus nurture” lines—in other words, how much are we influenced by our own innate tendencies versus our surroundings and how we were raised? Our commentary will provide background information on Sapolsky’s ideas, explore interesting details to deepen your understanding of the subjects, and examine some scientific theories that conflict with Sapolsky’s.

Humans and computers face many of the same problems: We both have a never-ending stream of things we want to do and a limited amount of time and energy to do them. Is it possible that the age-old question of how best to live has already been solved by computer engineers? In Algorithms to Live By, science writer Brian Christian and Berkeley psychologist Tom Griffiths team up to prove that computer science is a fount of unconventional wisdom with practical value in many areas of human life.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to schedule your to-do list the same way computers do, why making random decisions is sometimes the smartest thing to do, and why you should reject the first 37% of jobs in your search for employment. We’ll also compare and contrast Christian and Griffiths’s advice to more traditional self-help perspectives on the same topics, such as the productivity advice in Brian Tracy’s Eat That Frog! and organizational advice in Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.

Everyone wants to make a living doing meaningful work that aligns with their values and makes them happy. However, many people feel stuck in the wrong life doing unfulfilling work. They hope that once they find their “passion,” everything will magically fall into place. According to Stanford professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, this attitude hinges on the belief that there’s only one path to a meaningful life and limits your ability to experience joy and satisfaction.

In Designing Your Life, Burnett and Evans argue there are multiple paths to career and life happiness—learning how to recognize and evaluate these paths increases your chances of experiencing satisfaction. They share principles from their popular life design courses to help you explore multiple paths and purposefully plan a balanced life in which you can truly thrive.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the authors’ methods for purposefully planning a happy and meaningful life. We’ll also expand on their ideas with research and practical advice from other self-help practitioners.

Do you ever feel like you don’t know who you really are or like you’re not living up to your full potential? This may be because you’ve repressed your true self—the authentic, original, and creative version of yourself that emerges when you strip away outside influences. In Awaken Your Genius, former rocket scientist and lawyer Ozan Varol explains how to embody your true self—and he argues that once you do, you’ll open doors to creative fulfillment and personal growth.

In our guide, we’ll explore what it means to be your true self and the reasons you’ve abandoned your true self so far in life. Then, we’ll discuss Varol’s tips for becoming your true self and explain how this can help you achieve a more meaningful, successful life. In our commentary, we’ll discuss psychological and philosophical principles related to Varol’s ideas and explore other experts’ tips for becoming more authentic, creative, and fulfilled.

Ever tried to think positively and still felt unhappy? You’re not alone—many people find it difficult to feel happy no matter how many positive thoughts they force themselves to think.

Journalist and best-selling author Oliver Burkeman sheds light on this conundrum, suggesting that relentlessly trying to be positive can, ironically, make you unhappy. In The Antidote, he draws on research, philosophical insights, and diverse interviews to argue that accepting and even embracing negative emotions, uncertainties, and failures may be the key to feeling happier.

In this guide, we’ll delve into Burkeman’s exploration of the potential downsides of positive thinking and present alternative approaches to well-being and contentment that extend beyond perpetual optimism. Additionally, we’ll supplement his ideas with psychological research and actionable methods from other self-improvement authors and practitioners. You’ll come away with diverse insights that may lead to a deeper, more nuanced understanding and experience of happiness.

Humans evolved to seek comfort, but has modern society made us too comfortable? In The Comfort Crisis, Michael Easter argues that the cozy conveniences of the Western world harm our health and happiness by depriving us of challenges that our ancestors regularly faced. He explains that crucial discomforts like spending time in nature, fasting, and regularly exercising are becoming increasingly obsolete in our temperature-controlled, indoor world—where all of our slightest desires can be remedied with the click of a finger.

Michael Easter is an author, science journalist, and professor. After personally experiencing the life-changing benefits of embracing discomfort during his journey to sobriety, he began researching how physical and mental challenges can counteract the negative effects of modern-day comforts. In this guide, we’ll discuss the comforts that Easter says are most problematic and share his tips to make discomfort your friend. We’ll also compare his research to that of other experts and offer additional advice to quell the harmful comforts in your life.

Have you ever had a sudden burst of inspiration that led you to a new solution to a problem? Or have you ever marveled at seemingly impossible modern inventions like the internet? If so, you may wonder how individuals are able to come up with such incredible innovations and how they develop them over time. In Where Good Ideas Come From, best-selling author and theorist Steven Johnson explains how good ideas grow from minor inklings to groundbreaking inventions, and how you can use this knowledge to come up with the best ideas possible.

In our guide, we’ll explore how good ideas grow from previous knowledge and networks. We’ll also look at how hunches lead to full-fledged ideas, often as a result of sudden insights, and how mistakes and the repurposing of other ideas can lead to new ones. Finally, we’ll compare Johnson’s ideas with ideas from other authors, contextualize them in other fields, and add tips for putting Johnson’s recommendations into practice.

In today’s hustle culture, many people think the only way to live a productive and rewarding life is to work as hard as possible. This idea is so ingrained in our culture that many work to the point of near-constant exhaustion, sacrificing their mental and physical health. But according to business strategist Greg McKeown, there’s an easier way to get the most out of your time and effort. In Effortless, he expands on this one simple truth: Achieving your goals doesn’t have to be so hard. By simply taking the easiest path, we can be healthier, happier, and more productive.

In our guide, we’ll lay out McKeown’s argument that the easiest path to success is the most viable, and we’ll provide actionable advice on how to implement this idea into your daily life. We’ll also further explore McKeown’s main points by comparing and contrasting them to other ideas in books on productivity and happiness.

Humans evolved to seek comfort, but has modern society made us too comfortable? In The Comfort Crisis, Michael Easter argues that the cozy conveniences of the Western world harm our health and happiness by depriving us of challenges that our ancestors regularly faced. He explains that crucial discomforts like spending time in nature, fasting, and regularly exercising are becoming increasingly obsolete in our temperature-controlled, indoor world—where all of our slightest desires can be remedied with the click of a finger.

Michael Easter is an author, science journalist, and professor. After personally experiencing the life-changing benefits of embracing discomfort during his journey to sobriety, he began researching how physical and mental challenges can counteract the negative effects of modern-day comforts. In this guide, we’ll discuss the comforts that Easter says are most problematic and share his tips to make discomfort your friend. We’ll also compare his research to that of other experts and offer additional advice to quell the harmful comforts in your life.