How to Harness the Voice in Your Head | Psychologist, Dr. Ethan Kross

Ethan Kross (0:00)

People often think of stress as like a killer.

I think that's not actually true, right? Stress in and of itself, a stress reaction is not a bad thing, it's a good thing. You want to be able to quickly mobilize yourself for a threat in front of you.

When stress becomes dangerous, a killer is when that stress response gets triggered, and then it stays elevated, it stays activated over time. That exerts a wear and tear on our bodies that lots of research shows is harmful. I think what we have the capacity to do is to shorten that stress response. And the same is true for other kinds of emotional experiences.

Michael Gervais (0:53)

Okay, welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery Podcast. So I'm Michael Gervais, and by trade and training, I am a sport and performance psychologist, which means these conversations on this podcast have much to do about the inner life. And these conversations are about getting to the center and the truth about what allows people to become their very best. And on that note, if you want to learn more about how you can train your mind, this is just a quick reminder here to check out the online course I created with head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Pete Carroll. And you can find that at findingmastery.net forward slash course.

I want to take a minute here to announce a really exciting event that we have coming up. As you continue to navigate the challenges and opportunities of 2024, I want to pose a question. What are you doing right now to be great with stress? How are you working with stress on your pursuit towards your most important ambitions and goals? And I just want to get right to the heart of the key elements, one in particular, for what it takes to excel in today's high heat, high stakes world. Because stress is not the problem that we think it is. Stress is a synonym for change. And our ability to be agile with change, that is the real opportunity at hand. So if you're wanting to unlock extraordinary results and sustainable performance in your life, it's not about avoiding or reducing stress. And as simple as that sounds, it's very tricky to do, but it is about fundamentally changing your relationship with it. And that's why I'm so thrilled to invite you to a special event. It's a free virtual event that we're offering, and it's called The Power of Embracing Stress. It's on Wednesday, March 6th at 2 p.m. Pacific. So to sign up, just head over to findingmastery.com/training. Whether it's advancing in your career or improving your health or cultivating stronger relationships, I think a new approach to stress can be one of the most powerful unlocks for you in your life. So join us for this free virtual training, The Power of Embracing Stress, on Wednesday, March 6th at 2 p.m. Pacific. Go to findingmastery.com/training to sign up once again. That's findingmastery.com/training. And I'm really excited to see you there.

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Now, this week's conversation is with Dr. Ethan Kross, one of the world's leading experts in controlling the conscious mind.

After graduating magna cum laude from UPenn, University of Pennsylvania, Ethan earned his PhD in psychology from Columbia University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in social affective neuroscience, just to learn more about the neural systems that support self-control.

He moved over to the University of Michigan in 2008, where he founded the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory. Ethan studies how the conversations people have with themselves impact their health performance, decisions and relationships. And Ethan just published his first book. It's really good. It's so solid. I'm so stoked to introduce this book to you and his thinking. Now the name of the book is called Chatter, the voice inside of our head, why it matters and how to harness it.