The Science of How People Change | Behavioral Scientist, Dr. Katy Milkman

Katy Milkman (0:00)

There are moments in our lives that feel more conducive to change. I call them fresh starts.

And what my research with Hengchen Dai and Jason Reese has shown is that these are moments when we feel like we're opening a new chapter in our lives, because we don't think about time linearly. We actually think about our lives in chapters. There's your 30s, your 40s, there's a certain job, there's all these different moments. And whenever a new chapter opens, we feel like we have a new beginning and a fresh start. And that causes us to step back and think bigger picture about our lives and our goals and what we want to accomplish. And it also makes us feel like we have a clean slate. So if there was something we wanted to do or achieve that we failed to do last year, say, and then along comes this fresh start, the start of a new year, even a new week, by the way, can be a fresh start or the celebration of a birthday, move to a new home or a new job.

We feel like that was the old me. This is the new me and the new me can do it. And so that increased optimism is one of the things that can propel us to change.

Michael Gervais (1:13)

Okay, welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I'm Michael Gervais and by trade and training, I am a sport and performance psychologist. Now the whole idea behind these conversations is to learn from people who are flat out committed to both their craft and their inner life. Literally those who are on the path of mastery so that we can better understand what they're searching for, the way that they use their mind to make sense of themselves, make sense of the world around them. And we also want to understand the mental skills that they use to build and refine their craft. And if you want to learn more about how you can train your mind, there's just a quick little reminder here to check out the online psychological skills training course that I created with the head coach at the Seattle Seahawks, Pete Carroll. And you can find all of 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 and 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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