366: Laurie Santos - The Science Of Well-Being (Psychology & The Good Life)

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Text LEARNERS to 44222

Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com

Episode #366: Laurie Santos - 

Laurie Santos is a cognitive scientist and Professor of Psychology at Yale University. She has been a featured TED speaker and has been listed in Popular Science as one of their "Brilliant Ten" young scientists in 2007 as well as in Time magazine as a "Leading Campus Celebrity" in 2013. In January 2018, her course titled Psychology and the Good Life became the most popular course in Yale's history, with approximately one-fourth of Yale's undergraduates enrolled.

Notes:

• Sustaining excellence:
  • Good habits: Form consistent routines
  • Healthy: Exercise regularly
  • Socialize with others
  • They "offload dumb decisions"
• Create a morning routine - Limit the wardrobe (limit mental energy spent on trivial things).
• Harness the power of habits - "Set you exercise clothes out the night before."
  • Do it at a consistent time each day no matter what. This decreases anxiety.
  • For writing: Stop in the middle of a sentence. This will help you get started the next day (and avoid seeing the blank screen)
• Laurie is the head of a college at Yale. She lives and eats with the students in the dining hall.
  • She built her class based upon hearing the complaints of students daily (they were unhappy)
• Important behaviors:
  • Gratitude
  • Social connection
  • Random acts of kindness
• Students didn't realize their misconceptions about happiness
  • It's not about your job, house, or money.
• Happy people are:
  1. Socially connected - They spend a lot of time with others. They prioritize connecting with others.
  2. They don't focus on themselves - "Others oriented." They do more for others.
  3. Grateful - They look for the good. They have a mindset of gratitude. They write down 3-5 things they are grateful for everyday. They are mindful.
• The GI Fallacy - It's more than just knowing... "You must DO IT."
• Be deliberate about connecting with others. Hang out with people you care about. Set up Skype calls with others.
• Do NOT complain - It's awful.
• Laurie's class has become the most popular class in the history of Yale...
  • Her lectures have been filmed for the Today Show
  • Created The Happiness Lab
  • It's given more meaning to life
• Advice for mid-level managers:
  • Doctors find happier workers use less than 15 sick days a year
  • Work with your employees to do what they're best at
  • Find out what they're getting out of the job
  • "Your emotions can be contagious. If you embody calm, they will be calm."
  • Affective spirals - The leader can turn emotions positive
• How to run excellent meetings:
  • Infuse it with gratitude - Say what you're grateful for. Grateful team members are more productive.
  • Regulate your emotion. Don't transmit negative energy to your team.
• At home: Regulate emotion. Take time to pay attention to your emotion. What are you bringing home?
  • Be present. Express gratitude to your family. Shift from complaining to being grateful.
  • Say what you love about each other at your family dinner table
• The best way to learn is to teach it.