Dec 30, 2022
Happy (almost) New Year! This is
the last episode of 2022, coming out on December 30 – and what a
year it has been! My second book, What Your Employees Need and Can't Tell
You came out in
October, and I got to do a book signing at the Sam's Club
Auditorium which was amazing! I also got to speak at some amazing
conferences, including travel to Amsterdam and for multiple groups
in Latin America, had students from around the world in the
certificate program at Texas A&M, got to work with amazing
clients and so much more. I can't wait to see what 2023 has in
store. One of the things I am most excited about is speaking at
SXSW in Austin in March.
Well, speaking of 2023 being an
amazing year, that's what this episode is all about. I've done
something a little bit different in this episode by bringing on two
guests to do a panel of sorts. One of them you have met before,
Ayelet Fishbach, Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at
the University of Chicago and author of Get It Done, which came out earlier this year. Our other
panelist, Cassie Holmes, is a professor at UCLA who wrote the new
book Happier
Hour, which is so
beyond fantastic. She specializes in the science of happiness and
talks about time poverty and so many other amazing things. (Don’t
worry, we have a full interview that is all about Cassie and her
work coming out in early 2023.)
In today's episode, that topic
is having the best, happiest year by understanding the science of
motivation, goals, achievement, happiness, mindset, and more.
Listen in to find out how you can make 2023 your best year
yet!
Show Notes:
- [00:06] In today’s episode, I
am excited to welcome Ayelet Fishbach and Cassie Holmes to discuss
how you can have the best year ever.
- [01:15] Forty-six different
guests have joined me on the show this year including those in
today’s interview. We also started testing out releasing two
episodes a week.
- [04:51] Today I have brought
together two people from different universities studying somewhat
different (but arguably related) topics to have a discussion about
how their work compliments (or contradicts) one another. Today’s
topic is having the best happiest year by understanding the science
of motivation, goals, achievement, happiness, mindset, our thoughts
towards time, and more.
- [06:21] Ayelet shares about
herself, her background, and what she does. She is a motivational
scientist.
- [07:47] Cassie shares about
herself, her background, and what she does. She is a professor that
studies happiness and life satisfaction.
- [10:25] We are talking about
how to help people have better, more successful years in
2023.
- [11:24] Around the time the
year ends and the new year begins, people are thinking about what
they want to achieve. However, there is a likelihood that you will
forget about your resolution.
- [13:27] You have a wonderful
opportunity to reflect back on the prior year.
- [16:08] When we feel like we
are constantly rushing or hurrying, we are more reactive in how we
invest our time instead of proactive and investing in those things
that really matter.
- [19:02] Looking back is often a
way to reaffirm your commitment.
- [21:58] Set goals that you can
see yourself doing right now and what will make you feel good right
now.
- [22:41] A year is not the right
time frame for many goals. A year has a very long middle. Often
weekly and monthly goals are better.
- [24:57] Folks who take a
broader perspective of time report greater meaning and satisfaction
and are happier in their days.
- [26:44] Invest time in ways
that are worthwhile. The particular activity you are engaging in
and also how you are engaging in that activity are what makes the
activity worthwhile.
- [28:37] You constantly need to
navigate the motivation and priorities of your
goals.
- [30:42] We often get stuck on
the little stuff that doesn’t really matter instead of focusing on
the most important things that help us to move forward on a bigger
goal. A to-do list can be a distraction from our higher-value
goals.
- [32:56] Melina shares four
things that work against us: optimism bias, time discounting,
planning fallacy, and bikeshedding.
- [34:12] Progress is motivating
– progress feels good – which is why we often love our to-do
lists.
- [36:18] You want to ask
why you are doing the thing you are doing. You also
want to ask how questions.
- [39:29] Those who treated their
weekend like a vacation were significantly happier when they
returned to work and enjoyed the weekend more. Our weekends are
meant to be breaks so we can return feeling refreshed and
motivated.
- [41:26] We need to be
intentional and carve out spaces for true breaks during the week –
at least once, ideally more.
- [46:20] It is important to
create the right balance between our goals and the activities that
help us achieve the goals.
- [49:31] Restructure your day in
a way that makes more sense for the goals that you have for
yourself for the week and year.
- [51:32] It is often harder to
learn when you are working from home and not with other people you
can learn from. Connection and friendship have suffered between
colleagues working from home during the pandemic.
- [54:17] Developing friendships
with colleagues can be so hard through Zoom, but figuring out ways
to bring people together to foster those relationships is so
important.
- [57:16] Do our panelists set
resolutions? Melina and Cassie say no (listen in on her upcoming
episode to find out why). Ayelet sets New Year’s resolutions
because it is an opportunity to think about what she wants to
achieve and where she wants to go.
- [58:35] Melina’s closing
thoughts
- [59:54] Melina chooses a word
annually. It is a theme to guide her and keep her centered
throughout the year on what she wants to
accomplish.
- [61:36] Thank you for
supporting The Brainy Business! I appreciate you more than I can
ever say!
Thanks for listening. Don’t
forget to subscribe on
Apple Podcasts
or
Android. If you like
what you heard, please leave a
review on iTunes
and share what you liked about the
show.
I hope you love
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Top Recommended Next Episode:
Get It Done: Surprising Lessons
from the Science of Motivation with Ayelet Fishbach (ep
186)
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