10% Happier with Dan Harris

How to think about consciousness without breaking your brain.

Annaka Harris is the New York Times bestselling author of CONSCIOUS: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind and writer and producer of the audio documentary series, LIGHTS ON. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Nautilus Magazine, the Journal of Consciousness Studies, and IAI Magazine, and she is also an editor and consultant for science writers, specializing in neuroscience and physics.

In this episode we talk about:

• What consciousness is—and why we should care about it
• The question of whether or not consciousness is a fundamental aspect of the universe (so literally—is consciousness embedded in the chair I'm sitting in?)
• Why thinking about this mystery can create a sense of awe (a reliable antidote to suffering)
• Meditation techniques for exploring consciousness
• The illusion of the self
• The importance of challenging our intuitions
• And much more

Related Episodes:

• The Fundamental Mystery of the Mind | Annaka Harris
• Susan Kaiser Greenland and Annaka Harris, Teaching Mindfulness to Kids
• #469. A Mystery That Matters | Anil Seth
• Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novelist Jennifer Egan On: Panic, Awe, Fetishizing Authenticity, and Our Possible AI Futures

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Additional Resources:

• wakingup.com/tenpercent
• LIGHTS ON
• The Candy House
• The Case Against Reality
• On Having No Head: Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious
• Ten Zen Questions: Susan Blackmore

And how to figure out what matters most to you.

Jonathan Fields is the author of several books, including SPARKED: Discover Your Unique Imprint for Work That Makes You Come Alive. He is also the host of two podcasts, Good Life Project® and SPARKED™.

This episode is part of our ongoing Sanely Ambitious series.

In this episode we talk about:

• What a "sparketype" is and how to use it to help your guide your life and make work decisions Embracing uncertainty
• Meditation and attention training for uncertainty
• The role of community in navigating uncertainty
• How to make exercise meaningful

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• Sanely Ambitious

Career advice from a man who has walked the walk.

Jordan Harbinger is a Wall Street lawyer turned podcast interviewer with an approachable style and knack for securing high-profile guests. His podcast, The Jordan Harbinger Show, was selected as part of Apple's "Best of 2018."

This episode is part of our ongoing Sanely Ambitious series.

In this episode we talk about:

• How to engage in networking without being gross. He has lots of interesting techniques here, including something called Gmail roulette
• He also has a cardinal rule that I found compelling
• We also talk about: The ripple effect of generosity
• How to ask for a raise
• The strategic value of asking for advice
• How to deal with a bad boss
• How to persuade and negotiate
• And the many problems with hustle culture

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• Sanely Ambitious

How to reduce perfectionism and boost confidence so you can be more effective in every area of your life.

Susan (Sue) Ashford is an award-winning scholar and Professor at the University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business. Her passion for helping people to be maximally effective in their work lives has driven her teaching and research work on self-management, proactivity, change from below, and leadership and its development.

This episode is part of our ongoing Sanely Ambitious series.

In this episode we talk about:

• The concept of "flexing"
• The pernicious role of fear and anxiety
• The crucial difference between a performance mindset and a learning mindset
• Practical tools for changing your mindset
• What it means to unleash your inner scientist
• The importance of getting feedback (and why some people struggle asking for it)
• The concept of re-storying (reframing negative perspectives)
• Why we should savor successes
• How to be interpersonally successful
• And much more

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Additional Resources:

• The Power of Flexing
• Ari Weinzweig
• Reboot by Jerry Colonna
• Ego Free Leadership

This one's simple and easy -- and features some of Dan's favorite instructions from Joseph Goldstein. This meditation was originally part of one of Dan's recent Ask Me Anything sessions on Substack – join us as a paid subscriber at DanHarris.com to be a part of these live online events as Dan guides a short meditation then takes your questions.

Lessons learned from 12 years of serious meditation.

Diego Perez is a meditator and #1 New York Times bestselling author who is widely known by his pen name, Yung Pueblo. His writing focuses on the power of self-healing, creating healthy relationships, and the wisdom that comes when we truly work on knowing ourselves.

In this episode we talk about:

• How to burn off your mind's conditioning
• The suffering that comes from clinging in a world characterized by relentless change
• What selfless listening is, and how to do it
• The liberation that comes from equanimity
• Some of the incredibly valuable lessons he's learned from 12 years of meditation
• How to make better decisions for your future self
• How to have boundless compassion without being a pushover
• Why being able to see perspectives outside of your own is a sign of intelligence and mental strength
• And much more

Related Episodes:

• Jack Kornfield & Yung Pueblo On: How To Meditate When You're Freaking Out, the Limits of the Thinking Mind, & Balancing Self-Interest with Compassion
• The Dharma of Instagram

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Additional Resources:

• How To Love Better
• The Inward Trilogy
• Yung Pueblo on Substack
• Yung Pueblo on Instagram
• Insight Meditation Society
• Dhamma.org

A Harvard doctor on how she went from stress patient to stress expert.

Dr. Aditi Nerurkar is a Harvard stress expert, and the author of The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body For Less Stress and More Resilience.

In this episode we talk about:

• Healthy stress vs. unhealthy stress
• The distinction between stress and burnout
• What Dr. Nerurkar calls "toxic resilience"
• Finding quiet in a noisy world
• The relationship between scrolling and sleeping
• The gut-brain connection
• Key breathing exercises
• Dealing with your inner critic
• How to avoid what she calls "revenge nighttime procrastination"
• Exercises to help you get into your "future self"
• The rule of two strategy
• And much more

Related Episodes:

• Jon Kabat-Zinn, Creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
• Stress Better, Modupe Akinola
• How to Thrive Under Stress | Elizabeth Stanley, PhD
• The Science Of Journaling: How Writing Reduces Overthinking, Rumination, And Anxiety | Dr. James Pennebaker (Co-Interviewed By Dr. Bianca Harris)

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Additional Resources:

• Aditi on Substack

Dan and executive producer DJ Cashmere talk about how we're putting "sanely ambitious" into action on our team; plus, an important update on how to listen to the podcast ad-free.

In this episode we talk about:

• How rest and productivity are two sides of the same coin

• What psychological safety looks like on a small, creative team

• Having a "parking lot" for great ideas that we aren't ready to do

• Other ways we're navigating some big changes in our business

Related episodes: Work Less, Get More Done | Alex Soojong Kim-Pang Digital Minimalism | Cal Newport Help, Work Sucks | Cal Newport How to Be Productive Without Burning Out | Cal Newport

BIG NEWS: Paid subscribers can now listen to the 10% Happier podcast ad-free by going to podcast.danharris.com! If you're not a paid subscriber, you will be prompted to sign up there. It's another one of our perks for our paid subscribers, including transcripts and cheat sheets for every episode, plus live guided meditations and Q&A sessions with Dan.

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Secrets from the massively popular Stanford business school course on interpersonal hygiene.

Carole Robin and David Bradford taught the most popular elective course at the Stanford Graduate School of Business for a combined total of 75 years. Officially, the name of the course is Interpersonal Dynamics, but everybody calls it "Touchy-Feely." Together they have written the new book, Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues.

We dive into the six hallmarks of what they call "exceptional relationships," how to be honest and vulnerable without overdoing it, why the questions "how am I feeling?" and "how are you feeling?" are central to improving our communication, the inevitability of risk when you set out to deepen a relationship, and why meditation is helpful in all of this.

This episode originally aired in 2021.

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Additional Resources:

• Brené Brown
• https://connectandrelate.com/

Why knowing your tendency can improve your life.

Susan Cain is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, and Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole. Her Kindred Letters newsletter is read by people in all 193 countries and all 50 American states. Join her at TheQuietLife.net.

In this episode we talk about:

• How to know if you're an introvert or extrovert
• The strengths of introversion – and how these can you no matter where you are on the introvert / extrovert spectrum
• Techniques to improve your relationships and work life
• How to design your life around where you do your best – including figuring out your true goals
• The perks of exposing ourselves to the things we fear the most
• The paradox of anxiety and shyness
• And why introverts and extraverts often get along so well—something Susan calls "introvert/extrovert synergy"

Related Episodes:

• What Is Sadness Good For? | Susan Cain

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Additional Resources:

• The Quiet Life with Susan Cain | Substack