Join us (Dr. Henry Emmons and Dr. Aimee Prasek) as we talk about "joyless urgency," a brilliant phrase coined by Marilynne Robinson. The short story is that our modern kind of hustle culture and constant busyness often leads to little personal fulfillment. So what's causing all this urgency? We've highlighted some important reasons in some recent episodes (see links below). Today, we'll introduce another one: too much social media. We'll focus on something called "problematic engagement" and how excessive use on social media can fuel a cycle of anxiety and temporary relief followed by more anxiety and temporary relief and then more anxiety... you get the picture. Awareness is the first step to get out of this cycle and we'll hit on that a bit in this episode. And be sure to tune in for the next several episodes as we'll cover some practical steps you can take to get out of joyless urgency and back into joy.

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Sources and Notes:

• Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life.
• More about Marilynne Robinson from The Poetry Foundation
• Joy Lab Episodes referenced:
• Worrier? You're Not Alone. Here's Why We Worry... [ep. 213]
• Unmasking Your True Self: Exploring Authenticity and Awe [ep. 216]
• Embrace Your True Self: Accepted, Connected, & In The Game [ep. 217]
• The Road Most Travelled: Awakening Through Suffering [ep. 218]
• Follow Your Bliss: Awakening to Joy [ep. 219]
• The Still Small Voice: Awakening with Soulfulness [ep. 220]
• Farivar, S., Wang, F., & Turel, O. (2022). Followers' problematic engagement with influencers on social media: An attachment theory perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 133. Access here.

Full transcript here.

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