Today’s guest is Maya Shankar. Maya is a cognitive scientist and the creator, Executive Producer, and host of the podcast, A Slight Change of Plans, which Apple recently awarded as the Best Show of the Year 2021. Maya was a Senior Advisor in the Obama White House, where she founded and served as Chair of the White House Behavioral Science Team. Maya has a postdoctoral fellowship in cognitive neuroscience from Stanford, a Ph.D. from Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, and a B.A. from Yale. 

We talk about the cognitive science behind how we adapt to changes based on the choices we have and the choices we eventually make, either by staying stagnant in a frustrating situation or finding the will to reintegrate ourselves back into the world. We also discuss all things habit change, decision making, letting go of the past, how to remain optimistic during adversity (using science backed tools) and more!

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What to Listen For:

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:58 Understanding where your weaknesses lie
• 06:39 What is adaptive choice architecture?
• 10:33 The Identity Foreclosure
• 16:53 Either get stuck into a frustrating situation or jump back into the world
• 21:50 Habits form through taking small steps
• 25:22 Practice gratitude
• 32:53 When you only assume the worst in any situation
• 37:46 Tell your mind what matters to you  

Episode Resources:

• Maya Shankar | Website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

A Slight Change of Plans Podcast 

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• LinkedIn
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• Twitter

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