Ellen Langer is a renowned Harvard professor and psychologist who has been studying mindfulness for over 40 years. She is the first woman to be tenured in psychology at Harvard and has conducted extensive research in her lab. She is also known as the “Mother of Positive Psychology.” Langer is the author of numerous books, including The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health.

Langer joins Leah Smart to discuss the power of mindfulness for improving our health and well-being. By being mindful, we can enliven our brains, improve our physical health, and live longer. Langer's research has shown that simply noticing and being present can reverse signs of aging, enhance healing, and improve our overall well-being. She also encourages us to embrace uncertainty, as it opens us up to new and interesting possibilities. 

Follow Leah Smart on LinkedIn

Follow Ellen Langer on LinkedIn

Mindful Thinking for Chronic Health with Ellen Langer

Everyday Better is your essential podcast for leveling up in personal development, life, and career success. Hosted by Leah Smart, an educator in self-improvement and positive psychology, this podcast offers transformative conversations with influential experts sharing real-life success stories, actionable insights, and research-backed tips.
Elevate your mindset, gain clarity, and unlock your potential as you journey toward becoming 'Everyday Better.' Whether you're at a crossroads or simply seeking more daily clarity, every episode leaves you inspired, empowered, and ready for more.
Find new episodes of Everyday Better, right here, every Tuesday.

Education

Training

Language Courses

Higher Education

K-12

Educational Technology

Health & Fitness

Mental Health

Self-Improvement

Dr Tara Swart is a neuroscientist, leadership adviser and best selling author. She works with executives and leaders all over the world to help them achieve mental resilience and peak brain performance, helping them to manage stress, regulate emotions and retain information. Her scientific knowledge and expertise helps people optimize their brain health and achieve their full potential.
Tara joins Leah to discuss the brain-body connection and the importance of emotional well-being. She explains how chronic stress can impact the brain and body, leading to physical and mental health issues, and emphasizes the power of intention and visualization in shaping our brain's interpretation of reality. 
Follow Leah Smart on LinkedIn
Follow Dr. Tara Swart on LinkedIn

Understanding the Brain-Body Connection with Neuroscientist Tara Swart

Dr. Casey Means is a physician, tech entrepreneur and the author of Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health. She is passionate about metabolic health and dedicated to helping people better understand their bodies. 
Casey joins Leah to highlight the interconnectedness of various symptoms and diseases, all of which she sees as stemming from metabolic dysfunction. She discusses the impact of the modern environment on our metabolic health and offers practical strategies for optimizing our metabolism through sleep, movement, stress management techniques, toxin reduction and light exposure. By adopting a metabolic framework and focusing on cellular health, we all can cultivate good energy and live happier, healthier lives.
Follow Leah Smart on LinkedIn.
Follow Casey Means on LinkedIn.
For more on how to improve your metabolic health, check out Casey’s book, Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health.

Harnessing the Power of Metabolic Health with Dr. Casey Means

In part II of our conversation with Stephanie Harrison, author of New Happy: Getting Happiness Right in a World That's Got It Wrong, we explore what it looks like to apply Stephanie’s New Happy philosophy to personal and work areas of our lives. We discuss strategies for setting and achieving your big goals, what the research suggests about the role of helping others in the context of happiness and how privilege and oppression shift our approach to and experience of happiness. We also contemplate the notion of the “best self” and take a hard look at wellness culture to better understand how mainstream ideas of happiness and well-being hold us back from achieving true contentment. 
Follow Leah Smart on LinkedIn.
Follow Stephanie Harrison on LinkedIn.
To learn more about Stephanie’s philosophy on happiness, check out her book, New Happy: Getting Happiness Right in a World That's Got It Wrong.

Everything You Think You Know About Happiness Is Wrong (Part II)

Stephanie Harrison is an expert on the science of happiness. Her first book, New Happy: Getting Happiness Right in a World That's Got It Wrong, explores the structural forces that prevent us from achieving true happiness and teaches us how to find it by looking outside ourselves. 
Stephanie joins Leah to discuss why so many of us are unhappy (despite trying our very best to be), and what we can do to experience more joy and contentment in our everyday lives. Helping others, Stephanie argues, is the key to improving our mental and emotional well-being. She also shares research-backed strategies for connecting with our true selves and quieting down the voice in our heads that tells us we’re not good enough.
Follow Leah Smart on LinkedIn.
Follow Stephanie Harrison on LinkedIn.
To learn more about Stephanie’s philosophy on happiness, check out her book, New Happy: Getting Happiness Right in a World That's Got It Wrong.

Everything You Think You Know About Happiness Is Wrong (Part I)

Dr. Barry Kudrowitz is a Professor of Product Design and Head of the Department of Graphic Design at the University of Minnesota. He studies the connection between what he calls “haha” and “aha”, and argues that humor and play are powerful tools for boosting creativity and idea generation at work. 
Dr. Kudrowitz joins Leah Smart to discuss the science behind the causal relationship between humor, play and creativity. He lays out his argument for why these often trivialized domains actually belong at work, and shares strategies for integrating play and humor into our everyday lives.
Follow Leah Smart on LinkedIn.
Follow Barry Kudrowitz on LinkedIn.
Check out Barry’s book, Sparking Creativity: How Play and Humor Fuel Innovation and Design.

Mindful Thinking for Chronic Health with Ellen Langer

Download our free app to listen on your phone