We often form deep emotional relationships with things that are important to us, from cherished items to hobbies and more materialistic possessions. But why do we become so emotionally attached to the things that we love and how does this affect our lives?

Here to delve deeper into the topic and talk about his book, The Things We Love: How Our Passions Connect Us and Make Us Who We Are, is author and expert on non-interpersonal love, Dr. Aaron Ahuvia. We explore the psychology of how passions shape our identity and connect us in meaningful ways, as well as offer advice for optimizing how we love and use our things to live more value-aligned lives.

Dr. Aaron Ahuvia is the most widely published and cited academic expert on non-interpersonal love. 

A scientific study listed him as one of the top 20 most influential scientists studying consumer behavior, out of thousands US researchers working on related topics.

Dr. Ahuvia has been at the forefront of this research since he published the first major scientific study on this topic entitled I Love It! Towards a Unifying Theory of Love Across Diverse Love Objects, over twenty years ago. Professor Ahuvia has over 100 academic papers and conference presentations. His research has been quoted in Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Glamour, and major publications in Europe and Japan. Dr. Ahuvia has also appeared on public radio talk shows as well as popular Television shows such as the Oprah Winfrey Show.

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