The Stories We Tell Ourselves
In the face of our ever-changing working environments, the stories we tell ourselves will change the way we see the world. Focusing on our strengths and finding meaning in what we do will unlock our best selves and allow us to lead and succeed even when the going gets rough, even when it seems like success and integrity are at odds. In this episode, Gautam Mukunda is joined by serial entrepreneur, author, and co-founder of the Happiness Studies Academy, Tal Ben-Shahar, and blog writer and author Eric Barker to discuss how creating a meaningful narrative can change our experience.
“One of the biggest insights of all of social psychology is that the situation is often more predictive of behavior than individual personality traits. So, leaders need to frame the new experience of work from home.”
— Eric Barker
Books Referenced:
Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment, by Tal Ben-Shahar
Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl
Daniel Deronda, by Mary Ann Evans aka George Elliot
On Becoming a Leader, by Warren G. Bennis
The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done, by Peter F. Drucker
Mother Night, by Kurt Vonnegut
Guest Info:
Tal Ben-Shahar is an author and lecturer. He taught two of the largest classes in Harvard University’s history, Positive Psychology and The Psychology of Leadership. Today, Tal consults and lectures around the world to executives in multinational corporations, the general public, and at-risk populations. The topics he lectures on include leadership, happiness, education, innovation, ethics, self-esteem, resilience, goal setting, and mindfulness. His books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages, and have appeared on best-seller lists around the world. Tal is a serial entrepreneur and is the co-founder and chief learning officer of Happiness Studies Academy, Potentialife, and Happier TV.
Eric Barker’s humorous, practical blog, Barking Up the Wrong Tree, presents science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life. Over 345,000 people subscribe to his weekly newsletter and he has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, and the Financial Times. Eric has given talks at MIT, Yale, Google, United States Military Central Command (CENTCOM), and the Olympic Training Center. His first book, Barking Up The Wrong Tree, is a Wall Street Journal bestseller.