What Motivates Us: Cognitive Scientist Dr. Maya Shankar on the Power of Change, Habit Formation, And Behavioral Science

On this week’s episode, Dr. Maya Shankar – a cognitive neuroscientist and creator and host of the podcast, A Slight Change of Plans – sits down with VP of Performance Kristen to how to change our patterns of behavior when it comes to our health. Maya shares the secrets of staying motivated, what the fresh start effect is, and how we can handle setbacks when we're not making the progress we want towards our goals. Maya shares her story of studying violin under Itzhak Perlman (2:22), how a hand injury spurred what she calls identity foreclosure (5:41), her transition to neuroscience (8:48), how she changed her plans and found herself on her career path (10:31), what the endowment effect is (17:14), the benefits of the fresh start effect (18:22), how to think about restarting after your goals have been derailed (23:44), the best ways to cement new habits (25:29), the power of data and behavioral science (29:43), how to make good decisions (31:11), and the illusion of control (34:15).

Resources:
Maya's podcast, A Slight Change of Plans

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