Flourish FM

Episode #18: The science of happiness, with Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar

In this episode, we talked to happiness expert Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar about the science of happiness, focusing on his account of happiness as “wholebeing,” comprised of five elements of well-being which make up his “SPIRE” model: Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Relational and Emotional well-being. 
 
Tal Ben-Shahar is an author and lecturer who taught two of the largest classes in Harvard University’s history, Positive Psychology and The Psychology of Leadership, and taught Happiness Studies at Columbia University. His books on happiness have been translated into more than thirty languages and have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, and his work has featured on media outlets including CNN, BBC and the Daily Show. 
 
Tal obtained his PhD in Organizational Behavior and BA in Philosophy and Psychology from Harvard. Today he consults and lectures around the world to executives in multinational corporations, including Google and Microsoft, the general public, and at-risk populations. Tal is a serial entrepreneur, and is the co-founder and chief learning officer of Happiness Studies Academy, Potentialife, Maytiv, and Happier.TV. 
 
Key conversation points:
How Tal defines happiness and its relation to flourishing: flourishing is the outcome of happiness
The relation between Tal’s “SPIRE” model of happiness and flourishing, and between happiness and wholeness
Tal’s definition of spirituality as living a life in which we see our activities as meaningful and purposeful
Practices for building spiritual wellbeing: exercise to write down a “calling description” rather than a job description
Tal’s criticism of widespread hurriedness today, and a strategy for going through life in less of a hurry 
The connection between happiness and “antifragility” 
Antifragility as “Resilience 2.0,” and its connection with post-traumatic growth: not only bouncing back, but becoming stronger and healthier than before
A principle Tal recommends for recovering from trauma: “things don’t happen for the best, but we can make the best of things that happen,” and how to apply this to our lives
The connection between physical exercise and happiness: “not exercising is like taking a depressant”
 
talbenshahar.com
happinessstudies.academy
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Episode #17: Collective resilience and culturally competent flourishing with Drs. Lucy Hone and Denise Quinlan

In this episode, we talked to Dr Lucy Hone and Dr Denise Quinlan about their work on building well-being and resilience among different populations, and how to develop the most important skills associated with resilience.
 
Dr Lucy Hone is author of the 2017 book Resilient Grieving: How to Find Your Way Through a Devastating Loss and gave the TED talk ‘3 Secrets of Resilient People’, which was among the Top 20 TED talks of 2020. She is co-author (with Denise Quinlan) of the Educators’ Guide to Whole-school Wellbeing, co-convenor of Wellbeing in Education New Zealand, presenter on many of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience’s online courses, and has featured in the Guardian, Washington Post, and on the BBC, ABC, Channel News Asia, Swedish Television, The Bolt Report Australia and Television New Zealand.
 
Dr Denise Quinlan is acknowledged internationally as an outstanding facilitator and trainer, helping people explore wellbeing and resilience. Participants have described training with her as ‘life-changing’. She has worked alongside leading resilience researchers Martin Seligman and Karen Reivich, delivering the Penn Resilience Program in Australia and the UK. Her podcast, ‘Bringing Wellbeing to Life’, was recommended by TED in their culture list for 2020. Denise’s academic research is published internationally, and her publications include the Educators’ Guide to Whole-school Wellbeing, which she co-authored with Lucy Hone. She is co-convenor of Wellbeing in Education New Zealand. 
 
Key conversation points:
What resilience is and the difference between individual and collective resilience. Individual resilience can be thought of as “learning to swim” and collective resilience thought of as “building the pool.” We need both to be truly resilient.
Ways to build resilience, individually and collectively: healthy relationships; having a “mission” in life; cultivating self-awareness, self-regulation and self-compassion; and developing flexible and accurate thinking.
What trauma is and what post-traumatic growth (PTSG) is, and Lucy & Denise’s argument for why PTSG requires struggle after trauma. 
Our “explanatory style”: how we explain what has happened to us, and why this is important for well-being and resilience. 

Episode # 16: Spirituality and Flourishing, with Dr. Lisa Miller

In this episode, we talked to Dr. Lisa Miller about the science of spirituality and how we can apply research , the role of spirituality in flourishing and how we can apply research on the science of spirituality to our lives. She has developed a form of psychotherapy known as “spiritual awareness psychotherapy” or “awakened awareness,” which we practice live on the call!
 
Lisa Miller is the New York Times bestselling author of The Spiritual Child and a professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the Founder and Director of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute, the first Ivy League graduate program and research institute in spirituality and psychology, and has held over a decade of joint appointments in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical School. Her innovative research has been published in more than one hundred peer-reviewed articles in leading journals. Lisa is an elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association (“APA”) and the two-time President of the APA Society for Psychology and Spirituality. 
 
Key conversation points:
Research in neuroscience and psychology on the benefits of spirituality for our well-being, such as how spirituality can reduce the risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality
The difference between spirituality and religious belief 
The connection between spirituality, meaning, and living a morally good life
The form of psychotherapy Lisa’s developed, “spiritual awareness psychotherapy” (also known as “awakened awareness”), which we practice live on the call!
What “synchronicity” is and the kind of attitude we need to cultivate to perceive synchronicity
The distinction between transcendent and self-transcendent experiences
 
lisamillerphd.com 
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Episode # 15: The science of friendship and flourishing, with Dr. Marisa Franco

Dr. Marisa G. Franco is a psychologist, Professor at the University of Maryland and author of the New York Times bestseller Platonic: How The Science of Attachment Can Help You Make — and Keep — Friends. She writes about friendship for Psychology Today and has been a featured connection expert for major publications including the New York Times, The Telegraph, and Vice. She speaks on belonging at corporations, government agencies, non-profits, and universities. On her website you can take a quiz to assess your strengths and weaknesses as a friend & reach out for speaking engagements.
 
Key themes for discussion: 
The role of friendship in flourishing, and why friendship is so important for flourishing
How we can apply research on attachment styles to cultivate great friendships.
https://www.flourishfmpodcast.com

Episode #14: Types of relationships and their role in a fulfilling life, with therapist and relationship coach, Nicole Nourian

In this episode, we talked to therapist and relationship coach, Nicole Nourian, about healthy relationships and how to build them, character strengths such as resilience and autonomy, the importance of growth in relationships, and how to cultivate “radical acceptance” - coming to terms with difficult events in life outside our control. 
 
Nicole Nourian is a therapist born and raised in LA. Her journey in psychology started at UCLA, where she graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and also became a certified yoga instructor and certified life coach, specializing in relationships. Nicole went on to receive her Masters in Clinical Psychology at Pepperdine University, and is currently working as a therapist in LA. 
 
Nicole’s experience includes working with individuals, families, and couples to guide them towards meeting their goals in the healthiest way possible. Nicole does not apply one theory to all her clients but rather approaches each individual with an eclectic approach that fits them best. Nicole has observed in her therapy the crucial importance of romantic and platonic relationships play in our daily lives. Whether it be heartbreak, attachment issues, animosity with loved ones, or maintaining a healthy relationship, Nicole emphasizes the ways in which dissatisfaction with one’s relationships can have a huge impact on one’s mental health. 
 
In her practice, Nicole works hard to break barriers and old habits that may be contributing to one’s happiness. Nicole’s Instagram page has generated millions of views on content relating to self-esteem, relationships, and mental health.
 
Key conversation points:
Types of relationships, the connections between them and their roles in our lives
Nicole’s argument that our relationship with ourselves is the most important relationship to develop, because of its benefits for our well-being and positive impact on other relationship types
What a healthy relationship with yourself involves and how to build it
What resilience is, its importance to living well, its connection with other psychological concepts such as antifragility and grit, and how to build it
The connection between building healthy relationships and building resilience
What autonomy is and why it is important for relationships
“Radical acceptance”: coming to terms with difficult events in life outside our control - what this involves and how to cultivate it 
The importance of individual and mutual growth in healthy relationships
 
Instagram @BalancewithNic
Booking therapy with Nicole
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Epsiode # 13: Meaning, happiness, morality and flourishing - a conversation with Will Reusch

In this episode, we talked to Will Reusch about whether an evil person can live a meaningful life and flourish; what happiness is and how its role in our lives changes depending on how we define it; and the similarities and differences between influential contemporary theories of flourishing. 
 
Will Reusch is an educator and podcaster. For the last thirteen years he has taught multiple subjects at public and private schools in Los Angeles, his main subject being social studies. Since 2019 he has hosted the podcast Cylinder Radio, an educational podcast which focuses on exploring controversial topics. 
 
Will never had an interest in academics at school and struggled to connect what he was learning to build a successful and meaningful life. He came to believe that educational systems designed to teach children to become capable, informed, and equipped seem to fail in achieving these goals for so many young people. Will decided to become a schoolteacher to try to improve this. 
 
Key conversation points:
The importance of morality, character and virtue for flourishing, and possible reasons why evil people cannot live meaningful lives or flourish 
Different definitions of happiness and how it takes on different roles in education depending on how it’s defined 
The problems with aiming for happiness in education or as an end goal in life
The problems with thinking of happiness as pleasure and the importance of thinking of happiness as a long-term state
Two major theories of flourishing: positive psychology’s “PERMA” model (Positive emotions; Engagement; positive Relationships; Meaning; and Accomplishment) and the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard’s account 
 
williamreusch.com 
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Episode#12: How to progress through life from one strength to another

In this episode, we talked to Professor Arthur Brooks about happiness, wisdom, love, relationships, religion and spirituality, and why these are important for our flourishing, particularly as we move into the latter half of our lives. 
 
Arthur C. Brooks is the William Henry Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School. Before joining Harvard in July 2019, he served for ten years as president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute, one of the world’s leading think tanks. Brooks is the author of 12 books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller “From Strength to Strength,” and national bestsellers “Love Your Enemies” and “The Conservative Heart”. He has also published dozens of academic journal articles and the textbook “Social Entrepreneurship”. He is a columnist for The Atlantic, host of the podcast “How to Build a Happy Life,” and subject of the 2019 documentary film “The Pursuit,” which Variety named as one of the “Best Documentaries on Netflix” in August 2019. He gives more than 100 speeches per year around the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Prior to his work in academia and public policy, Brooks spent 12 years as a professional French hornist in the United States and Spain. 
 
Key conversation points:
The kinds of relationships that are most important to cultivate and how to cultivate them.
The distinction between “real” and “deal friends”: why focusing on the former is vital for happiness but focusing on the latter leads to loneliness. 
How to ensure you have sufficient “real relationships” in your life.  
Why love is so important for happiness and flourishing.
The importance of developing a vision of what you love and do.
The two intelligence “curves” in life: moving from fluid to crystallized intelligence.
Why religion, spirituality, philosophy or a connection with something higher are important for flourishing. 
Arthur’s most recent book, From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life and the seven words he uses to sum it up: “use things, love people, worship the divine”.
 
Joining us to interview Arthur is Matthew T. Lee, Professor of the Social Sciences and Humanities at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University. He is also a Research Associate and Director of the Flourishing Network at the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University; a member of the Global Study of Human Flourishing research team; a Distinguished Visiting Scholar of Health, Flourishing, and Positive Psychology at Stony Brook University’s Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics; and Visiting Scholar at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. 
 
arthurbrooks.com 
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Episode# 11: Flow & Flourishing Part 2: Flow in your work

This is the second in a two-part series on the relationship between flourishing and flow - the psychological state of optimal experience and performance. Research suggests that experiencing flow significantly enhances our well-being.
 
In this episode, we talk to Dr Jared Weintraub and Dr Gerrit McGowan about the role of flow in work and how to get more into flow in your work.
 
Dr Jared Weintraub is the founder of The Flow Group, LLC., an organizational and business development firm that works with individuals and companies to create and maintain happy, healthy, and productive workplaces. Jared holds a Ph.D. from Hofstra University, a Master’s degree from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and a certification as a Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR). He has worked with start-ups, Fortune 500 companies, and organizations across various industries, providing internal and external consulting, coaching, and managing marketing and sales teams. He recently received his Ph.D. in Applied Org
anizational Psychology from Hofstra University, where he researched Flow Theory - how, when, and why individuals, teams, and organizations can get into “the Zone.” Most recently, this research has explored how we can use technology-based solutions to "nudge" behavior change in order to develop key competencies for flourishing at work. His over ten years of experience include: teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, designing and implementing training programs, employee engagement, performance management, needs assessment, employment law compliance, administration of benefits, and so on.
 
Dr Gerrit McGowan is a 4x startup founder, angel investor, and peak performance coach. He is the founder of the Syntegrity Group, Kula.com, Effectuate Apps, ICELab, the Most Awesome Founder Podcast, the WHU Accelerator, and numerous other short-lived ventures. But he is perhaps most recognised for inventing the concept of Cause-Related Loyalty Marketing and its SaaS implementations such as MyCoke Rewards Donate to Schools, Kellogg’s Points with Purpose, Red Robin Eat Up-Give Back Rewards, and JetBlue’s TrueGiving. When not building ventures, Gerrit is helping others build theirs - having coached over 1000 founders and nascent entrepreneurs across five continents. He is a All-Star Mentor for Techstars, CEO Coach for Alchemist Accelerator, mentor for APX, Founder Institute, Earlybird VisionLab, and advisor/investor/shareholder in numerous high-growth ventures. Throughout his career, Gerrit has led the development of over a dozen technology products; raised over $10m in funding; and supported startups that have raised over $100m in venture capital. His work has been honoured with two Canadian Institute of Planners Awards for Excellence; as a finalist for the Guardian’s Social Enterprise of the Year Award; and a SXSW Startup Showcase selection.
 
Key conversation points:
How Gerrit and Jared both came into research and work around the flow state
How flow takes various points along a spectrum of focused attention
How flow and flourishing at work are connected with important work outcomes
The interesting relationship between flow, stress and anxiety
The appropriate role of stress and challenge in flourishing and flow
Gerrit’s study of flow and burnout among entrepreneurs
The difference between work-life balance and work-life synergy 
How to create more flow at in your team or organization
 
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Episode # 10: Flow & Flourishing Part 1: The Flow State

This is the first of a two-part series on the relationship between flourishing and flow - the psychological state of optimal experience and performance. Research suggests that experiencing flow significantly enhances our well-being.
 
In this episode, we talk to Dr Carol Grojean and Dr Brent Hogarth about the flow state and its relationship to flourishing.
As a Leadership professional in the areas of Organizational Effectiveness, Project Management, and Transformational Change, Dr Carol Grojean has spent the past 20 years’ guiding large, complex, strategic initiatives. Carol is adept at designing and implementing programs which drive strategic business and organizational culture shifts through building trust and delivering results. With extensive business process, project, and program management skillset built on 3 Masters degrees and a Ph.D. in organizational systems psychology: leadership and social transformation as well as wilderness rite of passage guiding, council facilitating, and peace mediation training. Carol brings a unique and much-needed perspective on the human behavior in human systems, focused on building cultures where individuals at all levels can bring their distinct, creative talents to their roles while providing the necessary skills to the whole system values and vision.
 
Dr. Brent Hogarth is a Sport and Clinical Psychologist from Vancouver, Canada. He is an expert in training flow-state, mindfulness, and self-control for both sport and corporate athletes. Brent has significant training and experience providing performance enhancement and mental health counseling. This includes, but is not limited to, working with Olympic and professional athletes, serial entrepreneurs, members of the USA military, computer engineers, authors, hedge fund managers and more. Brent's clinical counseling experience is vast, and he sees everyone as having the ability to be a high-performer. He completed his Doctoral fellowships at the University of Texas, at El Paso, and Lehigh University, in Bethlehem, PA. After a short stint as a fitness trainer, he traveled to India where he lived in a Buddhist Monastery and completed a Yoga Teacher training Course. It was at this moment - sitting in meditation on the hills of McLeod Ganj, India - that Brent committed to becoming a psychologist. Dr. Hogarth is a Humanistic-Existential psychologist. His theoretical orientation is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies, together with commitment and behavior change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility means contacting the present moment fully, and based on what the situation affords, changing or persisting in behavior in the service of clients’ chosen values.
 
Key conversation points:
The place of flow in human flourishing
Why focusing on integration of the self and experience is important for flow: “doing” vs. “being”, and integrating the “me” with the “we”
Why it’s important for getting into flow to not try to get into flow, but rather to “let go”
The importance of embracing and engaging in a process of struggle to get into flow
The importance of being aware of the potential dark side of flow
 
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Episode#9: Pathways to Visible Well-being and Executing Strengths-Based Parenting

In this episode we talked to Professor Lea Waters about the pathways towards well-being and why ‘strengths-based parenting’ is important.
 
Lea is Founding Director of and Inaugural Gerry Higgins Chair in Positive Psychology at the Centre for Positive Psychology (now the Centre for Wellbeing Science), University of Melbourne. Lea holds affiliate positions at Cambridge University and the University of Michigan and serves on the Scientific Board at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. Lea is the Past President of the International Positive Psychology Association, serves on the Council of Happiness and Education for the World Happiness Council, is the Patron of Flourishing Education Japan and Ambassador for the Positive Education Schools Association. She is a registered psychologist and a full member of the Australian Psychological Society.
 
Key convo points are:
Lea’s tripartite account of flourishing as feeling good, functioning well and doing good.
The connection Lea draws between her account of flourishing and positive psychology - the scientific study of the conditions and processes leading to human flourishing.
Lea’s ‘SEARCH’ framework on the six pathways to well-being: Strengths, Emotional management, Attention & Awareness, Relationships, Coping, and Habits & goals.
Lea’s view that flourishing is the aim of education, and her research on how improving well-being in education supports the fulfillment of students’ learning.
Lea’s argument that to build well-being, we need to make well-being more visible, in similar ways to how we try to make thinking visible.
The age at which humans gain a sense of purpose in life.
What strengths-based parenting is and why parents should consider employing it. 
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