Our minds are uncomfortable with uncertainty, so we innately try to predict the future to protect ourselves from disappointment. With that, we draw conclusions and form hypotheses around the thoughts and beliefs that come from past experience. We have to remember that every experience is an opportunity to write a new story.
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Yesterday
The Exhaustion Of Trying To Stay Young
The promise of staying young can be hard to resist. There's always another product to try, another sign of aging to fix, another way to feel like we're keeping time at bay. Dora recognizes that anxious pull, even as she questions the belief underneath it: that getting older means ... Show More
6m 12s
Oct 21
When Your Identity Becomes Your Job
A job can give us purpose, community, and a sense of belonging. A role can help us understand where we fit and what people need from us. But as Dora's mom considers retirement, Dora sees how unsettling it can be to imagine life without a role you've inhabited for decades. When so ... Show More
7m 44s
Oct 19
Are You Playing It Safer Than You Need To?
Sometimes playing it safe doesn't feel like fear. It looks like being sensible, waiting for the right time, or convincing yourself that you'll revisit the idea when life settles down. Dora sees how easily people can remain at the edge of a life they want, including herself. But w ... Show More
5m 36s
May 2022
236. Thoughts Are Temporary
Our brains think they can predict the future. They’ll take one instance, generalize it into a pattern, and try to convince us that one of our fleeting thoughts or a fleeting thought that others have about us is a constant state (and rarely is it a pleasant one!).So, if your brain ... Show More
21m 52s
Mar 2023
77. Why do we worry about the future?
This week on the podcast we discuss the experience of worrying and overthinking the future. From anticipatory anxiety, the the illusion of control, paradox of choice and self preservation, anxiety about the future has a lot of psychological origins that we will unpack in todays e ... Show More
35 m
Mar 2025
The Moments that Change Us
<p>Often in life, we find ourselves wrestling with a decision. But in running these mental calculations, there's something we rarely consider about the future: we might not be the same person when we get there. This week, philosopher <a href="https://psychology.yale.edu/people/la ... Show More
51m 1s
Nov 2022
Why Are We So Afraid Of What We Don't Know?
When our fears of uncertainty take center stage, we often choose safety over our dreams. Knowing what will happen next becomes more important than taking the chance to start a business, quit our jobs and return to school, or jump into a new relationship. But you can't know the fu ... Show More
10m 17s