Dr. Bower explores the connection of purpose to living a life of happiness. We will unpack the importance of considering happiness for yourself vs. connecting with others. Some surprising research will give insights into how you can to live a more purposeful life!

Guest:
Dr. Tracy Brower is a sociologist studying work life fulfillment, happiness and the future of work. She is the author of two books. The Secrets to Happiness at Work provides insights for joyful work and life. Bring Work to Life by Bringing Life to Work provides fresh perspectives and alternative ways to consider and achieve work-life “balance” (hint: it’s not about balance, it’s more than that). Tracy is also a senior contributor for Forbes and a contributor to Newsweek and Fast Company, and the Vice President of Workplace Insights for Steelcase.

To learn more about Dr. Bower, please visit:
https://tracybrower.com/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/

Dr. Bowers' Books:
The Secrets to Happiness at Work
Bring Work to Life by Bringing Life to Work

Please note the time stamps for podcast content:
5:20 - Concepts - Myths of Happiness at Work
6:00 - Concepts - Create Conditions for Happiness
8:30 - Research - Commitment to a purpose in life: An antidote to the suffering by individuals with social anxiety disorder - Kashdan & McKnight (2013)
9:40 - Research - Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing - White et al. (2019)
11:20 - Concepts - Harm of Social Comparison
12:30 - Primer for E10 - Purpose in Practice (w/ Jeff Wang)
14:00 - Concepts - 3 Aspects of Purpose
18:15 - Concepts - Passions (Individual) vs. Purpose (Societal)
24:20 - Concepts - Different Ways of Experiencing Happiness
27:10 - Strategy - Making a Commitment / Take Action
28:30 - Strategy - Do Things You're Passionate About
31:00 - Research - Memorability shapes perceived time (and vice versa) - Ma et al. (2023)
33:00 - Concepts - How to Create Conditions for Happiness
35:10 - Adult Strategies - Presence. Eliminate Distractions. Validate. Ask Questions. Be Transparent About Our Own Experience.
39:30 - Personal Strategy - Gratitude. Making Knowledge Accessible
44:00 - Concepts - How to Make Choices to Move On (How Much Can I Influence/How Big is this Issue)
48:30 - Personal Strategy - Weekend Naps. Walks with Audiobooks
49:00 - Research - Influence of mid-afternoon nap duration and sleep parameters on memory encoding, mood, processing speed, and vigilance - Leong et al. (2023)

Special thanks to musical artists:
Psalm Trees: https://psalmtreesbeats.bandcamp.com/
Homage: https://homagebeats.bandcamp.com/

To provide suggestions for new topics in future episodes, visit:
present-mind.org/podcast