Shawn Achor is a Harvard-trained positive psychologist, New York Times bestselling author, and one of the world's leading researchers on happiness and human potential.

In this conversation, we explore why beliefs may be far more powerful than we realise, how they shape perception before we are even aware of them, and why some people continue to find possibility when the odds seem stacked against them. Shawn explains why AI can calculate probabilities but can never believe you'll beat them, how social support literally changes the way we see challenges, and why the most dangerous belief a person can hold is that their behaviour doesn't matter.

We also discuss the surprising science behind placebo effects, trauma, ageing, loneliness, meaning, religion, Michael Jordan's rituals, Roger Bannister's four-minute mile, fake surgery studies, why modern life can leave us untethered, and the profound role beliefs play in shaping the trajectory of our lives.

This was one of the most thought-provoking conversations we've ever had, and I hope you enjoy it.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Why Is Changing Ourselves So Difficult?

01:59 – AI Can Predict the Odds, But It Can't Believe You'll Beat Them

03:20 – Why Probability Masks Possibility

04:02 – Richard Wiseman's Luck Experiment

06:17 – Can Belief Really Change Reality?

07:15 – The Limits of Belief

08:45 – Roger Bannister and the Four-Minute Mile

09:55 – Stereotype Threat and Human Performance

11:03 – Michael Jordan's Shorts and Serena Williams' Socks

14:12 – What Is a Belief?

16:35 – How Are Beliefs Formed?

17:00 – The Hill Study: Why Support Changes Perception

18:20 – How Modern Life Teaches Us That Our Behaviour Doesn't Matter

19:00 – How Memories Shape Beliefs

20:42 – ADHD, Identity and Educational Outcomes

22:17 – Dangerous Beliefs and Sweeping Generalisations

23:02 – Yale's Remarkable Study on Ageing

26:12 – Do People Change Through Evidence or Experience?

28:00 – Trauma Doesn't Determine Your Future

31:00 – Why We Forget Our Strength

34:16 – The Five Candles Ritual

38:24 – Navy SEAL Training, Exposure Therapy and Perspective

40:46 – Placebos, Fake Surgery and the Power of Belief

45:57 – Why Beliefs Are Becoming More Powerful

46:49 – The Nocebo Effect

48:00 – Burnout, Anxiety, Loneliness and Depression

50:12 – The Great Drift: Why Modern Life Feels Meaningless

53:00 – Shared Texts and the Need for Collective Meaning

55:49 – "Don't Waste Your Money Applying to Harvard"

58:42 – Why Probability Should Never Eliminate Possibility

1:01:22 – The Most Dangerous Belief You Can Hold

1:03:45 – Is There Something Greater Than Us?

1:06:04 – The Message Shawn Achor Would Put on a Billboard

1:08:06 – Why We Should Read Books Together

1:09:19 – Final Thoughts

Connect with Shawn:

https://www.shawnachor.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnachor/

https://www.instagram.com/shawnachor/

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