One of the biggest mental threats for us all right now is putting life on pause. Happiness only flourishes when we feel there is growth. Stagnation is the bane of joy. In this episode, Shawn discusses how you can enforce good habits and decrease bad habits by changing the "Activation Energy" of those actions. He also talks about how achieving small goals can shift your mental image of yourself and propel you forward to incredible, cumulative change. Finally, he touches on how the act of giving, rather than receiving, helps us engage our reality and find positive outcomes.

Irrational optimists ignore the problems which confront them. Pessimists believe their behavior doesn't matter, so they become paralyzed during crisis. A rational optimist starts with a realistic assessment of the present, but also maintains the belief that behavior matters. In this episode, Shawn talks about how optimism doesn't shield you from negative events, but it does increase your adaptivity during crisis. He also discusses how creating short term goals and cataloging positive progress can help you overcome the sense of powerless in the face of unprecedented events.

You have more control over how you perceive the world than you may think, even in a world dominated by stressful headlines. In Shawn's work with the military, he has found that we can work through stress if we have the right lens and do it with others instead of going it alone. In this episode, Shawn discusses how to create a "moat" around your day by tackling the weakest points of your day - the beginning and end. He also touches on how focusing on gratefulness creates a "background app" in your brain that searches out the world for positives, rather than negatives.

Social connection in psychology is based upon the perception of social support. You can have tons of people around you, but still feel alone. You can also be alone, but feel supported and connected to loved ones. On this episode, Shawn discusses how, by making some small positive actions, you can increase your brain's awareness of social support and feel more connected to others.