Moment 1 - Johann Hari On Why We're Becoming Less Happy And More Lonely

Uh This podcast is centers around business entrepreneurship and um I guess the pursuit of success, generally speaking. But what is it that's causing us to become lonelier as you know, because entrepreneurs are, you know, known to be incredibly lonely as uh as a group, I guess, a professional group of society. But um what's causing us broadly to become lonelier I think it's a lot of things, but I'll give you an example of one of the other courses that I think might I think you'd have better insight onto this than me, but I think might play out more in people who are inclined to become You know, um business leaders, not all of them. So everyone listening to this knows that junk food has taken over our diets and made us physically sick, right? I don't say so with any sense of superiority. For most of my twenties I basically lived on KFC. I had a low point one day when I went to the um my local KFC at the end of Brick Lane.

I remember going it was cr it was the afternoon of Christmas Eve, which makes us even sadder as a story. I remember going in and saying my order, which was so disgusting, I won't even repeat it. And the guy behind the counter said, Oh Johan, I'm really glad you're here. And I was like And he said, Wait a minute. And he went back behind the friars. And came back with every member of staff and a really big Christmas card. I wish they'd all written to like to our favourite customer. And part of one of the reasons why my clogged heart sank is because I suddenly thought, This isn't even the fried chicken shop I go to the most, right? But okay, so we know that junk food appeals to the part of us that wants nutrition, but actually doesn't give you nutrition, it makes you sick, right? But what's interesting is Something very similar has happened with our values. Um

A kind of junk values have taken over our minds and made us mentally sick. So there's a Uh extraordinary man called Professor Tim Casser, who I learned a lot about is uh he's a he's in Illinois, who's done incredible work researching this for for thirty years. And he showed lots of things. But I'll give you an example of one of things he he he's shown in I think in a really, really interesting way. So Every human being has two kinds of motivation, right? So let's imagine what be an example. Imagine you play the piano, right? I'm completely unmusical, but uh maybe you are. No I'm definitely not. Imagine you play the piano in the morning because you love it and it gives you joy, right? That would be an intro or you play it with your kids or you know in a you know, as part of a band or whatever. That would be an intrinsic reason to play the piano, right? You're not doing it to get something out of it. You're doing it because that experience is the thing you love. Okay, now imagine you play the piano not because you love it, but to pay the rent in a you work in a dive bar, right? Or

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