How to Grow From Doing Hard Things | Michael Easter

Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. My guest today is Michael Easter. Michael Easter is a professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and a world-renowned writer. His recent work has focused on how modern conveniences undermine our mental and our physical health, and, as importantly, the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly steps we can all take to not just offset the damages of those conveniences, but to continue to grow and improve our ability to focus, to do meaningful and creative work, and to derive deeper connection with others.

One of the reasons Michael Easter is on this podcast is that his book, The Comfort Crisis, changed my daily life. The comfort crisis made me realize that every activity available to us, easy or challenging, destructive or constructive, can and should be viewed through the lens of whether it spends our dopamine reserves or invests them in a worthwhile way. This is a key distinction that we don't often hear about, but it's one that can help you access much greater levels of focus and motivation, to be able to avoid and get over addictive or compulsive behaviors, and it also brings about greater meaning and depth of connection to your relationships and leisure time. During today's discussion, Michael and I explore these ideas and their practical implementation, including how you can tailor them to your own life. He explains how our choices in the physical world and in the online world shape us over time and how to make better choices about both on a daily basis.

He also provides the practical steps of how to get mentally stronger. You know, we hear about getting mentally stronger a lot, but he explains exactly how to do that, as well as how to live with a pervasive sense of gratitude. I'm certain that everyone, young, old, male, female, maybe you're driven or maybe you're a more laid-back type of person, will benefit from and be changed by the conversation with Michael Easter. The information and tools he offers and shares are that good. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford.

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