Dr. Jamil Zaki: How to Cultivate a Positive, Growth-Oriented Mindset

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In this episode, my guest is Dr. Jamil Zaki, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Stanford University, director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Laboratory, and the author of the new book Hope for Cynics. We discuss cynicism and its healthier, more adaptive alternative, healthy skepticism, and how embracing healthy skepticism can enhance both our emotional and physical health.

We discuss the data on how cynicism affects us as individuals and in relationships, causing lower levels of happiness, poorer physical health, and reduced creativity, trust, and collaboration. He also explains novel data-supported tools that we can use to shift ourselves towards a more informed yet more positive worldview and how to adopt a mindset of “hopeful skepticism” — the ideal stance to navigate life.

Dr. Zaki offers listeners a positive, hopeful view of humanity grounded in cutting-edge research from his laboratory and other top laboratories. He also offers science-supported protocols to navigate relationships in person and online better.

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About this Guest

Dr. Jamil Zaki

Jamil Zaki, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Laboratory, and the author of the new book Hope for Cynics.

  • 00:00:00 Dr. Jamil Zaki
  • 00:02:12 Sponsors: Maui Nui, Joovv & Waking Up
  • 00:06:59 Cynicism
  • 00:12:38 Children, Attachment Styles & Cynicism
  • 00:17:29 Cynicism vs. Skepticism, Complexity
  • 00:23:30 Culture Variability & Trust
  • 00:26:28 Sponsor: AG1
  • 00:27:40 Negative Health Outcomes; Cynicism: Perception & Intelligence
  • 00:35:59 Stereotypes, Threats
  • 00:39:48 Cooperative Environments, Collaboration & Trust
  • 00:44:05 Competition, Conflict, Judgement
  • 00:48:46 Cynics, Awe, “Moral Beauty”
  • 00:55:26 Sponsor: Function
  • 00:57:13 Cynicism, Creativity & Workplace
  • 01:04:19 Assessing Cynicism; Assumptions & Opportunities
  • 01:11:11 Social Media & Cynicism, “Mean World Syndrome”
  • 01:18:35 Negativity Bias, Gossip
  • 01:24:03 Social Media & Cynicism, Polarization, “Hopeful Skepticism”
  • 01:32:59 AI, Bias Correction
  • 01:39:05 Tools: Mindset Skepticism; Reciprocity Mindset; Social Savoring
  • 01:46:05 Tools: Leaps of Faith; Forecasting; Encounter Counting
  • 01:51:33 Tool: Testing & Sharing Core Beliefs
  • 01:58:09 Polarization vs. Perceived Polarization, Politics
  • 02:06:06 Challenging Conversations, Questioning Perceptions
  • 02:14:04 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

This transcript is currently under human review and may contain errors. The fully reviewed version will be posted as soon as it is available.

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