What is in the Air?

This life experiment and episode is a recognition of and homage to the power and possibility of the interview. It doesn’t come from a specific piece of research in the field of psychology, but it is inspired by a growing body of literature. This life experiment is a chance to practice hearing different viewpoints without arguing, and to practice listening and learning. It is a formal way of meeting new people and learning from them. It is also one of the most powerful and underused means of learning something new. Every person on the planet is a wealth of knowledge and experience. Not only that, interviewing and hearing other people’s ideas and stories gives us a deeper and broader experience of the world. It is far too easy to live with and among people, but not to appreciate them and what they contribute to this world.

What is the longest that you’ve gone without your cell phone in the last year? According to one 2018 survey, respondents noted that a few hours is about the longest that they could go without their cell phone, with the exception of sleep, of course. This episode offers you a chance to reconsider their relationships with their cellphone by inviting you on a simple weekend quest.

Whether you are an extrovert who is energized by time around others, or you are an introvert who requires personal time for that same energy; all people crave and benefit from rich, meaningful human connections. We are designed that way, and even though we might initially dread the work or anxiety associated with meeting a new person or connecting with someone from our past, this effort attaches us to a deep, ancient, persistent human need and craving. This episode explores a life experiment that is one of several opportunities to experience and explore this reality for yourself. It is not easy, and the outcome is uncertain, but it taps into any number of our most fundamental yearnings. It offers a sense of adventure and mystery, provides the possibility for new forms of gratitude, and most fundamentally, gives us a mirror for our own growth, and allows us a chance to feed that yearning for human connection.

The world is your classroom, and you have access to the best teachers in that world. All that you have to do us reach out and connect with them. That is the focus of this episode, inviting readers on a quest to connect with fascinating authors around the world.

How much do you read? In this digital age, you might need to ask for clarification. “Read what? Books? Magazines? Content on the web? Emails?” As many scholars today will explain, reading is about so much more than sitting in a chair and going through a book, one page at a time. Reading takes many forms, and that is both good and important. Here is a new quest to help you explore this part of your life.

How often do you play? Play is often defined as purposeless, an activity for enjoyment, recreation, or entertainment. When I looked up synonyms for play, I came across words like frolic, romp, and cavort. Perhaps this is why some people find play unbecoming of an adult. Only there is so much research to show that play is an important part of becoming a functioning adult, as it is important for an adult to retain a healthy measure of inner child. So, here is an episode and challenge to help you embrace more gameplay in your life.

If you investigate notable people throughout history, you will find that such groups were not uncommon. There was The Dry Club, The Inklings, The Bloomsbury Group, The Dymock Poets, The Algonquin Roundtable, The Factory, and many more. While each group served a different purpose, they shared the common trait of people gathering around a shared interest, having some common set of conditions, and learning from one another. Some groups were more formal than others, but if you take the time to explore some of them, you will find an incredible and inspiring list of poets, novelists, philosophers, inventors, and others. Here is an experiment to explore and create such a community for yourself.

Could it be that unity in a nation of diverse beliefs, values, and political positions depends upon our capacity to share and listen to the stories of others? How about a simple experiment to explore possible answers to that question? Learning to listen to the stories of others is an act of respect, recognition, and humility.

How often do you read aloud to another person? How often do you sit and listen as others read to you? It seems like such a simple activity, but one rich with meaning and connection. Some do it often with their children. For others, it might be reserved for an occasional public reading of an author, or perhaps reading to an ill family member or friend. What might happen if you expanded this practice, making it a more regular part of your life? On this episode, we explore a simple experiment to explore that question.

At mealtime, A.J. Jacobs started a family tradition of thanking the many people who helped make the meal before them possible. He thanked the farmers all the way to the people at the grocery store. One day, Jacobs’s son challenged him to take this a step further. Why don’t you thank these people in person? This challenge launched Jacobs on a grand adventure of discovering the many people who helped make his morning coffee a reality, traveling to them, and personally thanking them. Think of the many people who not only make the world better, but they make your life better, even if just in small ways like contributing to your morning cup of coffee. How about a simple challenge to reach out and offer a thank you to those people?

In this special episode with Dr. Sherrry Kelly, a clinical psychologist and neuro-psychologist with more than 30 years of experience, joins us to explore how to get through the storms of life. Inspired by some of the most tragic news headlines in recent past, Dr. Kelly offers insights and practices on how to navigate difficult life experiences and circumstances. These are insights useful for the challenges of daily life all the way to finding our way through major life tragedies.

Do you have a favorite playlist for working out, doing work around the house, driving from one place to another, or maybe just relaxing at home in the evening? If so (or maybe even if not), this is challenge is for you. It is a chance to add some musical variety to your life while also connecting with other people in a new way.

On this special episode, we bring on guest Gilda Scarefe; educator, positive change maker, and founder of Positive Action UK. Gilda joins us to explore how to how to cultivate mental toughness in ourselves and others. 

Giving is good for the soul. We learn this from ancient wisdom, modern research about giving and charity, and from our personal experiences with giving. Combine this with the growing research about the value of de-cluttering and simplifying our lives, and we have the ingredients for a promising life experiment.

New experiences are good for you. Those parts of your brain that are in charge of detecting threats and keeping you safe might lead you to think (or perhaps feel) otherwise, but in general, humans thrive upon novel experiences. They stretch us and help us learn. That is what we explore in this episode.

In this interview with Linda Duong, author of Connection: The Currency to Happiness, we explored how to reduce negative self-talk in your life. As always, we give you a specific experiment or method that you can try out right away.

What would happen if you conducted an experiment that combined the best thinking around the psychological benefits of photography, insight from growing research about practices in gratitude, and the age-old human intrigue of collecting things? How about a 10-day personal experiment that is at the intersection of these three?

Don’t wait for the next birthday or holiday to celebrate, and I have research to back me up on this advice. Celebrations are a type of rite that go back as long as we have a record of human history, and there is a reason for it. That is what we explore in this episode, along with a new life experiment. Talking about ideas is useful, but why settle for talk when you can try it out in your own life?

Can making your bed actually make you happier, motivated, and organized? Gretchen Rubin, Jordan Peterson, and many others claim that the answer is "yes". That is what we explore on this episode, along with another life experiment for you to try for yourself.

Spending time in nature is shown to increase well-being, pro-social behaviors like genuine concern for others, and gratitude. What about the more specific activity of watching a sunrise or sunset? On this episode we explore a simple life experiment to try out for yourself.

Could something as simple as a daily walk increase your creativity and capacity for divergent thinking? That is the question that we explore on this episode, along with a life experiment to test this out for yourself.

Giving is good for the soul. It benefits giver, recipient, and even those who observe it. On this episode, we explore the psychology of giving as well as a simple life experiment that you can try for yourself.

Scan the web for the most brilliant people in history, and the person who inspired this episode's life experiment is almost in the top 10. Years ago, tucked away into the pages of one of his novels, he offers 4 daily habits to embrace a rich life. 

Are we underestimating the power of thank you letters? In this episode we explore a simple experiment that can nurture more gratitude in your life while building meaningful connections with others...not to mention making their day.

Is it possible that a simple practice of expressing gratitude in writing right before going to bed could radically improve your optimism and sense of well-being? Here is an experiment to test this idea out for yourself.

This is the first episode of the podcast dedicated to pursuing inspired living through simple life experiments. In this first show, the host shares the motivation for the show, and gives a glimpse of what to expect in the episodes.