Dr. Adam Grant and Dr. Andrew Huberman: How to Unlock Your Potential, Motivation and Unique Abilities

The video is about Dr. Andrew Huberman and Dr. Adam Grant discussing his new book "Hidden Potential" and sharing tools and techniques based on peer-reviewed research to help people meet their goals and overcome significant challenges. Topics covered include overcoming procrastination, seeing around or through blind spots, and overcoming sticking points in motivation and creativity. Dr. Grant also discusses the underpinnings of performance in any endeavor, including increasing confidence and having a persistent growth mindset. The episode is sponsored by Eight Sleep and Levels, and also mentions the Waking Up meditation app.

This video by Andrew Huberman was published on Nov 27, 2023.
Video length: 03:12:22.

The video is about a podcast episode where Dr. Adam Grant, a professor of organizational psychology at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses various tools and techniques to unlock potential, motivation, and unique abilities.

The episode is based on peer-reviewed studies and covers topics such as overcoming procrastination, seeing around or through blind spots, and overcoming sticking points in motivation and creativity. Dr. Grant also discusses the underpinnings of performance in any endeavor, including increasing confidence and having a persistent growth mindset.

The episode is sponsored by Eight Sleep and Levels, and the hosts discuss the benefits of using these products to improve sleep and blood sugar regulation, respectively.

• Dr. Adam Grant is a professor of organizational psychology at the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania
• The podcast is hosted by Andrew Huberman, a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine
• The podcast discusses peer-reviewed studies and tools based on data from those studies
• Topics covered include overcoming procrastination, seeing around or through blind spots, and overcoming sticking points in motivation and creativity
• Dr. Grant discusses the science behind procrastination and why people procrastinate
• Tools and techniques to overcome procrastination, including time blocking and breaking tasks into smaller, more manageable parts
• The importance of setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals
• The role of motivation and self-discipline in overcoming procrastination
• Practical tips for implementing these tools and techniques in daily life

Dr. Adam Grant: How to Unlock Your Potential, Motivation & Unique Abilities - YouTube

Introduction

• Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast
• Hosted by Andrew Huberman, a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine
• Guest is Dr. Adam Grant, a professor of organizational psychology at the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania
• Discussing peer-reviewed studies and tools based on data from those studies
• Topics covered include overcoming procrastination, seeing around or through blind spots, and overcoming sticking points in motivation and creativity

Overcoming Procrastination

• Discussing the science behind procrastination and why people procrastinate
• Tools and techniques to overcome procrastination, including time blocking and breaking tasks into smaller, more manageable parts
• The importance of setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals
• The role of motivation and self-discipline in overcoming procrastination
• Practical tips for implementing these tools and techniques in daily life

Seeing Around or Through Blind Spots

• Discussing the science behind blind spots and how they form
• Tools and techniques to see around or through blind spots, including mindfulness meditation and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
• The importance of self-awareness and self-reflection in overcoming blind spots
• Practical tips for implementing these tools and techniques in daily life
• The role of feedback and accountability in overcoming blind spots

Dr. Adam Grant: How to Unlock Your Potential, Motivation & Unique Abilities - YouTube

Overcoming Sticking Points in Motivation and Creativity

• Discussing the science behind motivation and creativity and why people struggle with these areas
• Tools and techniques to overcome sticking points in motivation and creativity, including setting goals, breaking tasks into smaller parts, and using positive self-talk
• The importance of intrinsic motivation and finding meaning in the task at hand
• Practical tips for implementing these tools and techniques in daily life
• The role of accountability and support in overcoming sticking points in motivation and creativity

Underpinnings of Performance in Any Endeavor

• Discussing the science behind performance and what factors contribute to success
• Tools and techniques to increase confidence and have a persistent growth mindset, including visualization and self-talk
• The importance of persistence and grit in achieving success
• Practical tips for implementing these tools and techniques in daily life
• The role of feedback and accountability in improving performance

Conclusion

• Summary of key takeaways from the discussion
• Encouragement to apply these tools and techniques in daily life
• Thank you to the sponsors of the podcast

Section 1: Introduction

• The video is from Andrew Huberman's YouTube channel.
• The video is a part of a transcript of a video with the title "Dr. Adam Grant: How to Unlock Your Potential, Motivation & Unique Abilities - YouTube" and with a description "The video is about Dr. Adam Grant discussing his new book "Hidden Potential" and sharing tools and techniques based on peer-reviewed research to help people meet their goals and overcome significant challenges. Topics covered include overcoming procrastination, seeing around or through blind spots, and overcoming sticking points in motivation and creativity. Dr. Grant also discusses the underpinnings of performance in any endeavor, including increasing confidence and having a persistent growth mindset. The episode is sponsored by Eight Sleep and Levels, and also mentions the Waking Up meditation app."
• The video is about Dr. Adam Grant discussing his new book "Hidden Potential" and sharing tools and techniques based on peer-reviewed research to help people meet their goals and overcome significant challenges.
• The video is sponsored by Eight Sleep and Levels, and also mentions the Waking Up meditation app.

Section 2: Procrastination

• Dr. Adam Grant discusses procrastination and how it can be harmful to focus and attention.
• Dr. Grant states that he loves deadlines and finds that they help him harness his focus and attention.
• Dr. Grant mentions that he prefers to have other people impose deadlines on him rather than self-imposing them.
• Dr. Grant discusses the relationship between procrastination and creativity, stating that procrastination can be a way to avoid negative emotions that a task stirs up.
• Dr. Grant mentions that he procrastinates on administrative tasks and tasks that he finds boring.

Section 3: Meditation

• Dr. Adam Grant discusses the benefits of meditation, including restoring levels of cognitive and physical energy even with just a short 10-minute session.
• Dr. Grant mentions that he loves exploring different types of meditation to bring about different levels of understanding about Consciousness.
• Dr. Grant mentions that the Waking Up app has different types of Yoga Nidra sessions for those who don't know Yoga Nidra.
• Dr. Grant mentions that Yoga Nidra is a process of lying very still but keeping an active mind and it's very different than most meditations.
• Dr. Grant mentions that there is excellent scientific data to show that Yoga Nidra and something similar to it called non-sleep deep rest or nsdr can greatly restore levels of cognitive and physical energy even with just a short 10-minute session.

Section 4: Conclusion

• Dr. Adam Grant discusses his new book "Hidden Potential" and shares tools and techniques based on peer-reviewed research to help people meet their goals and overcome significant challenges.
• Dr. Grant mentions that he loves deadlines and finds that they help him harness his focus and attention.
• Dr. Grant mentions that he prefers to have other people impose deadlines on him rather than self-imposing them.
• Dr. Grant discusses the relationship between procrastination and creativity, stating that procrastination can be a way to avoid negative emotions that a task stirs up.
• Dr. Grant mentions that he procrastinates on administrative tasks and tasks that he finds boring.

The Role of Procrastination in Meeting Goals and Overcoming Challenges

• Procrastination is a common emotion that causes people to delay starting or finishing a task in order to have a sense of time pressure.
• For some people, the challenge in front of them is too daunting, and they feel confused and unsure about how to proceed.
• Procrastination can be seen as a way to simulate the deadline and build internal arousal in order to feel a sense of excitement and focus.
• The shipping of the product or the presentation of the live event is the second event or game for some people, with the first event being the pressure and excitement of getting into the groove of doing focused work.
• Procrastination can be a strategy for some people, as it helps them to focus their systems of brain and body on one specific task and feel a sense of bliss.

Procrastination and Creativity

• Dr. Adam Grant found that people who procrastinate sometimes are rated as more creative than people who rarely do.
• There is an inverted U-shaped function with procrastination on the vertical axis and creativity on the horizontal axis.
• The peak of creativity is in the middle of procrastination.
• There is an upside-down U curve, and so the harder part of controlling procrastination in an experiment was randomly assigning people to procrastinate.
• People who were attempted to procrastinate moderately ended up generating the most creative ideas.

Tunnel Vision and Creativity

• When people dive right into a task, they are stuck with their first ideas and don't wait long enough to incubate and get their best ideas.
• The chronic procrastinators don't get started until the last minute and rush ahead with the easiest idea to implement.
• The people in the middle feel pressure and have enough time to work on the ideas that were active in the back of their minds.
• Adopting this process as a means of generating creative ideas involves committing to an idea only after it has incubated for a few weeks.

Unconscious Seeding of the Mind

• Dr. Adam Grant subscribes to the idea that slight procrastination can seed the mind with creative ideas.
• Students who take an assignment and have no sense of what it is will flip it open and take a look at it.
• Procrastination can be related to actually knowing what you're procrastinating on specifically.
• Intrinsic motivation by the thing you're procrastinating on is critical for moderate procrastination to fuel creativity.

The Biology of Intrinsic Motivation

• There are probably more neural networks connecting ideas that previously would have been separate nodes.
• Intrinsic motivation is when someone is excited to learn about a topic.
• Intrinsic motivation links to performance because it leads to a larger interest in the topic.
• Intrinsic motivation can be nurtured by designing tasks that are interesting and rewarding.
• Intrinsic motivation can also be nurtured by using persuasive attempts to convince oneself and others.

Nurturing Intrinsic Motivation

• Task design is important in nurturing intrinsic motivation.
• Reward systems can also be used to nurture intrinsic motivation.
• Persuasive attempts to convince oneself and others can be used to nurture intrinsic motivation.
• Convincing someone else to do a task they hate can lead to an increase in interest in the task.
• Lying about a task to someone else can also lead to an increase in interest in the task.

The Importance of Curiosity

• Curiosity is an itch that you have to scratch, where you want to know something and don't know it yet.
• Curiosity is a desire to find something out where you are not attached to a particular outcome.
• Curiosity is defined as just wanting to know and is driven by the question, not a particular answer.
• There is no brain area for curiosity, but it is linked up with the reward systems of dopamine, etc.
• When one discovers something new that satisfies some curiosity, there is an internal reward.

Finding Intrinsic Motivation

• Intrinsic motivation is often driven by curiosity about the how.
• A sense of purpose comes from really thinking hard about the why.
• Connecting a task to something else that you care about can help find intrinsic motivation.
• Intrinsic motivation is difficult to find for everyone.
• Substituting a sense of purpose with a meaningful outcome can help when intrinsic motivation is difficult to find.

Overcoming Procrastination

• Giving a child or adult a question that they need to resolve can help generate intrinsic motivation.
• Starting with the first experiment that is interesting can help generate intrinsic motivation.
• Finding the most interesting looking leaf for your favorite leaf can help generate intrinsic motivation.
• Not all tasks can be made intrinsically motivating to everyone.
• Finding a meaningful outcome can help when intrinsic motivation is difficult to find.

Overcoming Sticking Points in Motivation and Creativity

• Overcoming procrastination is an easy way to show the effect but in real life, the process of explaining it to somebody else is more effective.
• Figuring out what makes a task interesting to you is key to finding intrinsic motivation.
• Convincing yourself about a topic by hearing the argument from someone you already like and trust can help find intrinsic motivation.
• Choosing the reasons that you find compelling as opposed to hearing somebody else's reasons can help find intrinsic motivation.
• Overcoming sticking points in motivation and creativity requires finding something about a task that is interesting to you.

Section 1: Motivation

• Dr. Adam Grant discusses the importance of motivation in achieving goals and overcoming challenges.
• He shares tools and techniques based on peer-reviewed research to help people meet their goals and overcome significant challenges.
• The video covers topics such as overcoming procrastination, seeing around or through blind spots, and overcoming sticking points in motivation and creativity.
• Dr. Grant also discusses the underpinnings of performance in any endeavor, including increasing confidence and having a persistent growth mindset.

Section 2: Nutrition

• Dr. Grant discusses the importance of nutrition in influencing physical and mental health, and cognitive functioning, including memory and ability to learn new things.
• He mentions that one of the most important features of high-quality nutrition is making sure that we get enough vitamins and minerals from high-quality unprocessed or minimally processed sources as well as enough probiotics and prebiotics and fiber to support all the cellular functions in our body including the gut microbiome.
• Dr. Grant mentions that getting enough servings of high-quality fruits and vegetables per day as well as fiber and probiotics that often accompany those fruits and vegetables is a challenge for many people.
• He mentions that ag1 is a sponsor of the Huberman Lab podcast and that it provides all of the foundational nutritional needs, including insurance that we get the proper amounts of those vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and fiber to ensure optimal mental health, physical health, and performance.

Section 3: Extrinsic vs Intrinsic Motivation

• Dr. Grant discusses the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and their effects on motivation and performance.
• He mentions that people are more productive when they are incentivized for their output, but these incentives are better for motivating quantity than quality.
• He mentions that there is still a positive effect on average, but it is weaker than intrinsic motivation.
• He mentions that there is an undermining effect of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation, and that adding an incentive to an interesting task might lead to a loss of interest in the task.

Section 4: Incentives and Motivation

• Dr. Grant discusses the importance of being cautious when incentivizing people, as there is an undermining effect of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation.
• He mentions that adding an incentive to an interesting task might lead to a loss of interest in the task.
• He mentions that it is important to be mindful of the type of incentives being used and how they might affect intrinsic motivation.
• He mentions that it is important to find a balance between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in order to achieve long-term success and fulfillment.

The Importance of Autonomy in Performance

• Autonomy can increase motivation and creativity.
• Managers should give autonomy and not control rewards in a way that swamps people's intrinsic reason for doing it.
• Extrinsic rewards can be effective in getting people to try new things, but they should be symbols of appreciation and value.
• Physical and mental presence to the task is important for better performance and increased intrinsic liking of the task.
• Intrinsic motivation is useful for performance, as it leads to focus of attention, flow, greater persistence, working harder, working longer, working smarter, and thinking more clearly.

The Benefits of Intrinsic Motivation

• Intrinsic motivation leads to flow, where time melts away and people become more absorbed in the task.
• Intrinsic motivation leads to greater persistence in the face of obstacles.
• Intrinsic motivation leads to thinking more clearly about the task.
• Intrinsic motivation leads to working harder, working longer, and working smarter.
• Intrinsic motivation leads to a greater sense of identity and a feeling of being merged into the task.

The Challenges of Intrinsic Motivation

• It can be difficult to find flow when not intrinsically motivated.
• It can be difficult to maintain focus of attention when not intrinsically motivated.
• It can be difficult to think more clearly when not intrinsically motivated.
• It can be difficult to work harder, work longer, and work smarter when not intrinsically motivated.
• It can be difficult to maintain a sense of identity and a feeling of being merged into the task when not intrinsically motivated.

The Importance of Social Media in Sharing Information

• Social media provides an opportunity to cast out information to the world.
• Social media allows for both sending out ideas and information and receiving feedback.
• Social media can be a valuable tool for learning and growth.
• Social media can be a source of inspiration and motivation.
• Social media can be a way to connect with others who share similar interests and goals.

The Importance of Constructive Criticism

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of constructive criticism.
• He believes that it is essential to read the study thoroughly before criticizing it.
• He acknowledges that social media can be a double-edged sword.
• He argues that taking oneself out of the rewarding experience and focusing on a different rewarding experience can undermine one's experience of things that they really enjoy.
• He suggests that it is important to balance the desire to enjoy the world and the desire to improve it.

The Impact of Social Media on Learning and Sharing

• The speaker discusses the impact of social media on learning and sharing.
• He argues that social media can take people out of the rewarding experience and focus on a different rewarding experience.
• He suggests that it is important to balance the desire to enjoy the world and the desire to improve it.
• He acknowledges that social media can be a wonderful opportunity to share information and share it quickly.
• He argues that taking oneself out of the rewarding experience and focusing on a different rewarding experience can undermine one's experience of things that they really enjoy.

The Importance of Meaningful Time

• The speaker discusses the importance of meaningful time.
• He argues that taking meaningful blocks of time and slicing them up into tiny little dots of confetti can erode one's sense of joy.
• He suggests that blocking out uninterrupted time is meaningful and can lead to increased productivity.
• He argues that setting a quiet time policy can be effective in increasing productivity.
• He suggests that focusing on the major task during uninterrupted time can lead to increased productivity.

The Effectiveness of Quiet Time Policies

• The speaker discusses the effectiveness of quiet time policies.
• He argues that setting a quiet time policy can be effective in increasing productivity.
• He suggests that focusing on the major task during uninterrupted time can lead to increased productivity.
• He argues that taking meaningful blocks of time and slicing them up into tiny little dots of confetti can erode one's sense of joy.
• He suggests that blocking out uninterrupted time is meaningful and can lead to increased productivity.

Chronotypes and Deep Work

• The speaker discusses the concept of chronotypes, which refers to a person's natural inclination towards being a morning person or a night owl.
• If a person is a morning person, they do their best analytical and creative thinking in the morning, and the quiet time block would work well for them.
• If a person is a night owl, they probably want that block in the late afternoon.
• There is evidence to support the fact that provided one is sleeping well at night and is on a more or less standard schedule, the first few hours in the last few hours of the day are best devoted to the most critical tasks.
• One of the common problems is that people take their ability to implement a known strategy and they start battering back all the emails or talking to all co-workers, which can be unproductive.

The Science Behind Sleep and Creativity

• There is emerging theory about how sleep and creativity might work.
• There are different phases of sleep, including 0-9 hours, 9-17 hours, and 17-24 hours.
• Early birds might do more creative work in the morning.
• Divergent thinking is activated in the transition states between sleep and wakefulness.
• The shower effect suggests that people have ideas in the shower or while running or falling asleep.

Creative Processes

• Rick Rubin, a music producer and podcast host, has a creative process that involves getting very still and thinking in complete sentences.
• Carl Dice Roth, a bioengineer and clinical psychiatrist, gets his body into motion but quiets his mind to come up with ideas.
• Academics and artists have referred to getting their body into motion but quieting their mind.
• The nervous system is a brain-body phenomenon and what happens when we deliberately shut off the deliberate operations of the brain or body.

Deliberate Tactics for Creativity

• Highly creative people have undertaken deliberate tactics to bring about ideas.
• The author has some of their best ideas when they are running and not thinking about anything specific.
• The author tried the Diero approach and the Ruben approach, which involved spending a week with Rick Rubin overseas.

Individual Differences in Creativity

• There are individual differences in creativity that need to be stable or steady.
• Overriding default instincts is a huge part of creativity.
• Quieting one's mind can shift their train of thought to something more original or unconventional.
• The opposite might be true if one has a naturally quiet mind.
• Studying whether we can predict what someone should steal based on their personality is interesting.

Brain Activation and Creativity

• Looking at net resting network activation when people are completely still and forcing themselves to think in deliberate sentences can reveal differences in brain states.
• One benefit of either kind of movement is that it increases the volume of ideas, which is good for variety and ultimately increases the probability of stumbling onto something new.
• Being still might be better for the filtering process of creativity.
• Judging one's own ideas is probably the hardest part of creativity.
• Quieting either the body or the mind allows one to gain some distance from the idea and see whether it's boneheaded or promising.

Personalized Nutrition Platform

• Insid tracker is a personalized nutrition platform that analyzes data from blood and DNA to help people better understand their body and reach their health goals.
• Many of the factors that impact one's immediate and long-term health can only be analyzed from a quality blood test.
• Inside tracker makes it very easy to see the levels of all those things, such as metabolic factors, lipids, hormones, etc., and gives specific directives that one can follow.
• Insid tracker offers 50% off their full website during a Cyber Monday sale.
• Insid tracker is offering 50% off their full website during a Cyber Monday sale.

Filtering Process of Creativity

• The best thing about hosting a podcast is that one has an excuse to learn about anything they want from almost anyone.
• Ideas could come at any moment, and the filtering process is evolved over the last few years.
• Sending a draft of the first chapter to five to eight people whose judgment one trusts is a great way to filter ideas.
• Some of those people are in one's field and deeply rooted in organizational psychology, while others are curious about the topic from a far-off perspective.
• The filtering process for creativity is a great way to ensure that one's ideas are of high quality and have the potential to be successful.

Section 1: Overcoming Procrastination

• The speaker discusses the importance of overcoming procrastination in achieving goals.
• They mention that procrastination can be a significant barrier to success.
• The speaker suggests that one way to overcome procrastination is to break tasks down into smaller, more manageable parts.
• They also suggest that setting deadlines and rewarding oneself for completing tasks can help overcome procrastination.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of taking action and not waiting for perfection before starting.

Section 2: Seeing Around or Through Blind Spots

• The speaker discusses the concept of blind spots and how they can hinder progress.
• They suggest that seeking feedback from others can help identify blind spots.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of being open to constructive criticism and using it to improve.
• They also suggest that taking a step back and looking at a situation from a different perspective can help identify blind spots.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and growth in overcoming blind spots.

Section 3: Overcoming Sticking Points in Motivation and Creativity

• The speaker discusses the challenges of maintaining motivation and creativity over time.
• They suggest that setting goals and tracking progress can help maintain motivation.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of taking breaks and engaging in self-care to maintain motivation.
• They also suggest that seeking inspiration from others and trying new things can help overcome sticking points in creativity.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of persistence and not giving up in the face of challenges.

Section 4: Increasing Confidence and Having a Persistent Growth Mindset

• The speaker discusses the importance of confidence and having a growth mindset in achieving success.
• They suggest that embracing challenges and learning from failures can help build confidence.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of self-reflection and continuous learning in developing a growth mindset.
• They also suggest that seeking feedback and constructive criticism can help build confidence.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of taking risks and stepping outside of one's comfort zone to achieve success.

The Importance of Constructive Criticism

• Critics and cheerleaders are essentially applauding your best self, while critics attack your worst self.
• What you want is a coach who helps you become a better version of yourself.
• To get people to coach you, it's better to ask for advice for next time instead of feedback.
• A subtle shift in the question from "what did I do wrong?" to "what could I do better next time" can make a big difference.
• Andrew Huberman found that this approach helped him learn how to get better after giving speeches.

The Benefits of Constructive Criticism

• Constructive criticism is more likely to come when you just ask for a tip as opposed to an evaluation.
• Taking a pause to reflect on feedback can be helpful in constructing a more positive outcome.
• Everyone has an ego and wants to perform well, but negative feedback can hurt and be defensive.
• A tool like constructive criticism can help remove defensive armor and let information in in a way that's constructive.
• Andrew Huberman thinks that constructive criticism is a way to create a more positive outcome in a healthy and benevolent way.

Taking Constructive Criticism

• Getting better at taking constructive criticism is important for personal growth.
• One technique for taking constructive criticism is to focus on the second score, which is how well you took the first score.
• Evaluating yourself on how well you took the first score can help you improve your ability to take criticism constructively.
• Andrew Huberman learned this technique from Sheila Keen, who calls it the "second score."
• Taking constructive criticism can be difficult, but it's important for personal growth and development.

Applying Constructive Criticism

• Andrew Huberman applied the "second score" technique when he was teaching a motivation class for Air Force generals and colonels.
• He was intimidated by the audience, but he learned to take constructive criticism and apply it to his teaching.
• One of the things he heard loud and clear was that the audience valued humility.
• He changed the equation by walking in, looking at the room, and saying "I know what you're all thinking right now."
• By focusing on the second score, Andrew Huberman was able to improve his ability to take constructive criticism and apply it to his teaching.

The Importance of Feedback

• Dr. Adam Grant discussed the importance of feedback in personal and professional growth.
• He emphasized the need to be open to constructive criticism and use it as a tool for improvement.
• Grant shared his own experience of receiving feedback and how it helped him grow as a person.
• He also talked about the concept of the "second score," which involves turning criticism into motivation to learn and improve.
• Grant emphasized the importance of focusing on verbs rather than nouns when it comes to personal and professional growth.

The Power of Verbs

• Dr. Adam Grant discussed the power of verbs in personal and professional growth.
• He emphasized the importance of focusing on actions and processes rather than just nouns.
• Grant shared his own experience of using verbs to improve his own performance and growth.
• He also talked about the importance of creating a forward-looking perspective when it comes to personal and professional growth.
• Grant emphasized the importance of taking control of one's own growth and development.

The Importance of a Growth Mindset

• Dr. Adam Grant discussed the importance of a growth mindset in personal and professional growth.
• He emphasized the need to actively work on growth and development on a daily basis.
• Grant shared his own experience of using a growth mindset to improve his own performance and growth.
• He also talked about the controversy surrounding the teaching of growth mindset in schools.
• Grant emphasized the importance of incorporating growth mindset into one's daily routine.

The Importance of Self-Reflection

• Dr. Adam Grant discussed the importance of self-reflection in personal and professional growth.
• He emphasized the need to actively reflect on one's own performance and growth.
• Grant shared his own experience of using self-reflection to improve his own performance and growth.
• He also talked about the importance of using feedback as a tool for self-reflection.
• Grant emphasized the importance of using self-reflection as a tool for continuous improvement.

The Importance of Continuous Learning

• Dr. Adam Grant discussed the importance of continuous learning in personal and professional growth.
• He emphasized the need to actively seek out new knowledge and experiences.
• Grant shared his own experience of using continuous learning to improve his own performance and growth.
• He also talked about the importance of using feedback as a tool for continuous learning.
• Grant emphasized the importance of using continuous learning as a tool for personal and professional growth.

The Importance of Growth Mindset

• Growth mindset is a combination of a knowledge and a true understanding that stress and feelings of anxiety and tension can be performance-enhancing when combined with a growth mindset.
• David Joerger and colleagues at UT Austin have shown that growth mindset becomes more visible in our mindsets and performance when we understand its importance.
• Other aspects to growth mindset and other mindsets that are now being woven into that framework that can be helpful include a fixed mindset, a performance mindset, and a learning mindset.
• Growth mindset is more important in circumstances where people are more likely to need it, such as in impoverished or marginalized communities where the message that you are capable of evolving your skills to the point that something you're bad at today could be good at next year is important.
• The context around you really matters when it comes to growth mindset. A classroom culture and a teacher who has the belief that kids are capable of learning and growing can have a significant impact on growth mindset.

Scaffolding and Growth Mindset

• Scaffolding is the idea that you need temporary support to improve at something, rather than a permanent teacher or mentor guiding you for nine years.
• Learning theory behind scaffolding is that it initially gives you the support you need to solve a problem and then slowly removes the support so that you learn to do it on your own.
• Scaffolds are often missing when we instill the growth mindset, and we need to think about how to put people in a context that allows them to put their beliefs into practice.
• Additional tools that can bolster the growth mindset and make it more accessible include interventions that teach people to think about how their skills are malleable and how they can stretch their knowledge into new areas.
• Teaching people that their job is a set of flexible building blocks that they have a whole bunch of tasks that make up their job, some of which are things to do and others that are interactions that they need to have, can also help boost their happiness and performance.

The Importance of a Growth Mindset

• Dr. Adam Grant discusses the importance of a growth mindset in achieving goals and overcoming challenges.
• He mentions that a growth mindset can lead to a sustainable boost in happiness that lasts at least 6 months.
• Grant also notes that a growth mindset can have an impact on an individual's performance in their workplace.
• He emphasizes the importance of opening up the opportunity for people to innovate on their own job description and then growth mindset can have an impact.
• Grant mentions that a growth mindset is not just about having a positive attitude, but also about recognizing the potential for growth and development.

The Relationship between Intrinsic Motivation and Performance

• Dr. Adam Grant discusses the relationship between intrinsic motivation and performance on other tasks.
• He notes that people with ADHD are actually terrific at paying attention to things that they really enjoy or that they're super interested in.
• Grant mentions that having a deep deep interest in one thing might not be the best condition for performing well at other less interesting tasks.
• He summarizes the study that explored the relationship between intrinsic motivation and performance in other stuff.
• Grant notes that the original impetus for the study was to study intrinsic motivation and fill out the two by two of good thing bad thing.

The Dark Side of Intrinsic Motivation

• Dr. Adam Grant discusses the dark side of intrinsic motivation and the cost of loving a task leading you to hate a task that you don't like even more than you did before.
• He mentions that this idea tracks with the basic psychology of contrast effects, where something delicious makes your least favorite food taste a little bit worse after.
• Grant notes that the more passionate you are on task one, the more your performance suffers if task two is really boring.
• He mentions that this study made him think differently about task sequencing and now he wakes up in the morning and does his most interesting task first.
• Grant emphasizes the importance of considering the relationship between intrinsic motivation and performance in task sequencing.

Section 1: Warm-up Tasks

• Starting with a moderately interesting task helps to warm up for a more exciting task.
• Performance in any endeavor is likely to suffer if the task is boring but important.
• A friend of the speaker has a practice of doing menial tasks after a performance.
• The friend finds that this practice helps to reset their frame of reference and makes it easier to return home and deal with everyday life.

Section 2: Menial Tasks

• The speaker's friend performs menial tasks such as cleaning up cans and things, even cleaning a toilet at a venue.
• These tasks are considered boring and down-to-earth, making it easier to return home and deal with everyday life.
• The friend finds that this practice helps to reset their frame of reference and makes it easier to return home and deal with everyday life.

Section 3: Intrinsic Motivation and Low Performance

• The speaker found the study on intrinsic motivation and low performance in other domains particularly interesting.
• The speaker believes that these days, we glorify high performance even "peak performance," but forget that high performers often have mental health issues and lack of satisfaction with life.
• The speaker thinks that having some experiences each day that are kind of like "this is a thing again" can heighten our level of satisfaction for the things we really enjoy.

Section 4: Contrast Effects and Happiness

• The speaker thinks that contrast effects are very powerful and that happiness is reality minus expectations.
• The speaker believes that mundane experiences keep our expectations on the ground and allow us to be pleasantly surprised by more interesting tasks.

Momentum

• Momentum refers to an experience that is particularly liked, such as a podcast recording or a successful accomplishment.
• The energy gained from such an experience can carry over into other things, making them seem less boring or less difficult.
• Momentum can be experienced even after a small accomplishment or two to three months ago.
• Feeling good can accentuate the bad stuff, creating a tension between contrast and spillover.
• Extreme intrinsic motivation can have a performance cost on other tasks.

Contrast and Spillover

• Contrast refers to the difference between two experiences, such as a new accomplishment versus something that is not as good.
• Spillover refers to the way that one experience can affect another, even if they are not directly related.
• Contrast and spillover can create tension, with one experience making the other seem better or worse.
• Contrast and spillover can also affect motivation and performance.
• Research has shown that extreme intrinsic motivation can have a performance cost on other tasks.

Domain Switching

• Domain switching refers to the process of switching between different tasks or activities.
• Research has shown that domain switching can have a negative effect on performance.
• It is possible that domain switching can also affect motivation and creativity.
• There may be a domain switching effect in certain situations, such as after a morning workout.
• Morning workouts have been shown to increase confidence in one's job, which can carry over into other tasks.

Segmenting Negative Experiences

• Segmenting negative experiences refers to the process of separating them from other experiences and focusing on the positive aspects.
• Research has shown that emotion regulation strategies, such as distraction and reframing, can be effective in segmenting negative experiences.
• Distraction involves finding something else to focus on, while reframing involves changing the way one thinks about the experience.
• Segmenting negative experiences can help to improve motivation and performance.
• It is important to find a balance between focusing on one's own performance and the performance of others.

The Importance of Reframing

• Reframing is the process of changing the way we think about a situation or problem.
• It can help us overcome negative thought patterns and see things in a more positive light.
• Reframing can also help us focus on what we can control rather than what we cannot.
• It can help us set goals that are more achievable and meaningful.
• Reframing can also help us overcome procrastination and take action towards our goals.

The Role of Communication Channels

• Communication channels such as phones and social media can be either bounds or disruptions to our positive psychology.
• Setting boundaries around phone use and the types of communications and activities we engage with can be helpful.
• Not scrolling on social media and not picking up the phone past 900m can help us avoid negative experiences early in the day and carry them throughout the entire day.
• Keeping our to-do and to-don't list on a Word document or computer rather than on our phone can help us avoid distractions and focus on our good thinking and writing.
• Carrying a small notebook around and writing things down can help us remember ideas and avoid losing them later.

Watch the video on YouTube:
Dr. Adam Grant: How to Unlock Your Potential, Motivation & Unique Abilities - YouTube