The Art and Science of Getting Unstuck

The Art and Science of Getting Unstuck

Do you feel stuck in life — that you aren’t making progress in a relationship, job, or goal and you don’t know how to fix the problem and move forward? Well, perhaps you can take a little solace in the fact that it’s a universal human experience, even amongst history’s highest achievers. Indeed, when Adam Alter, a social psychologist and professor of marketing, looked at the lives of successful actors, musicians, writers, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs, he found that they all had passed through times in their lives and careers when they felt totally stuck.

Today on the show, Adam, who’s the author of Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most, explains why getting stuck is an inevitability in life, as well as mindset shifts and practices to escape from stuckness. We first talk about what contributes to getting stuck, including the goal gradient effect, and how the illusion of the creative cliff can keep you from seeing that you may end up doing your best work later in life. We then talk about dealing with the emotional angst of feeling stuck, and how it can be better to initially accept your stuckness than kick against the pricks. From there, we turn to some tactics for getting unstuck, including doing a friction audit and copying the work of others. In my favorite part of the conversation, we discuss the importance of recognizing when to move from exploring to exploiting, and vice versa. We end our conversation with why the mantra for getting unstuck is “action over all.”

Resources Related to the PodcastConnect with Adam Alter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episoder(1159)

How to Have the Conversations You’ve Been Avoiding

How to Have the Conversations You’ve Been Avoiding

The awkward silence at work when everyone knows a project is going off the rails.The simmering resentment in a marriage over an issue neither spouse will confront.The dysfunction in a church where cer...

17 Feb 48min

Ecclesiastes on Enjoying Our Weirdly Unsatisfying Lives

Ecclesiastes on Enjoying Our Weirdly Unsatisfying Lives

Of all the books in the Bible, Ecclesiastes is arguably the most philosophical. Dark, experiential, existential, and unsparingly honest about the human condition, it wrestles with work, money, ambitio...

10 Feb 55min

How to Help Disengaged Young Men Reclaim Drive and Direction

How to Help Disengaged Young Men Reclaim Drive and Direction

Not long ago, the primary concern people had about boys was that they were wild, impulsive, and out of control — getting into fights, pushing limits, and stirring up trouble. Today, the problem has fl...

3 Feb 44min

The Click Effect — Inside the Science and Magic of Social Chemistry

The Click Effect — Inside the Science and Magic of Social Chemistry

We’ve all had that feeling — you meet someone new, and the conversation just flows. You’re in sync. You click. But what’s really happening when that magic occurs?My guest today is journalist Kate Murp...

27 Jan 54min

How Football Took Over America — and Could Collapse

How Football Took Over America — and Could Collapse

American football is so big — so braided into our weekends, our language, and our culture — that it can be hard to see it clearly as a whole.In his new book, Football, Chuck Klosterman helps us see th...

20 Jan 57min

Money and Meaning — What Faith Traditions Teach Us About Personal Finance

Money and Meaning — What Faith Traditions Teach Us About Personal Finance

We usually think of money as something very practical, concrete, and secular; we earn it, save it, spend it, and crunch the numbers behind it. But money is never just about money: it reflects our valu...

13 Jan 45min

Strong, Conditioned, and Ready for Anything — How to Become a Hybrid Athlete

Strong, Conditioned, and Ready for Anything — How to Become a Hybrid Athlete

For decades, fitness culture has tended to break people into two categories: you’re either a strength guy or an endurance guy. You lift heavy or run far — but not both.But my guest today says you don'...

6 Jan 59min

How to Use Probability Hacking to Achieve Your Goals

How to Use Probability Hacking to Achieve Your Goals

Most of us chase goals — starting a business, running a marathon, getting a promotion — without ever asking: What are the actual odds this will work?My guest today says those odds aren’t just graspabl...

30 Des 202550min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
mikkels-paskenotter
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
foreldreradet
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
treningspodden
jakt-og-fiskepodden
rss-bisarr-historie
rss-kull
rss-sunn-okonomi
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
sinnsyn
rss-kunsten-a-leve
hagespiren-podcast
gravid-uke-for-uke
fryktlos
hverdagspsyken
level-up-med-anniken-binz
rss-bak-luftfarten