Growth Mindset Psychology: The Science of Self-Improvement - podcast cover

Growth Mindset Psychology: The Science of Self-Improvement

Sam Webster Harris | Growth Mindset Psychologywww.growthmindsetpodcast.com
Most self-help advice is guesswork dressed up as wisdom. We dig into psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral science to find what actually changes lives. WHY LISTEN? Over 8 million downloads because we answer the questions that matter: How do I build mental strength? What creates lasting motivation? How can I understand my own mind well enough to work with it, not against it? This podcast is for curious skeptics who want frameworks backed by psychology studies, not Instagram quotes. Whether you're navigating procrastination, building self-discipline, or designing your own philosophy for a life well lived—we explore the hidden psychology behind real change. WHAT YOU'LL GET Mental models and simple techniques from cognitive psychology, positive psychology, and ancient wisdom traditions like Stoicism and Buddhism. Being a human can be confusing, learning about it doesn’t have to be. We cover everything from emotional intelligence and habit formation to brain health and the nervous system. WHAT YOU DON’T GET No pseudoscience. No oversimplified "hacks." No hustle porn. Just practical insights on mindset improvement, self-development, and human psychology that respect your intelligence and mental health. THE APPROACH Instead of telling you what to think, we explore how thinking works. Armed with psychology studies, social science research, and relentless curiosity, we uncover the mechanics of belief change, attitude change, and personal development. Success is personal. You might want to leverage your neurodiverse strengths, build a business, or simply discover how to be happier. We provide the mental frameworks to pursue your definition of success with mental strength and self-care that fits your life. YOUR HOST I'm Sam Webster Harris—a lifelong learner with ADHD and an obsession with finding answers to hard questions. After launching businesses, traveling the world, and nearly dying a few times, I concluded that psychology and science are where real wisdom lives. This show is my excuse to dive deep into health and fitness research, behavioral psychology, and cool science while helping you build genuine self-discipline and motivation. PREMIUM Go ad-free and access exclusive content, AMAs, and our community Discord. Growth Mindset Premium PAST SERIES Previous guests include Olympians, Scientists, Billionaires, and Sam's Mum. Past series: — Psychology vs Stoicism — Time Management for Busy Mortals — Independence and Knowing Yourself — Cognitive Biases and Rational Thinking — Psychology of Connection and Relationships — Carol Dweck and the Multiverse of Mindsets — Addiction and Behaviour Change — Nervous System Mastery and Polyvagal Theory — Mental Strength and Self-Discipline
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Episodes

No shortcuts: The mindset for performance

Olympic head coach Frank Dick shares his lessons for elite performance and excellence on the Growth Mindset podcast. As we dive into the positive psychology of success and self-improvement it's fascinating to see into the minds of champions and their guides. Learn about the importance of consistency and ownership over shortcuts and hype with Frank Dick who mentored some of the greatest athletes in history. Life's journey is often filled with challenges and setbacks, but true champions rise above...

Aug 04, 202355 min

Stop Drowning in Commitments: How simplicity relates to happiness

We have an expectation that more is better yet this isn't always true. Often simplicity and reduced commitments can unlock our potential. Living with greater freedom actually creates more options and more happiness. On the growth mindset with Sam Webster Harris, we explore the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, and purpose. Why they can be hard to find and how to build them through a process of self-reflection combined with an honest assessment of what is holding us back and what is driving ...

Aug 01, 202312 min

The Psychology of Mistakes: How to Fix Lazy Thinking

The biggest thing screwing us over is ourselves. Examining the psychology of mistakes we find 7 common paths of lazy thinking where the brain takes shortcuts and causes more problems than it solves. Human behavior is a fascinating riddle and host Sam Webster Harris discusses what causes our psychological paths of least resistance. Learn how we can build more awareness in our decisions and increase the wisdom of our choices and actions. To achieve greater personal success we have to stop blaming ...

Jul 25, 202335 min

8 questions to build long term happiness

Learn how to ask yourself better questions that can help you live with more purpose and happiness and reduce feelings of anxiety and frantic switching and searching. We are all told to be more in the present and live in the NOW. Yet we forget that we are constantly obsessed with short-term thinking and need to look at the bigger picture to understand the present moment better. On the growth mindset with Sam Webster Harris, we explore the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, and purpose. Why th...

Jul 17, 202313 min

Why no one understands their fears

Our genuine fears are hidden to us behind elaborate stories. To truly understand ourselves we need a lot of vulnerability, honesty, and curiosity to search within and examine our emotions. Tracy Litt is a spiritual advisor and mindset coach who is an expert on fear and the stories we tell ourselves. Her no-nonsense approach is full of legit good advice to help people sort their sh*t out. On the growth mindset with Sam Webster Harris, we explore the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, and purp...

Jul 11, 202334 min

Focus on solutions, not problems

Our obsessions lean towards the problems and unsettled areas of our life. However, trying to control them is often impossible when we focus too much detail on them and don't get perspective on how to really fix them. We learn how to build awareness and find solutions to fix our problems with our strengths and channel attention to useful behaviors. - - - Connect with Sam: Sam's newsletter on creativity - Explosive Thinking Watch the pod - YouTube - Growth Mindset Twitter - @samjamharris Instagram...

Jul 06, 202311 min

Controlling your controlables

Brian Biro Brian Biro is one of the foremost motivational and leadership speakers in the United States. With degrees from Stanford University and UCLA, he has spent the last 21 years delivering over 1,300 presentations around the world. A former vice president of a major transportation corporation, and the author of nine books including the bestseller, Beyond Success, Biro was rated #1 among 40 speakers at four consecutive Inc. magazine international conferences. He has appeared on Good Morning ...

Jul 03, 202351 min

The price of admission: Success has a cost

Success has a price. We often don't realise the costs of what we want and expect things to be perfect. Relationships will always have some problems where the positive outweighs the negative yet we obsess on fixing the flaws instead of embracing them. There are many other none prominent areas in life where things won't be perfect but we can learn to be happier and more relaxed by embracing problems as a price we need to pay instead of as a downside. - - - Connect with Sam: Sam's newsletter on cre...

Jun 29, 202312 min

Interpreting your stories

We tell ourselves stories every day about ourselves, who we are, how we react to things, and why we're great. It's important to read through the BS whilst at the same time positively motivating ourselves to do our best. It's not easy but it is important. We have Mike Follet on the show who runs a human behavior tracking company Lumen Research to talk about his insights into the stories we tell ourselves in business and in life. - - - Connect with Mike: Mike Follet - LinkedIn Mike's writing - The...

Jun 27, 202325 min

The Art of Adaptability: Embracing Life's Curveballs

Life has a knack for springing disasters on us at the worst moments. If we are too fixed in our thinking and planning we break, if we can learn to be adaptable we can bend with the forces of chaos and make the best of any situation. Life is short and learning to deal with the inevitable chaos with strength and positivity is an important skill to master. - - - Connect with Sam: Sam's newsletter on creativity - Explosive Thinking Watch the pod - YouTube - Growth Mindset Twitter - @samjamharris Ins...

Jun 22, 202315 min

Limiting Mindsets in Sport and How to Overcome Them: Confessions of "average" Gold Medal Olympian

Sam sits down with Gold Medal Olympian Ben Hunt-Davis to learn about growth and the power of being humble. Ben is the author of "Will it make the boat go faster" which is a masterclass on how to become world-class in your pursuits and how we can leverage our strengths and learn from our weaknesses. Ben's rowing team revolutionized the training methods athletes used to be their best and he now applies his lessons to business coaching working with elite teams to improve leadership and business per...

Jun 20, 202327 min

4 surprising benefits of kindness

We all like to think of ourselves as kind. However, actually giving to others isn't always natural and can feel wrong when we work so hard for what we have. We love to find ways to save time and do more to help others whilst having good things come back to us. This episode explains some ideas and benefits for a framework that makes giving much easier and without any surprises costing time or money you don't have. - - - Connect with Sam: Sam's newsletter on creativity - Explosive Thinking Watch t...

Jun 12, 202312 min

Why morning routines are toxic

Morning routines are supposed to set you up for a day of success and a life of happiness and joy. Yet most self-improvement and productivity advice on morning routines does the opposite. It makes you feel like a failure who will never be good enough and isn't made of the right stuff to ever succeed. We break down the problems with most advice and how to actually improve your day and your life with a morning routine that actually works. - - - Connect with Sam: Sam's newsletter on creativity - Exp...

Jun 06, 202313 min

How to stop catastrophizing

Catastrophizing is a type of cognitive distortion. It's a faulty and inaccurate way of thinking that involves imagining the worst possible outcome in a given situation. Catastrophizing can hold people back in life, work, and relationships and we all do it in some way, and some of us do it a lot more than others. Understanding the natural psychological processes behind catastrophizing can help us build awareness and learn to create a more balanced and productive view of our futures. - - - Connect...

May 30, 202332 min

5 biggest lessons of Stoicism

Stoicism is the time-tested solution to life's problems and living with a greater peace of mind. In this mini-series of how to stop complaining we couldn't skip over the OG's of not complaining. This episode breaks down the 5 most important concepts from Stoicism and how to apply them in the modern day: The dichotomy of control Amor Fait - Love of fate Negative visualization Virtue is the soul good Mindful acceptance With a few stories from Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius we get a great r...

May 25, 202319 min

Diagnose and fix your real problems

Complaining can be a very good diagnostic tool for identifying the actual problems in our life. The key is not just to sit around complaining about the same things year by year to learn how the important issues affect us and how to fix them. Awareness of the major flaws in our situation and mindsets allows us to make a strategy for how we want to address them going forwards and build a life we don't complain about. - - - Connect with Sam: Sam's newsletter on creativity - Explosive Thinking Watch...

May 22, 202317 min

Gratitude lessons (that don't suck)

No one likes people who complain and yet it is so hard to stop complaining about problems in our life. Gratitude is sold as the answer to all our happiness woes. Stop having expectations, be happy and grateful for what you have, and never let another day go to waste. It's so simple and yet it doesn't work because it isn't that easy. This episode covers the most powerful strategy that has helped people find gratitude in many areas they didn't feel possible without meditating, journaling or re-ali...

May 16, 202313 min

Feeling behind? How to seize opportunities [before its too late]

The Go For it Window was a concept introduced by David Perrel to help people spot giant opportunities in their life. Opportunities come around regularly but are mostly missed because we don't see them for what they are. Learning to spot luck as it happens and seize life's big chances is key to our success. Developing a mindset that embraces change and discomfort is an essential part of the Growth Mindset and making the most of the "Go For it Windows" in our life. - - - Connect with Sam: Sam's ne...

May 09, 202311 min

10 painful truths about productivity [you NEED to hear] from Nir Eyal

Nir Eyal is a behavioural expert and bestselling author in the field of attention. His work to help people become Indistractable has helped people create systems and mindsets for building focus. We all know what we need to do to achieve most of our goals. Yet we don't achieve them because of unplanned distractions and poor attention management. To live the life we truly want we need to learn the art of managing distraction and becoming indistractable. We discuss the biggest insights from years o...

May 02, 202336 min

How to be more decisive - Instant brain hack

A quick strategy to cure confusion and be more decisive. This simple brain hack can radically simplify our situation when we feel confused and help us make hard decisions and take action. We can all become confused with the pile-up of priorities and our different obligations. The worst thing is no decision yet we can sit in confusion unable to move on. In many cases there is a simple way to cure confusion and make stuff happen. - - - Connect with Sam: Sam's newsletter on creativity - Explosive T...

Apr 25, 20237 min

Breaking out of a rut - Battling mental health (with GeoWizard)

Tom Davies, better known as GeoWizard is a YouTuber, adventurer and mental health advocate. He has raised thousands of pounds for mental health and is passionate about helping other break out of their ruts. Before his YouTube took off Tom suffered his own mental health problems, anxiety and loss of enthusiasm for anything. In the episode, we talk about the best ways to find inspiration and how to quit our bad habits. GeoWizard is known for his straight-line missions across Wales, Dribbling a foo...

Apr 18, 202324 min

10 no bullsh*t ways to live a more interesting life

Alastair Humphreys is the author of my all-time favourite books on the topic of adventure and getting more out of life. He was awarded the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year award for his work. He cycled around the world over four years and has since rowed the Atlantic, ran the Marathon de Sables, and walked across India amongst numerous other adventures. Perhaps his greatest success, however, is pioneering the concept of micro-adventures, encouraging anyone to experience the outdoors an...

Apr 11, 202358 min

14 Habits Keeping You Poor

Habits are the foundation of success and equally bad habits will create failure. Learning the habits that block you from financial success and keep you poor is the first step to overcoming them. By identifying and addressing these habits, listeners can begin to build healthier financial habits and achieve greater financial stability. Tapping into some of the latest research from Psychology to just the best simple advice available this episode will showcase some of the obvious and more subtle way...

Apr 04, 202319 min

Mastering your mind: Understand how emotions drive subconscious behaviour

Jeff Buehner is the author of 'The Sultans Seven Secrets' which teaches us how to converse with our subconscious mind through our emotions. In this episode, we discuss self-defeating behaviors and mindsets that originate from our upbringing and are fixed in our subconscious. We learn how to reframe our attitude toward work, money, relationships and fear by working with our emotions and gaining control of subconscious behaviors. - - - Contact Jeff Buener Get his book - Sultans Seven Secrets Twitt...

Mar 28, 202339 min

Stop disappointing yourself: 4 strategies to earn respect

Most of our problems and disappointments are self-inflicted. They can be overcome with the right knowledge and mindsets to help us earn respect. There is a multitude of ways in which we disappoint ourselves. They are mostly caused by 4 areas of mistakes that we make which we learn about in the episode. Empower your present self, aligning it seamlessly with your future goals. Discover the importance of living authentically, where your actions resonate louder than words. This journey through minds...

Mar 21, 202316 min

How to believe in yourself: Why it matters with Kyra Condie (US Olympic climber)

Kyra Condie is a rising star in the world of climbing, known for her strength and unstoppable attitude. Diagnosed with Scoliosis as a young teenager she was told she would never climb again. Defiant to a fault, she pushed against opinions of what she was told and propelled herself into the world of elite athleticism and getting all the way to the Olympics. And she's just getting started. Kyra's unwavering determination and growth mindset have been the foundation for her success. In this episode ...

Mar 14, 202324 min

Catching Your Ego: How to Recognize Unconscious Bias and Embrace a Growth Mindset

Most of the time the biggest source of frustration in our life is actually ourselves. Unconscious biases and ego are some of the biggest blockers to developing a growth mindset. Learn how to recognise them and encourage a mindset of learning and growth. - - - Connect with Sam: Sam's newsletter on creativity - Explosive Thinking Watch the pod - YouTube - Growth Mindset - - - Chapters 00:00 How we fool ourselves 03:19 Test your ability to interpret information 05:55 Being aware of your flaws 08:41...

Mar 07, 202328 min

Overcoming Setbacks with a Growth Mindset: Reframing Your Attitude | Niall McCann

When terrible things happen it is our mindset that determines how it impacts us. Niall McCann explains how he found gratitude for the opportunity to redefine his life after breaking his back. - - - Dr Niall McCann is the Director of National Park Rescue protecting large areas of nature and the species within. He is also an intrepid adventurer having rowed the Atlantic, cycled the Himalayas and skied across Greenland. Ever the positive thinker Niall faced his biggest obstacle head-on when he suff...

Feb 28, 20231 hr 3 min

How to slow down time: Naturally improve productivity and reduce stress

Life is so busy that we get lost in the mad rush, Sam discusses unconventional ways to both alter our experience of time and get more done. We only have one life and we can't extend the physical amount of seconds we have. Instead, we look at how to increase the volume of experience we have in those seconds and ways in which we can experientially slow down time using completely natural ideas and processes for the body without any weird stuff. No meditation, no drugs, just common sense. As someone...

Feb 21, 202319 min

Prioritizing Your Needs: Self-Care and Relationship Success | Jonathan Aslay

Romantic season is here, but do you have the right mindset for healthy relationships? Find out here. Jonathan Aslay is a renowned dating and relationship expert who is dedicated to helping individuals find love and build healthy, meaningful relationships. With a focus on compassionate communication, Jonathan teaches his clients how to connect with others in a way that promotes understanding and mutual respect. He also highlights the importance of self-love and how it is the foundation for buildi...

Feb 14, 202345 min
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