The current climate of incivility not only hurts your individual flourishing, it is also detrimental to our collective flourishing. In this episode, Craig discusses why this is so, and provides one simple way that you can make a difference. --- Human Flourishing - Living the Excellent Life https://www.livewellandflourish.com/human-flourishing-living-the/ Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/ --- The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossl...
Oct 12, 2022•11 min•Season 2Ep. 40
Incivility is harmful to your flourishing, whether you're the one acting with incivility or just exposed to excess incivility. In this episode, Craig discusses why this is so, and offers some insights on how to reduce incivility's harmful effect on your flourishing. The Problem with Generalizations: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/the-problem-with-generalizations/ The Cage of Your Assumptions: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/the-cage-of-your-assumptions/ Live Well and Flourish website: h...
Sep 28, 2022•14 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Incivility abounds in today's social media, sound bite driven world. Recently, Craig attended a major conference during which a controversy erupted, which led to an unfortunate, but predictable Twitter storm of incivility. In this episode, Craig discusses the causes of incivility and how incivility can affect our individual and collective flourishing. He also provides some suggestions for reducing the effects of incivility. Links and acknowledgements Olberding, Amy. (2019). The Wrong of Rudeness...
Sep 14, 2022•14 min•Season 2Ep. 38
Moral dilemmas are an inevitable part of life ... you're going to face decisions that offer no fully satisfying alternatives. In this episode, Craig is joined by practical philosopher, Dr. Andrea Christelle, to discuss how we can deal with moral dilemmas. If you haven't already, you may want to listen to our earlier episode in which Craig and Dr. Christelle discussed what makes some situations moral dilemmas and how they can affect your flourishing. That episode is available at: https://www.live...
Aug 31, 2022•22 min•Season 2Ep. 37
Sometimes life brings us a decision for which there is no clear moral choice. In this episode of Live Well and Flourish, practical philosopher Dr. Andrea Christelle, co-founder of Sedona Philosophy Experience and I discuss moral dilemmas -- what makes them dilemmas, the consequences of dealing with such decisions, and why they’re so hard to resolve. You will face moral dilemmas … they’re part of life. So, the discussion in this episode can help you when you have to make difficult moral choices. ...
Aug 17, 2022•23 min•Season 2Ep. 36
COVID finally caught up to Craig. But, there's knowledge to be had in every experience. In this episode of Live Well and Flourish, Craig discusses what he learned from his thankfully brief bout with COVID-19. Links Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/ In Times of Trouble: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/in-times-of-trouble/ The Power of Small Things: The Small Wins Strategy of Change: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/the-power-of-small-things-the-small-wins...
Aug 03, 2022•12 min•Season 2Ep. 35
Difficult times are an inevitable part of life; you are going to face times of trouble. In this episode, Craig discusses how applying a simple idea from Stoicism helped him get through an especially troubling time, the illness and loss of a loved one. He also describes how using reason, and your knowledge of what is and is not within your control, can help you reduce worry, anxiety, unhappiness and other negative emotions. Links : Epictetus, The Enchiridion (Handbook) : https://www.gutenberg.org...
Jul 20, 2022•15 min•Season 2Ep. 34
When you have a low sense of personal control, you suffer increased stress, anxiety, depression and negative mood. Your physical health also suffers. In this episode of Live Well and Flourish, Craig discusses the effects of personal control and provides some insights into how to increase your sense of personal control to improve your mental and physical health, and to help you flourish. The Small Wins Strategy of Change - https://www.livewellandflourish.com/the-power-of-small-things-the-small-wi...
Jul 06, 2022•15 min•Season 2Ep. 33
Generalizations help us make sense of a complex world; generalizing is a fundamental human function. Most of the time, our generalizations serve us well. But, when we make generalizations errors, bad things happen, such as stereotypes that lead to prejudice. In this episode, Craig discusses how we make generalizations, why they're necessary, and how generalization errors and overgeneralizing can harm us, and those around us. When to use a generalization flowchart: https://www.neogaf.com/threads/...
Jun 22, 2022•18 min•Season 2Ep. 33
Assumptions are necessary for getting through the complexity of life. However, some of our assumptions, when untested, can hinder flourishing. In this episode, Craig discusses assumptions, how they're formed, why they're so persistent, and what you can do to free yourself from the cage of your assumptions. Living Well Through Mindfulness: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/living-well-through-mindfulness/ Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/ The theme music for L...
Jun 08, 2022•16 min•Season 2Ep. 32
Being able to control your emotions to minimize unnecessary suffering, and to maximize positive feelings is important to your flourishing. In this episode, Craig discusses emotional regulation and provides some strategies for taking control of your emotions and emotional responses. There's also a goat story! Notes Five Families of Emotional Regulation Strategies S trategy family Example strategies Situation selection Avoidance Situation modification Direct request (to change the situation) Atten...
May 25, 2022•16 min•Season 2Ep. 31
Emotions, like viruses, can be contagious. In this episode, Craig discusses emotional contagion and its effects, and offers some advice on how to use emotional contagion to make the world a little better. Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/ Episode on mindfulness: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/living-well-through-mindfulness/ The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, hazel.crossler@gmail.com. Production assistant - Paul Rober...
May 11, 2022•14 min•Season 2Ep. 30
In this episode of Live Well and Flourish, Craig discusses the small wins strategy of change, which involves breaking big changes into a series of smaller changes such that each of the small changes has its own value. This is the last of a three part mini-series of episodes on the power of small things. Weick, K. (1984). Small wins: Redefining the scale of social problems, American Psychologist, 39 (1), 40-49. https://homepages.se.edu/cvonbergen/files/2013/01/Small-Wins_Redefining-the-Scale-of-S...
Apr 27, 2022•14 min•Season 2Ep. 29
We mark the progress of our lives through big events, but most of life occurs in the between times, the times that lie between the big events. In this episode, Craig discusses the importance of the small events that occur between the big events, and how recognizing the value of the small events can help with your flourishing. As usual, he offers three things you can do this week to better appreciate the between times, and to move forward on your journey towards living a flourishing life. Live We...
Apr 13, 2022•16 min•Season 2Ep. 28
Do you want to make the world a better place? Try a little kindness. In this episode, Craig discusses the power of micro-kindness, small acts of kindness, which are small sincere and voluntary acts and attitudes, intentional or unintentional, that communicate compassion, generosity and service towards others, and that signal that we recognize the value and dignity of other people. Practicing micro-kindness not only has benefits for others, you benefit as well. Not only will small acts of kindnes...
Mar 30, 2022•13 min•Season 2Ep. 27
In the final episode of the mini-series on Self-Leadership, Craig discusses Aristotle's practice-habit-being method of developing virtue. He focuses on the role of habit, and describes how habits are built and broken. Listen and learn how the power of habit can help you become the person you want to be, and how intentional practice can move you towards flourishing. Erratum: Craig referred to habit as a sort of "useful mindfulness" but meant to say "useful mindlessness." Mini-Series on Self-Leade...
Mar 16, 2022•15 min•Season 2Ep. 26
The world is often a chaotic, puzzling place. Reflection is how we can make sense of the world and our place in it. As the Jesuits at Boston College put it, “Reflection is the way we discover and compose the meaning of our experience.” In this episode, Craig discusses critical self-reflection and its many benefits. He also describes a systematic method for reflection and offers three things you can put into practice that will help you build a practice of reflection in order to take control of yo...
Mar 02, 2022•13 min•Season 2Ep. 25
Do you ever feel like you’re going through life on autopilot? Most of us have, but life doesn’t have to be that way. Join Craig as he discusses mindfulness and its benefits. Mindfulness is an active, conscious process where you’re more open to the present as well as more attentive and aware of the moment. According to Dr. Ellen Langer there are three specific behaviors related to mindfulness: engagement, seeking novelty and producing novelty. Listen to the episode to learn what to do to practice...
Feb 16, 2022•12 min•Season 2Ep. 24
Do you have a purpose in life? And do you know the difference between purpose and goals? In this episode you’ll learn how purpose is an elemental foundation to guiding your life and flourishing, as well as a means for having more focus and resilience when faced with the challenges of life. It’s also important to understand that you already have purpose, it’s already in you, and it is not something that you can find, but rather discover. By following the steps covered in this episode, you’ll be a...
Feb 02, 2022•13 min•Season 2Ep. 23
How much would your life improve if you could take more control over yourself and your behaviors? In this episode you’ll learn how to take charge of your life through self-leadership. Despite the influence of others, you and you alone are responsible for your life. Join Craig as he explores some of the principles of Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory to increase your wellbeing. Discover how autonomy, competence and strong relationships are basic psychological needs that drive our wellbein...
Jan 19, 2022•10 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Whether you realize it or not, who you are is under your control. You get to decide the sort of person you are and the virtues you exhibit. In this episode, I discuss Benjamin Franklin's "... bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection." Franklin's method is elegant in it's simplicity and powerful in its ability to transform lives. Learn about the history of how he created this technique and apply a simple but effective and proven method for becoming the sort of person you want to b...
Jan 05, 2022•13 min•Season 2Ep. 21
The Rational Ignorance Podcast is now Live Well & Flourish. If you're already subscribed to the podcast, you shouldn't have to do anything at all to keep listening, although you might notice our new artwork. Thank you! ------ Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/ The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, hazel.crossler@gmail.com. Production assistant - Paul Robert...
Jan 01, 2022•38 sec
Cicero called gratitude not only the greatest, but also the parent of all other virtues. Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, a leading researcher on happiness, notes that gratitude can act as an antidote for negative emotions. Across millennia great thinkers have noted the benefits of gratitude. In this episode, I explore gratitude and its many benefits and how gratitude can be an important element of living well. Essentially, flourishing requires happiness (in fact, one could argue that flourishing...
Dec 22, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Grief comes from loss. But gratitude should accompany grief. Listen as Craig reflects on the puzzling relationship between grief and gratitude, and how a deeper understanding of how they interact can help you deal with grief, and prepare for future grief. ------ Live Well and Flourish website: https://www.livewellandflourish.com/ The theme music for Live Well and Flourish was written by Hazel Crossler, hazel.crossler@gmail.com. Production assistant - Paul Robert...
Dec 08, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 18
We often hear of utility, usually as it relates to economics or usefulness. But there is a different view of utility, one that focuses on pleasure. In this episode, Andrea and Craig discuss this view of utility as pleasure, which is the foundation of Jeremey Bentham and John Stuart Mills' view of utilitarianism. They also discuss the difference between transitory, shallow pleasures (like eating yummy french fries) and enduring deep pleasures (such as being a good person). At the end of the episo...
Nov 24, 2021•28 min•Season 2Ep. 17
Humans are hardwired to pay more attention to negative events than positive events. This proclivity is known as the negativity bias. Thankfully, a large number of good events can overcome the effects of a small number of bad events, which can work out well because most of us experience many more positive events than negative events. The problem is that we tend to pay more attention to the bad things that happen. In this episode, Andrea and Craig discuss negativity bias and how to overcome its ef...
Nov 10, 2021•11 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Craig’s favorite day of the week is Saturday, not just because it’s recording day, but also because it’s #Caturday! (It really is a thing.) Fun, seemingly silly activities like posting or viewing cat pictures (or dog pics, or whatever) give us some hints on an often overlooked aspect of flourishing. In this episode, we explore why frivolous activities such as #Caturday can help us flourish by giving us short breaks from the daily grind of life. ------ Live Well and Flourish website: https://www....
Oct 27, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Recently, a listener posed an interesting question in response to Episode 9 on Human Flourishing. In that episode we said that a hermit might be happy living alone in the woods, but that s/he wouldn't really living a flourishing life. The listener questioned whether this was accurate, especially since flourishing is unique to each individual. In this episode, we discuss the question of whether a hermit can flourish. Along the way we also delve into moral relativism, moral pluralism and even nihi...
Oct 13, 2021•27 min•Ep. 14
Andrea and Craig welcome Nita Sweeney, an author, distance runner, and meditator who shares her tale of overcoming depression and anxiety through long distance running with her dog Morgan. She details the first basic steps everyone should take to start their battle against depression, getting out of bed and doing a basic self-care task such as brushing your teeth. Nita describes how at 49, being overweight and depressed she went from “couch to 5k” and how it changed her life. Another challenge N...
Sep 29, 2021•49 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Many of us have a faith, but how is that different from spirituality? Is spirituality like food in the sense that we need it to care for our bodies (or in this case, our soul), something that every person by the nature of being a person has to deal with, or is it more like art and music? Spirituality, unlike religion, focuses on obtaining a sense of peace and of purpose. Andrea and Craig welcome Reverend Dr. Bernadine Lewis as she tells us a little bit about how having a spiritual dimension to o...
Sep 15, 2021•46 min
