Episode description

Maya Shankar (@slightchangepod) is a cognitive scientist who once aspired to become a career violinist, and is the creator, executive producer, and host of the podcast A Slight Change of Plans.

• How Maya's love for the violin and sense of playfulness — not flawless technique or prodigious talent — gave her the opportunity to learn from Itzhak Perlman at Juilliard School of Music when she was just nine years old.
• The unfortunate mishap that derailed Maya's aspirations to become a career violinist and forced her to experience what psychologists call identity foreclosure — during which she realized she had built her life around the violin and didn't have a plan B.
• How Maya came to understand that human connection is the quality that attracted her to the violin in the first place, and adopted this as her throughline as she's pivoted to careers in academia, public policy, and podcasting.
• Why Maya advocates for approaching change with humility so we understand its nuanced and multifaceted nature instead of being disappointed by inaccurately optimistic predictions.
• What you can do to cultivate a healthier relationship with life's uncertainties and roll with the changes they will inevitably force you to make.
• And much more...

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/733

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Miss our conversation with spooky mentalist Derren Brown? Catch up with episode 150: Derren Brown | Using the Power of Suggestion for Good here!

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