Why Trying to Make the Perfect Decision Is Keeping You Stuck

10% Happier podcast artwork

Host

Dan Harris

Guest

Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author and host of the Happier podcast, and Dr. Laurie Santos, Yale psychology professor and host of The Happiness Lab

As part of Ten Percent Happier‘s 10th anniversary series, Dan Harris brings together Gretchen Rubin and Laurie Santos to create a top 10 list of practical, evidence-backed ways to move through periods of feeling stuck, uncertain, or unable to make an important decision.

Key takeaways include:

  • Understand what’s keeping you stuck: Rubin and Santos explore drift and resistance as clues for understanding what may be preventing you from moving forward.
  • Stop optimizing every decision: Rather than becoming paralyzed trying to find the perfect choice, making a decision and then working to make it right can help you move forward.
  • Self-compassion, including distanced self-talk, can offer a different way to respond to yourself when you’re struggling.

Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris offers practical tools and expert conversations for a calmer, more mindful life. New Episodes air every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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