Why Life Keeps Getting Better After 40 with Dr. Ellen Langer. Episode 537
Why Life Keeps Getting Better After 40 with Dr. Ellen Langer
Join Me To Build Your Best Fall – https://buildyourbestfall.com/
You’re eating clean, sleeping more, doing everything you’re supposed to do for your health, and your body still isn’t getting the message. In part 2 of this conversation, Harvard psychologist Dr. Ellen Langer explains why “chronic” doesn’t mean permanent and shares a simple, science-backed mindfulness practice that has helped people with MS, stroke, Parkinson’s, and chronic pain see real improvement.
This episode picks up right where part 1 left off, so start there if you haven’t listened yet. Dr. Langer breaks down what it means to learn something mindfully instead of absolutely, why judging yourself and everyone around you keeps you stuck, and why the years running together aren’t always a bad thing. She also gets personal about turning 40, what she’s doing to stay sharp, and why she believes life gets better as you get older.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why learning a rule “absolutely” instead of “conditionally” traps you in beliefs that don’t fit your life
- The two-question mindfulness practice shown to reduce chronic pain, MS, stroke, and Parkinson’s symptoms
- Why every negative judgment you make about yourself has an equally true, more generous version
- How to use AI as a tool without losing your own agency (and the surprising 45-year-old research behind it)
- Why Dr. Langer believes the goal isn’t more years in your life, but more life in your years
Timestamps:
(00:00) – Welcome back for part 2 with Dr. Ellen Langer
(00:26) – Why investing in your mindset matters beyond just you
(00:44) – Learning mindfully vs. mindlessly, and why the rule-writer’s perspective matters
(01:37) – The tennis racket story: why “the way you do it” isn’t the only way
(03:01) – The bell that should go off every time you’re judgmental
(03:47) – Why every judgment has an equally strong, opposite version
(05:41) – Why the years blurring together isn’t only a sign of aging
(06:00) – Stop counting years, start adding life to them
(08:00) – “Sticks and stones” had it backwards
(09:33) – The label “chronic” and what it really means
(10:05) – The two-question exercise that reduced chronic symptoms in real studies
(11:59) – How to try the exercise yourself, step by step
(13:38) – AI as a tool: the brilliant graduate student metaphor
(14:03) – The 45-year-old research on self-induced dependence
(17:28) – What Ellen wishes women understood about getting older
(20:07) – What Ellen does to stay sharp and creative
Links to great things we discussed:
- The Mindful Body
- Function Health
- Uplift App
- Join me on Substack: Wise Woman Method
- Alli on YouTube
- Join me for the 90 Day Reset – Build Your Best Fall
I hope you loved this episode! 🎉
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