How to Shape Your Identity & Goals | Dr. Maya Shankar

Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today my guest is Dr. Maya Shankar. Dr. Maya Shankar is a cognitive scientist who did her undergraduate training at Yale University, her PhD thesis at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and a postdoctoral fellowship also in cognitive science at Stanford University. Dr. Shankar also served as a senior advisor to the White House, and she founded and served as the chair of the White House Behavioral Science Team. Dr. Shankar is also the host of her own podcast entitled A Slight Change of Plans. And indeed, Dr. Shankar herself is no stranger to having to make major changes to one's life plans. As you'll learn today, prior to all of those incredible accomplishments that Dr. Shankar has achieved, she was a student at the Juilliard Conservatory of Music, preparing her life to become a professional concert violinist. But, as you'll also soon learn, she then experienced a career-devastating injury, forcing herself to have to reframe everything about her life plans and her own identity. And that's really what we talk about today. We talk about identity, not just Dr. Shankar's prior and current identities, but of course your identity. We pose a number of questions geared toward getting you to ask, "Who am I really?" "Do my goals align with who I am and what I want?" Dr. Shankar shares with us the research on identity, goals, motivation, and plans, as well as many practical tools to answer those key questions that guide us down either the correct or incorrect trajectories in life. She shares with us, for instance, how to assess on-paper goals of the sort that you would see on a CV, so which school, which job, which salary, which spouse, et cetera, et cetera, and how to relate those to the deeper feelings that relate to one's ability to continually pursue a given goal knowing that it's the right goal for us. We also talk about the science of feelings, what they can and cannot tell us, and when they should or should not serve as a compass for guiding our everyday and longer-term decisions. By the end of today's episode, you will realize that Dr. Shankar is essentially handing you a science-supported roadmap for how to determine and assess your identity and goals and how one influences the other, that is, how your identity influences your goals and how your goals influences your identity in becoming the person that you want to be. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero-cost-to-consumer information about science and science-related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is Maui Nui Venison. Maui Nui Venison is the most nutrient-dense and delicious red meat available. I've spoken before on this podcast, in solo episodes and with guests, about the need to get approximately one gram of high-quality protein per pound of body weight each day for optimal nutrition. Now, there are many different ways that one can do that, but a key thing is to make sure that you're not doing that by ingesting excessive calories. Maui Nui Venison has the highest density of quality protein per calorie, and it achieves that in delicious things like ground meats, venison steaks, jerky, and bone broth. I particularly like the ground venison. I make those into venison burgers probably five times a week or more. I also like the jerky for its convenience, especially when I'm traveling or I'm especially busy with work and know that I'm getting an extremely nutrient-dense, high-quality source of protein. If you'd like to try Maui Nui Venison, you can go to maui nui venison dot com slash huberman and get 20% off your first order. Again, that's maui nui venison dot com slash huberman to get 20% off. Today's episode is also brought to us by Eight Sleep. Eight Sleep makes smart mattress covers with cooling, heating, and sleep-tracking capacity. Sleep is the foundation of mental health, physical health, and performance. When we're sleeping well and enough, everything in life goes much better, and when we aren't sleeping well or long enough, things in life get worse. We know that from data. We all know that from our own experience. 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Again, that's eight sleep dot com slash huberman. And now for my discussion with Dr. Maya Shankar. Welcome. I'm so happy you're here.