Episodes
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#214: Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres delve into the significance of breath in regulation attention and managing anxiety. One of the most interesting advances in the understanding of breath is the discovery of the oxygen paradox: breathing too much can actually reduce the amount of oxygen that reaches your brain. Breathing, mood, nutrition, attention, and activity are all interrelated. Understanding the relationship between breathing, oxygen, and carbon dioxide shows just how transformative proper breathing techniques can be.
Find more at https://OptimalWork.com
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#213: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discuss the importance of learning how to self-regulate your attention. We often try to address distraction and worrying â two common obstacles relating to attention â by re-arranging our external circumstances, changing aspects of our lives. This can be helpful and even necessary at times. But to get the best results, it is also important to focus on the internals, on our own capacity to focus our attention. This capacity is like a muscle that we can strengthen over time with the right exercises.
Find more at https://OptimalWork.com
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Episodes manquant?
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#212: In this episode, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss the importance of attention for working at your best. Understanding how your attention works â especially the dynamic between task attention and default attention â can help you improve how you both rest and work. Some may think that focus is a matter of brute force and self-discipline, or of simply arranging your environment. But the understanding of attention explored here points to deeper strategies that we can use to master our attention and shape ourselves in the process.
Find more at https://OptimalWork.com
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#211: Is it possible to sustain a high level of challenge throughout the day? At first, it may seem daunting. But embracing challenge brings growth and with it an increase in energy. The key is to embrace challenges in order to serve, so that challenges are not about improving yourself in isolation, but deepening the bonds with those around you.
Find more at â https://www.OptimalWork.comâ .
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#210: When focusing on self-improvement, it is natural to look first at your behaviors and strive for behavior change. In this episode, Dr. Majeres and Sharif explore what change on the inside looks like: how you relate to the inner friction produced by âpartsâ of you, like an inner critic or a harsh taskmaster. They show that behavior change is best built on a foundation of interior transformation.
Find more at â https://www.OptimalWork.comâ .
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#209: It is possible to accept in theory that every challenge presents an opportunity, while still in reality viewing the actual challenges you face in a negative light. In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Majeres discuss the need for a robust worldview to be able to reframe any challenge, and how to tap into that worldview to make it more operative.
Find more at â https://www.OptimalWork.comâ .
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#208: There is increasing interest in dopamine, a molecule that is closely related to our experience of pleasure, reward, expectation, and motivation. Itâs involved in negative processes, like overindulgence and addiction, but it can also be harnessed to set virtuous cycles in motion. Surprisingly, as Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss, the dopamine molecule is involved in the very spiritual processes of living ideals and deepening bonds.
Find more at â â https://www.OptimalWork.comâ â .
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#207: In this episode Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss Steven Pressfieldâs book âThe War of Art.â Pressfield has developed a kind of mythology to describe the psychology of following oneâs true calling. You know youâre on the right path if you encounter Resistance. But if you persevere and work through the Resistance your Muse will inspire you to do great things. In this episode, we compare Pressfieldâs practical conclusions to the advice we give at OptimalWork.
Find more at â https://www.OptimalWork.comâ .
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#206: Cognitive behavioral therapy, positive psychology, and other developments in the field of psychology have put flourishing on the map as a primary goal of psychological growth. In this episode, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss the nature of flourishing, and the surest path to obtaining it.
Find more at â https://www.OptimalWork.comâ .
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#205: In this episode, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss OptimalWork's recently launched anxiety course called Overcoming Anxiety. Having the proper attitude toward anxiety is essential. Rather than thinking we must get rid of anxiety or merely cope with it, we need to see how to embrace anxiety and use it to perform at our best and live out our highest ideals. This understanding is key to shaping our actions, and also helping others to engage the challenges they face.
Find more at https://OptimalWork.com
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#204: : In this episode, we focus on the ideal of temperance, sketching what it looks like at various levels, and how to grow in it. At all levels, we show how temperance, the ability to act according to your ideals no matter what desires you have, is not a matter of effortful willpower, but can be gained with the simple practice of mindfulness.
Find more at â https://www.OptimalWork.comâ .
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#203: Ideals lie at the core of our approach. Indeed, our mission is to help you challenge yourself according to your highest ideals in each hour of work and life. For this, it is necessary to have an image in your mind of what the various ideals look like when lived fully. In this episode, we paint a picture of humility.
Find more at â https://www.OptimalWork.comâ .
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#202: In his book âThe Confident Mind,â Dr. Nate Zinsser, shares the approach heâs developed as the director of West Pointâs Performance Psychology Program and consultant for numerous elite athletes. His insights, which center on the idea of confidence, can be transformative not only for preparing for combat and athletic competitions, but also for approach challenges in everyday life. In this episode, Dr. Kevin Majeres and Sharif discuss his work, compare it to OptimalWorkâs approach, and identify one key idea that would enhance Dr. Zinsserâs analysis.
Find more at â https://www.OptimalWork.comâ .
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#201: When people face psychological challenges, they need to fully feel the difficult emotion in order to rise above it. Similarly, important bonds are greatly strengthened by fully feeling positive emotions â in order to second and intensify them. All people can benefit from the practice of mindfulness of the heart, a form of mindfulness that can be practiced all day long.
Find more at â https://www.OptimalWork.comâ .
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#200: Reframing lies at the heart of OptimalWorkâs approach. In this episode, Dr Kevin Majeres and Sharif survey some precursors to reframing in the literature and practice of psychology and cognitive behavioral therapy, and what distinguishes reframing from these other approaches.
Find more at â https://www.OptimalWork.comâ .
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#199: The classic example of a courageous person is one who can approach the possibility of death in battle. But this case has little to do with work in the modern world. Is courage, then, irrelevant? In this episode, we discuss what courage means in a modern work context and why it is not just relevant, but essential for thriving.
Find more at https://OptimalWork.com
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#198: As you start to develop a new habit, you may meet internal resistance. Far from being a sign that youâre failing to build a virtuous cycle, facing internal resistance is actually a sign that youâre on the verge of real progress. Resistance is necessary in order to build true and lasting momentum and connect your new habits to deeper and more meaningful motives.
Find more at â https://www.OptimalWork.comâ .
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#197: Complaining is very tempting. When experiencing difficulty, it can seem helpful to vent our frustration. But chronic complaining can hinder the development of genuine bonds and can reinforce a negative mindset. Complaining narrows our focus and prevents us from reframing challenges as opportunities for growth. In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Majeres do a deep dive into complaining. Defending oneself or correcting injustices are not considered complaining. Real complaining â which is the futile expression of impatience â has negative effects on our brain and body, weakens our bonds with others, and prevents us from truly solving the problems we face. Instead of complaining, we can accurately assess challenges and find ways that they will bring out our best.
Find more at https://OptimalWork.com
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#196: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discuss the concept of self-efficacy and its practical application in various examples. Self-efficacy is the brain's prediction of success right before engaging in a task. It affects motivation, resilience, and the ability to overcome challenges. The key is to shape self-efficacy by widening the context of success and identifying concrete steps to improve performance. The examples discussed include dealing with a critical boss, learning a difficult subject, and staying focused on repetitive tasks. All of these situations require reframing challenges, setting goals, and maintaining intensity. These examples should help you see more clearly how to apply these principles in your own case. They also highlight that OptimalWorkâs core principles â reframing and forming strategies â are not rules or rote formulas, but require your own flexibility, ingenuity, and creativity.
Find more at https://OptimalWork.com
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#195: In this episode, Sharif and Dr. Kevin Majeres discuss the concept of self-efficacy and its relationship to mastery and confidence. Albert Bandura, a psychologist at Stanford, initiated the self-efficacy literature. He developed ways to help people overcome their fear of snakes and observed that this process helped them engage challenges in other areas of their lives. They seemed to develop a more general sense of self-efficacy, not only the ability to deal comfortably with snakes. This episode describes the essential elements of self-efficacy and shows how to develop this mindset. Self-efficacy has an interesting relationship to concepts in psychology like self-esteem and growth mindset, as well as OptimalWorkâs key pillars of reframing, mindfulness, challenge, developing strategies, and growing in mastery.
Find more at https://OptimalWork.com
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