David DeSteno

So there is a big literature on addiction.

This is why folks who are involved in 12-step programs and, you know, for the most part, the data shows they work.

They don't work for everybody and there are some problems there.

But belief in a higher power helps people deal with issues of overcoming addiction of many types.

It also offers a sense of mattering and meaning in the world.

There's a lot of people feel that.

They don't have a purpose.

Maybe they don't have as supportive a social network as they would like.

But to the extent that they have faith that there is some force, however they conceive of it in the universe, that values them and cares about them, it does offer a sense of meaning and that your life matters.

And so in those ways, belief can play a role.

But where we really see the benefits are when you combine that belief with some type of practice.

Because those practices, as I'm sure we're going to talk about,

work on our minds and bodies in ways that help us meet many of the challenges life throws at us.

I think so.

And I think, so there is a lot of work on this notion of surrender and people who are willing to kind of surrender to a higher power.

do tend to show a lot less stress in life.

I mean, stress about the big things, but even daily decision-making.

I mean, we all know the tyranny of choice.

We have to make so many decisions each day, and we're in an optimizing culture, right, where we want to optimize every possible outcome, and that takes a lot of work.

And so people who surrender do have less stress, less anxiety around those issues.