Menu
Sign In Search Podcasts Charts People & Topics Add Podcast API Blog Pricing

Dr. Ellen Langer

๐Ÿ‘ค Speaker
2152 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

Now, certainly if we were shooting 100 baskets, he would win. Let me give you another example I use too often because I don't know which of these will feel right. You go to a Mercedes parking lot or pick your favorite car. And let's say there are 100 cars there. You choose one. And if it starts, I will give you a million dollars.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

Now, certainly if we were shooting 100 baskets, he would win. Let me give you another example I use too often because I don't know which of these will feel right. You go to a Mercedes parking lot or pick your favorite car. And let's say there are 100 cars there. You choose one. And if it starts, I will give you a million dollars.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

Now, certainly if we were shooting 100 baskets, he would win. Let me give you another example I use too often because I don't know which of these will feel right. You go to a Mercedes parking lot or pick your favorite car. And let's say there are 100 cars there. You choose one. And if it starts, I will give you a million dollars.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

If it doesn't start, you give me your full life savings, assuming it's under a million, capped at a million. Now, Mercedes are wonderful cars. Nobody is going to take that bet. Everybody knows, you know, sometimes it doesn't work. You know, sometimes the genius gets something wrong. Sometimes a car is a lemon and so on.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

If it doesn't start, you give me your full life savings, assuming it's under a million, capped at a million. Now, Mercedes are wonderful cars. Nobody is going to take that bet. Everybody knows, you know, sometimes it doesn't work. You know, sometimes the genius gets something wrong. Sometimes a car is a lemon and so on.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

If it doesn't start, you give me your full life savings, assuming it's under a million, capped at a million. Now, Mercedes are wonderful cars. Nobody is going to take that bet. Everybody knows, you know, sometimes it doesn't work. You know, sometimes the genius gets something wrong. Sometimes a car is a lemon and so on.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

So what we mean when we say, you know, if you were going to start 100 cars, most of them are going to start. But you can't predict which one isn't going to. Well, in life, I'm happy if an operation is good for most people. I want to know, is it going to work for me? And there's no way to know that. You can never predict the individual case.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

So what we mean when we say, you know, if you were going to start 100 cars, most of them are going to start. But you can't predict which one isn't going to. Well, in life, I'm happy if an operation is good for most people. I want to know, is it going to work for me? And there's no way to know that. You can never predict the individual case.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

So what we mean when we say, you know, if you were going to start 100 cars, most of them are going to start. But you can't predict which one isn't going to. Well, in life, I'm happy if an operation is good for most people. I want to know, is it going to work for me? And there's no way to know that. You can never predict the individual case.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

But, Andrew, we don't have to worry about that because you can always predict or control your reaction to whatever is happening. So it doesn't matter as much. You see, if I can be happy, whether this occurs or the opposite occurs, I care less about which way it turns out. But right now we're all brought up in a world where we have these good things, we have these bad things.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

But, Andrew, we don't have to worry about that because you can always predict or control your reaction to whatever is happening. So it doesn't matter as much. You see, if I can be happy, whether this occurs or the opposite occurs, I care less about which way it turns out. But right now we're all brought up in a world where we have these good things, we have these bad things.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

But, Andrew, we don't have to worry about that because you can always predict or control your reaction to whatever is happening. So it doesn't matter as much. You see, if I can be happy, whether this occurs or the opposite occurs, I care less about which way it turns out. But right now we're all brought up in a world where we have these good things, we have these bad things.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

You've got to kill yourself to get the good things. Step over whoever you can to avoid the bad things. Once you recognize that's all in your head, then just be still. My favorite example, this is so, for me, was so funny. I'm doing one of these podcasts over Zoom, and I'm trying to explain that evaluation is in your head, not in the things you're evaluating.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

You've got to kill yourself to get the good things. Step over whoever you can to avoid the bad things. Once you recognize that's all in your head, then just be still. My favorite example, this is so, for me, was so funny. I'm doing one of these podcasts over Zoom, and I'm trying to explain that evaluation is in your head, not in the things you're evaluating.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

You've got to kill yourself to get the good things. Step over whoever you can to avoid the bad things. Once you recognize that's all in your head, then just be still. My favorite example, this is so, for me, was so funny. I'm doing one of these podcasts over Zoom, and I'm trying to explain that evaluation is in your head, not in the things you're evaluating.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

I say, as an example, so if the internet went out right now, wouldn't be terrible, I'd go have lunch. The internet went out just at that moment. And I did have lunch because I had put the suggestion in my mind. You know, most things don't matter. We don't recognize that. And I think I have a few one-liners that if people understand or care about nothing else that I've said, take this to heart.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

I say, as an example, so if the internet went out right now, wouldn't be terrible, I'd go have lunch. The internet went out just at that moment. And I did have lunch because I had put the suggestion in my mind. You know, most things don't matter. We don't recognize that. And I think I have a few one-liners that if people understand or care about nothing else that I've said, take this to heart.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

I say, as an example, so if the internet went out right now, wouldn't be terrible, I'd go have lunch. The internet went out just at that moment. And I did have lunch because I had put the suggestion in my mind. You know, most things don't matter. We don't recognize that. And I think I have a few one-liners that if people understand or care about nothing else that I've said, take this to heart.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

That next time you're stressed, ask yourself, is it a tragedy or an inconvenience? It's almost never a tragedy. And so when you breathe, you know, I failed the test, I got, you know, dented the car, I missed the bus, whatever it is, so what? And so, you know, you take a deep breath and come back to yourself and realize that most of the things that make us crazed are unnecessary.

Huberman Lab
Using Your Mind to Control Your Physical Health & Longevity | Dr. Ellen Langer

That next time you're stressed, ask yourself, is it a tragedy or an inconvenience? It's almost never a tragedy. And so when you breathe, you know, I failed the test, I got, you know, dented the car, I missed the bus, whatever it is, so what? And so, you know, you take a deep breath and come back to yourself and realize that most of the things that make us crazed are unnecessary.