Dr. Maya Shankar

And you can be inspired across domains.

So one experience that I reflected on in which I had an experience of moral elevation was witnessing, which was after the horrific shooting at Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina,

the daughter of one of the victims publicly extended forgiveness to the racist killer.

And I remember just being absolutely stunned by her capacity for forgiveness.

And the interesting thing about moral elevation, Hala, is that it's not even like I was looking to forgive anyone in my life at that moment.

This is not just simple inspiration.

It's that

Her example made me see that maybe I am capable as a human of so much more than I thought possible.

Maybe I have a greater capacity for kindness.

Maybe I have a greater capacity for ingenuity, for empathy, you name it.

But that's the power of what these small moments can do to our brains.

Yeah, her story is so remarkable.

Christine had always loved cooking and recreating the Vietnamese dishes that she had grown up with, given her mom's cooking.

And when she was in her early 20s, she was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition that left her permanently blind.

And to our earlier discussion, Hala, in that moment, Christine saw all the future versions of herself that involved being a cook disappear from sight.

And yet, with a combination of

incredible discipline and the belief that she could actually overcome whatever stereotypes she had in her mind around her limitations, she ended up learning how to cook without sight and then went on to win season two of MasterChef.

She owns two restaurants and has published a cookbook.

And one of the things I also talk about in the book is that it's one thing to generate these new possible selves, right?

So you can generate possible selves by, again, the experience of moral elevation.