Shankar Vedantam

Someone has accomplished something extraordinary.

You know, winning a gold medal at the Olympics, breaking a world record is caught up in their own heads with what they haven't done instead of what they have done.

Among people who are struggling with life's challenges, and also among those who seem to navigate those challenges with ease, there may be a shared sore spot.

The sense that at the end of the day, they don't really matter.

The good news is that a sense of mattering can be consciously cultivated in ourselves and others.

When we come back, how we can foster a sense of being seen, heard, and valued for who we are.

You're listening to Hidden Brain.

I'm Shankar Vedantam.

This is Hidden Brain.

I'm Shankar Vedantam.

Have you experienced a moment in your life when you felt profoundly invisible?

Have you found a way to not feel invisible or to help others feel seen?

If you have a story or a question you would like to share with the Hidden Brain audience, please find a very quiet room and record a voice memo on your phone.

Two or three minutes is plenty.

Email it to us at feedback at hiddenbrain.org.

Use the subject line, invisible.

The drive to feel like we matter is deeply woven into the human psyche.

Gordon Flett is the author of The Psychology of Mattering, Understanding the Human Need to be Significant.

Gord, you say that a feeling of mattering can be deliberately cultivated.

Are you saying in some ways that we don't have to wait for the world to make us feel like we matter?