Shawn Achor

speaker

398 appearances 1 recordings 1 series first heard Jul 2026 last heard 14 Jul

Shawn Achor’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 1.

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The Oprah Podcast · Your Life Changes When Your Beliefs Do with Shawn Achor and Oprah · 14 Jul 2026 podcast

As I listened to your story, I hear so much from this research.

Like I think from the very beginning, I think you heard that you're not alone.

I think that you helped other people know that they're not alone in the midst of it.

That's one of the most powerful beliefs we have.

There's a study of one of my favorite studies in the book that found that if you're looking at a hill, you need to climb in front of you.

If you're looking at that hill by yourself,

your brain shows you a picture of a hill that looks 15% steeper than if I put someone next to you that you believe is going to climb the hill with you.

That shouldn't be happening.

The hill's not changing, but our perception of the hill that happens instantaneously before you do anything is different based upon, do I think I'm alone or am I with other people?

And it wasn't just the physical ones that were affecting us, it's the emotional ones as well.

Overcoming anxiety or depression or loneliness or trying to date or try to find a job in the midst of a world that doesn't look like it should, those mountains are collapsing or expanding based upon whether or not we think we're alone or we're with other people.

So my first thing that I would say is that when we look at those challenges, this is why happiness can't be self-help.

As soon as you put happiness books in the self-help section of a bookstore, we make it 20 to 30% steeper for people to achieve because they think something's wrong with the world, but something's wrong with me, I need to fix it.

And then once I fixed it, then I can be successful.

And what we're finding is the greatest predictor of long-term levels of happiness and success

is your social connection score.

It's other people.

It's the breadth, depth, and meaning in your social relationships.

But the other thing that I think is so important about what you're saying is that you're searching for hope, like many people are in this world.

Hope not just for dating, but hope that people have for a job or hope that they'll get over cancer.

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