Conscientiousness, perseverance and meticulousness are all words associated with perfectionism. But perfectionism comes from a deeper sense of inadequacy, of not feeling good enough. Constantly striving to prove yourself leads to anxiety, depression and burnout. Researcher Thomas Curran describes perfectionism in detail, why it’s getting worse and what we can do about it.

Doing, doing, doing. We can get stuck in a perpetual state of busyness to get things done. But being in a chronic “performance zone” can lead to stagnation over time. The “learning zone”, however, is when we take a step back to reflect on our experiences and look for ways to improve. That’s where a growth mindset comes in - actually believing that we can get better.

Volunteering improves psychological well-being. Team Rubicon has researched this positive effect, not just on the communities it serves, but also on the well-being of its 170,000 volunteers. The organization applies military expertise and speed to provide fast response and social support to those who have suffered a disaster. We learn from David Burke and Patti Norberg about the many benefits they have found with volunteering.

We all want to feel significant. This drive for significance ultimately fuels all of our cognition, emotions, and actions. Distinguished psychologist Arie Kruglanski discusses motivation versus cognition, goal systems, radicalization, and his recent work on the quest for significance.

Learning is like exercise. Once you develop a healthy habit, you need to keep going! But how do you foster a learning culture in your organization? Sarah Nicholl addresses the role of leadership, AI, context and habit formation in this discussion about her book “Learning Habits”.

Human decision making is not perfectly rational. There can, in fact, be benefits to the biases we hold. Lionel Page PhD discusses rationality, completeness, and how humans make decisions based on anticipated utility and loss aversion.

How can we make better choices today to benefit our future selves? Hal Hershfield outlines strategies like visualizing your future self, writing letters, making commitments, and recognizing that your preferences will change over time.

The ”cult of never enough” encourages the belief that more money, possessions and achievements will make us happy. But Manisha Thakor has learnt through personal experience that emotional wealth is more important than financial wealth. Listen to learn how to redefine your success.

The world of applied behavioral science has never been better. So how do you get your foot in the door to have a career in the field? You may be surprised to learn that it doesn’t have to involve achieving a PhD. Merle van den Akker discusses her career journey from academia into the corporate world, and what we can learn from it.

Peter Atwater discusses his ideas around confidence, certainty and control as key factors that determine how we feel. He explains The Confidence Map framework and how our horizon preferences change based on our level of confidence.