Episodes

  • The Neuroscience of Friendships: Why We Connect & How to Do it Better

    The Neuroscience of Friendships: Why We Connect & How to Do it Better
    Apr 18 2024
    Free guide on emotional intelligence: https://newsletter.sankalpgarud.org/52waysguide In this video, I talk about loneliness, social connection, friendship and the likes. I explore both the science and the practice of making friends. Who am I? If we haven't met before, I am Sankalp, a PhD student in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford. My aim is to significantly increase happiness and well-being in this world. On this channel I talk about all things psychology, both from the inside (think emotions) and from the outside (think brain). 00:00 Trailer 02:35 Podcast begins 04:59 Exploring the Grant Study: The Importance of Social Bonds 08:39 Loneliness vs. Social Network Sizes: A Deep Dive into Studies 13:14 The Neuroscience of Social Connection: Brain Mechanisms and Hormones 15:48 How many friends can I have at once 20:09 Impact of decreasing family sizes on lonelinesss 22:17 Role of endorphins 27:37 Meditation and default mode network 30:33 Empathy and mirror neurons 34:46 Social context and social mistakes 36:32 Social connection as a fundamental human need 40:14 Gut health and social anxiety 43:03 Social Status and Its Impact: Understanding Our Social Hierarchy 45:20 Fear of rejection 46:50 Overcoming Fear and Rejection in Social Interactions 49:35 Tip: Talk to strangers 52:14 Do Looks Matter? 53:39 Key Factors in Forming Friendships: Similarity, Proximity, and Familiarity 56:40 How many hours to go from friend to stranger? 58:05 Tip: Acceptance 58:57 Tip: Choosing right environments, cities, and venues 01:00:46 Tip: Optimising nutrition 01:01:30 Tip: How to overcome fear of rejection 01:06:08 Tip Embracing Vulnerability and Authenticity for Deeper Connections 01:07:32 Tip: Friendly greetings 01:08:37 Building self-esteem 01:10:49 The halo effect 01:12:20 Internal Family Systems Model 01:16:11 Conversation skills 01:23:26 My personal experience eliminating social anxiety
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 28 mins
  • Columbia Professor: Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Stoicism, Escaping Death | Chuck Garcia

    Columbia Professor: Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Stoicism, Escaping Death | Chuck Garcia
    Apr 3 2024

    Chuck Garcia is the founder of Climb Leadership International and coaches executives worldwide on public speaking, emotional intelligence, and executive presence. His clients include many of the world’s best and biggest companies. He is a motivational speaker, Amazon bestselling author of A Climb to the Top, and teaches at Columbia University. Chuck is also a passionate and accomplished mountaineer who has scaled peaks all over the world. He formerly spent twenty-five years in leadership positions at Bloomberg, BlackRock, and Citadel Investment Management. His new book, The Moment That Defines Your Life was released on February 6th and distributed by Simon & Schuster. 00:00 Trailer 00:51 Introduction 02:17 Conversation starts 02:41 Chuck's Life-Changing Experience on 9/11 07:51 From Wall Street to Mountaineering: A Career Transformation 09:02 Family Perspectives and Emotional Aftermath 11:29 Embracing a New Career Path: The Journey of Teaching and Coaching 14:34 The Power of Mentorship and Learning from the Mountains 19:14 Does academia fail to create inspiration? 23:54 Stoicism Meets Emotional Intelligence 33:28 Navigating People Pleasing and Niceness 34:55 The Pitfalls of Trying Too Hard 35:52 Eulogy Virtues vs Resume Virtues 37:47 The Power of Genuine Connections 39:26 Cultural Differences in Communication and Assertiveness 40:46 Embracing Nonconformity: Lessons from Churchill and Gandhi 49:16 Emotional security vs courage 50:42 Building Credibility, Trust, and Respect in Your Career 54:15 Public Speaking and Communication 59:59 Final Thoughts: Changing Yourself to Change the World 01:02:55 Wrapping up
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Bryan Johnson: "Nothing matters in life without mental health" "Make health your #1 priority"

    Bryan Johnson: "Nothing matters in life without mental health" "Make health your #1 priority"
    Mar 26 2024

    In this episode, I talk to Bryan Johnson about mental health, social connection, and more. Free guide on emotional intelligence: https://newsletter.sankalpgarud.org/52waysguide Bryan Johnson is the world's most measured human. Johnson sold his company, Braintree Venmo, to PayPal for $800m in 2013. Through his Project Blueprint, Johnson has achieved metabolic health equal to the top 1.5% of 18 year olds, inflammation 66% lower than the average 10 year old, and reduced his speed of aging by the equivalent of 31 years. Johnson freely shares his protocols and data publicly for everyone to use. Project Blueprint, is an endeavor to achieve humanity and earth scale cooperation starting within Self. 0:00 Trailer 00:40 Bryan's Introduction 02:57 Does mental health matter to Bryan? 03:59 Relationship between mental health and physical health 05:10 Bryan's relationship with death 06:45 Maintaining gratitude for life in the absence of death 09:12 Lessons from religious upbringing 10:18 Bryan's take on relationships 11:50 Making health a priority
    Show more Show less
    14 mins
  • Psychology vs Politics Expert | Happiness, Morality, and Big Political Ideas That Shaped The World

    Psychology vs Politics Expert | Happiness, Morality, and Big Political Ideas That Shaped The World
    Mar 19 2024
    Free guide: 52 Ways to Be More Emotionally Intelligent https://newsletter.sankalpgarud.org/52waysguide In this podcast, I talk to Sanat Sogani on the intersection between psychology and politics. We discuss a range of issues from the history of political theory to morality and Buddhism. I hope you find this discussion engaging. Sanat Sogani is a PhD student in Political Theory at the Central European University in Vienna. (00:00) Introduction (02:24) Psychology and Politics discussion begins (05:35) What is politics (11:36) Key Ideas of Politics 12:36 Plato and Socrates 13:24 Aristotle 14:28 Hobbes 15:55 Rousseau 17:33 Hobbes vs Rousseau 18:23 Kant 19:36 Marx 20:31 Rawls 21:41 Feminism 22:15 Nancy Fraser & Elizabeth Anderson 24:00 Confucius and Eastern Thinkers 26:52 Which thinker influenced Sanat the most? 27:57 Is Rishi Sunak Kantian? 29:46 Buddhism, Religion and Atheism 34:51 Where does religion go wrong? 35:38 Deontology vs utilitarianism 38:51 The trolley problem 41:18 Trolley problem in the pandemic 42:04 Buddhist philosophy 43:47 Is growth limited to a few? 45:47 The problem of psychopathy and bad actors 46:23 Problems inherent in Buddhsim and any belief system 48:39 Liberalism 50:16 Is political theory useful in day to day life? 54:32 Arriving at political conclusions through psychological premises 55:02 Agency and mental health 57:49 Intersection of psychology and politics 01:00:27 Status and social hierarchies 01:04:50 Morality 01:09:43 Sankalp's views on where morality comes from 01:11:02 Jonathan Haidt's Moral Foundation Theory 01:14:20 Marriage 01:19:25 Conform or Rebel: How to Decide? 01:22:18 Protests 01:24:05 Books & resources to learn political theory 01:25:25 Left - right spectrum 01:28:06 Wrapping up
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 29 mins
  • UE #61: The risks and dangers of meditation

    UE #61: The risks and dangers of meditation
    Mar 3 2024

    In this episode, we talk about the risks of meditation practice.


    52 ways to be more emotionally intelligent (free guidebook): https://newsletter.sankalpgarud.org/52waysguide


    Financial times podcast: https://www.ft.com/content/b3ec8e57-5cf9-4f96-9267-56c3bcd9c102


    00:00 Introduction

    03:06 Announcement

    04:00 Motivation (Untold: The Retreat Podcast)

    06:16 What are meditation retreats

    08:23 Categories of meditation related problems

    11:34 Psychological problems stemming from physical problems

    11:59 Sleep related disturbances

    15:39 Nutrition related problems

    19:37 Socio-psychological Problems

    23:00 Cultlike elements in meditation

    28:09 Critical Thinking

    29:04 Political Polarisation

    29:57 Mental Health Problems

    30:10 Psychotic episodes

    31:31 The purpose of meditation

    36:12 Perfectionism

    37:33 Insights

    40:52 Reaching out for help and potential pitfalls

    42:36 Aftershow



    Website: sankalpgarud.org


    Listen on Spotify/iTunes/RSS/Web Player


    Sign up for the mailing list!


    Please share the podcast using the links below. If you wish to contact me for feedback/suggestions/comments, please get in touch using this contact form.



    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show more Show less
    45 mins
  • UE #59: The four attachment styles

    UE #59: The four attachment styles
    Jan 5 2024
    In this episode, we talk about the four attachment styles. This is a audio excerpt from my YouTube video on the same topic!

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show more Show less
    14 mins
  • UE #58: How to Stop Being Nice - Conversation with Dr Aziz Gazipura

    UE #58: How to Stop Being Nice - Conversation with Dr Aziz Gazipura
    Nov 28 2023

    In this episode, we discuss how to stop being nice. This is an episode with Dr Aziz Gazipura


    Free guide: https://newsletter.sankalpgarud.org/52waysguide


    Website: sankalpgarud.org


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 25 mins
  • UE #57: How to deal with unpleasant emotions

    UE #57: How to deal with unpleasant emotions
    Oct 23 2023

    In this episode, we talk about how to deal with negative emotions


    Website: sankalpgarud.org


    Listen on Spotify/iTunes/RSS/Web Player


    Sign up for the mailing list!


    Please share the podcast using the links below. If you wish to contact me for feedback/suggestions/comments, please get in touch using this contact form.




    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show more Show less
    31 mins