There are times in life when the challenges we face feel insurmountable. Authors succumb to writer’s block. Athletes and artists hit a plateau. People of a certain age fall into a midlife crisis. These are all different ways of saying: I’m stuck. This week, in a favorite conversation from 2023, psychologist Adam Alter shares his research on why we all get stuck at various points in our lives, and how to break free. Then, psychologist George Bonanno answers your questions about trauma and resilience.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
*Why the beginning and the end of a project is often more manageable than the midway point.
*Techniques that can help you to get through the “plateau” phase of a project or goal.
*How to break down daunting endeavors into smaller, more manageable pieces.
*Why perfectionism is so destructive to creativity, and how we can avoid this mental trap.
*Why it’s difficult for us to see other people’s “stuckness.”
*The relationship between being prolific and being successful.
Hidden Brain is heading back out on the road in 2026! We’re coming next to Philadelphia and New York City, with more tour dates across the country to be announced later this spring. More info and tickets at hiddenbrain.org/tour.
Episode illustration by Getty Images for Unsplash+.
Additional Resources:
Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most, by Adam Alter, Simon & Schuster, 2023.
Long-Term Time-Course of Strength Adaptation to Minimal Dose Resistance Training Through Retrospective Longitudinal Growth Modeling, by James Steele et al., Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 2022.
People Search for Meaning When They Approach a New Decade in Chronological Age, by Adam L. Alter and Hal E. Hershfield, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014.
Stuck in the Middle: The Psychophysics of Goal Pursuit, by Andrea Bonezzi, C. Miguel Brendl, and Matteo De Angelis, Psychological Science, 2011.
Rising to the Threat: Reducing Stereotype Threat by Reframing the Threat as a Challenge, by Adam L. Alter et al., Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2010.
Pluralistic Ignorance and Alcohol Use on Campus: Some Consequences of Misperceiving the Social Norm, by Deborah A. Prentice and Dale T. Miller, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1993.
The Goal-Gradient Hypothesis Applied to Some ‘Field-Force’ Problems in the Behavior of Young Children, by Clark L. Hull, Psychological Review, 1938.
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