You Don’t Need More Willpower: Change Is a Skill You Can Learn | Eric on The Happiness Lab with Laurie Santos

In this episode, Dr. Zaldy Tan explores how to live well with memory loss and what an Alzheimer’s diagnosis means for individuals and the people who love them. Drawing on his own experience caring for family members with Alzheimer’s, he discusses the questions many of us carry about forgetfulness, aging, and the fear of losing our independence. Together, they discuss how to stay connected as memory changes, make important decisions early, and approach caregiving with compassion—including for yourself. His new book is What to Remember When You Are Forgetting: How to Live and Thrive with Memory Loss, Alzheimer's, and Other Dementias

Are you playing a game you actually want to win? In this episode, Seth Godin explores how to make intentional choices about the life you’re building—and recognize when someone else’s definition of success is steering you off course. Drawing on his book, This Is Strategy, Seth shares why chasing more can distract us from what matters, how the systems around us shape our behavior, and why a disappointing outcome doesn’t necessarily mean we made a bad decision.

In this episode, John R. Miles explores the mattering effect and how to find your way back to meaning and connection when you feel invisible in your own life. Drawing on his experience of achieving career success while feeling increasingly disconnected, John explains how we can slowly lose our sense of worth when life becomes a constant effort to prove our value. He also discusses how to recognize that gradual withdrawal, reconnect with the meaning in everyday actions, and make more room for relationships that help us feel seen. This conversation offers a starting point for anyone who’s getting things done but struggling to feel fully present in the life they’re living.

In this episode, Mariana Alessandri explores how to stop feeling bad about feeling bad, and why difficult emotions don’t mean there is something wrong with you. Drawing from her book, Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods, she discusses how the pressure to stay positive adds shame to pain, what it means to be on your own side, and how to support someone who’s struggling without trying to cheer them up. This conversation offers a more compassionate way to understand your emotions and feel less alone in them.

In this episode, Cory Allen explores how to find calm when life won’t slow down and the pressure to keep doing more feels constant. Drawing from his new book, The Quiet Age, Cory shares how the tension we carry shapes our experience and why low moods can tell convincing lies about our self-worth. He also discusses letting go without giving up, making room for rest, and recognizing that a thought can feel real without being true. This conversation offers practical ways to meet difficult moments with greater clarity and find space to breathe within the life you already have.