A Clean Slate: With Guests John Beshears, Richard Thaler & Ray Zahab (Rebroadcast)

Choiceology with Katy Milkman

Charles Schwab

Behavioral Economics, Society & Culture, Social Sciences, Decision Making, Charles Schwab, Business, Science, Investing, Dan Heath, Katy Milkman

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2022

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For many people, the start of a new year is an occasion to re-examine their lives, to set new goals and to give up old habits. Making New Year’s resolutions is something of a social ritual, but we see similar behaviors around other significant dates, as well--such as birthdays and anniversaries and the changing of seasons. And while it can be argued that all of these dates are arbitrary, studies show that they can still give you a head start in achieving your goals. In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we examine the common but not always rational phenomenon whereby people divide their lives into chapters. We look at ways to leverage this phenomenon to make better choices.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, Troysology listeners. It's Katie here with an episode from The Archives.
0:04.7	It's all about the fresh start effect, a topic that's near and dear to me.
0:09.4	The beginning of the year is a time when many of us are looking for a fresh start,
0:13.3	and I hope you'll find the episode helpful as you think about setting resolutions.
0:18.3	If you're looking for tips on how to better stick to your resolutions,
0:21.9	after you listen, check out our back catalog for lots of other relevant episodes,
0:27.1	or consider picking up a copy of my book, How to Change.
0:31.1	We'll have new episodes of the podcast coming this spring.
0:34.7	In the meantime, enjoy the episode and happy new year.
0:44.6	It's early morning, Sunday, a congregation weighed slowly into a sun-deppled river,
0:58.3	weeping willows sway on the banks.
1:15.2	There's powerful symbolism in this active baptism, the water washing away past sins,
1:21.4	the opportunity to start a new chapter in your life to leave the old you behind and begin a new.
1:31.1	We see similar rituals and other traditions. The blowing of the shofar to mark the end of Yom Kippur,
1:37.1	the Jewish Day of Atonement, and the beginning of a new chapter in life,
1:40.8	the personal renewal that comes from confessions in the Catholic Church,
1:44.8	the smudging ceremonies that many Native Americans use to clear the air of negative emotions
1:50.4	and energy. And of course, there's a secular tradition of out with the old,
1:55.6	in with the new, at the beginning of every new year.
2:03.6	What is it about these moments of ritual that give them so much power,
2:07.6	the power to absolve you of sins, the power to wipe the slate clean, the power to start over?
2:14.2	On this episode, we're looking at a psychological phenomenon that you can leverage to help you achieve
	...

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