Hey there, I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, and I'm a scientist who studies human behavior.

Many of us have experienced a moment in our lives that changes everything that instantly divides our life

into a before and an after.

On my podcast, a slight change of plans,

I talk to people about navigating these moments.

Their stories are full of candor and hard-won wisdom.

And you'll hear from scientists who teach us how we can be more resilient in the face of change.

Listen on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Pushkin.

These days, whenever I face a serious setback, I try to channel the ancient Stoics.

I try to follow the advice of great philosophers like Epic Titus, a man who was born into slavery,

but eventually became one of Rome's greatest thinkers.

Epictetus argued that we have more control than we think about how we react to negative

events.

He said we should try to think about life's bad times as opportunities to learn and grow.

And so whenever I face a new problem, I try to treat it as a challenge to be overcome.

But I'm a pretty lucky person.

Most of my own personal challenges have, at least today,

knock on wood, been fairly trivial.

Thankfully, I haven't yet had to go through anything

like the challenges that my next guest,

Karen Guggenheim had to face.

11 years ago last week actually.

...