Growth Mindset Psychology: The Science of Self-Improvement
Sam Webster Harris | Growth Mindset Psychology

Latest episode
547 episodes
- Train your brain to resist distraction, form your own opinions, and think like an intellectual.
When every answer is one click away, we’ve forgotten how to enjoy the struggle of figuring things out. This episode explores the radical act of thinking more slowly in a fast-paced world.
Modern life has made us intellectual snackers: we graze on headlines, notifications, and other people’s opinions until our minds feel full on intellectual candy floss.
Drawing on ideas from Cal Newport, Charlie Munger, and curious historical figures, we unpack why boredom, better information, and stronger memory are the unsung heroes of clear thinking.
You’ll learn:
How to design an information diet that actually feeds your brain
How to become comfortable enough with silence to let your own ideas emerge
How to train your attention so it doesn’t sprint away at the first ping.
You don't need to turn into a monk, but hopefully this is a gentle nudge to think with more depth, nuance, and independence.
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Growth Mindset Psychology:
Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement.
📺 Watch - YouTube (Growth Mindset)
🛜 Website - Growth Mindset
📧 Email - GrowthMindsetPodcast (@) gmail.com
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Deep Thinking02:04 Using Charlie Munger’s Inversion Approach05:02 System One vs. System Two Thinking06:14 Improving Information Quality09:34 Comfort with Boredom13:35 Cultivating Attention16:23 Tracking Your Progress18:00 Increasing Working Memory21:47 Intellectual Practice22:13 Pairing Primary and Secondary Sources23:02 Richard Feynman’s Idea Documents25:46 Adopting Intellectual Curiosity27:38 Benjamin Franklin’s Deep Thinkers Club28:12 Launching a Book Club29:02 Rebranding the Podcast30:08 Starting a Second Podcast31:43 Episode Summary and Final Thoughts
Topics discussed
How to think more deeply in a world designed for shallow attention
Why outsourcing your opinions to social media weakens independent thought
The cognitive cost of prioritising fast emotional hits over slow work
How checklist mentality creates the illusion of progress without real depth
System One versus System Two thinking and why deeper thinkers choose slower
Building an information diet that improves the quality of what you consume
Training your brain to become more comfortable with boredom and silence
Practical ways to sanitise your phone and reduce distraction in daily life
Strengthening working memory so you can hold and connect complex ideas
How intellectual curiosity and argumentative thinking sharpen judgment and reduce bias
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices - Have you ever wonder if the thing keeping you stuck is yourself? Invisible rules your brain runs on that you have no choice over... In this episode, we go inside guided psilocybin retreats to see how people actually change deep mental patterns.
As they say the “trip” is only the start.
We talk with Gabriel Charalambides, founder of Odyssey, about what happens in the brain during these experiences: the default mode network quiets down, old self-stories lose their grip, and the mind becomes unusually open to new connections.
But the real work shows up afterwards, in the quiet days of writing, reflection, and small experiments that turn a powerful experience into lasting change. We also cover who these retreats help, who they don’t, and why integration matters more than most people think.
Understand how psychedelics can temporarily loosen rigid thought patterns
Learn why post-experience integration is where real change happens
See the limits and risks so you can think clearly about your own path
If you’ve ever felt stuck in the same mental loops, this conversation might give you a new map for getting out.
SPONSORS
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Free consultation, free shipping and 10% off
Promo code PSYCHOLOGY at MOD.com
🌎 Planet Visionaries Podcast
Alex Honnold interview people reshaping what's possible
Part of the Rolex Perpetual Plant Initiative
Listen on Apple podcasts
UPGRADE to Premium:
🏖️ Ad-free listening
🤘 Support the show
🔓 Exclusive AMAs and bonus content
GrowthMindset.Supercast.com
Growth Mindset Psychology:
Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement.
📺 Watch - YouTube (Growth Mindset)
🛜 Website - Growth Mindset
📧 Email - GrowthMindsetPodcast (@) gmail.com
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Psilocybin and Odyssey02:08 Defining Growth Mindset and Oceanic Boundlessness07:59 The Attachment to Ego and Spiritual Perspectives11:06 Recommended Reading and Book Tangent12:32 The Role of Anxiety and Letting Go During Experiences15:09 The Role of Retreat Guides and Holding Space17:53 Reflections and Note-Taking During Retreats21:39 Screening and Assessing Suitability for Retreats24:26 The Potential Benefits of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy31:00 Restrictions and Who Should Avoid Psilocybin Retreats34:02 Considerations for Mental Health Conditions36:19 Psychedelics and Narcissism37:29 The Training and Qualifications of Retreat Guides41:49 The Neuroscience of Psychedelic-Induced Neuroplasticity43:17 Flow States, Meditation, and ADHD48:51 Cultural Differences in Participants49:53 About Odyssey and How to Get Involved50:29 Books Discussed and Final Recommendations
Topics discussed
Psilocybin retreats for depression, trauma, OCD, and breaking mental patterns
Oceanic boundlessness and ego dissolution during guided psychedelic experiences
Default mode network, neuroplasticity, and how psilocybin changes the brain
Integration practices that turn psychedelic insights into lasting behaviour change
Who should avoid psilocybin: psychosis risk, bipolar, borderline, and cardiac issues
The role of retreat guides in creating safety without steering the experience
Anxiety, panic attacks, and navigating difficult moments during psychedelic journeys
Comparing psychedelic experiences with meditation, near-death experiences, and flow states
Screening criteria and realistic expectations for legal psilocybin retreats in Oregon
Recommended books on psychedelics, mindfulness, and personal growth for listeners
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices - Beyond money, status, and attractive partner where do we find meaning, and happiness?
Across 34 unconventional life lessons, we explore the inner machinery behind a meaningful life: why status can behave like a sugary breakfast cereal, why exercise is cheaper than many illnesses, and why some of our finest ideas arrive only after we stop staring aggressively at a blank page.
Along the way, we consider discipline, creativity, money, identity, empathy, confirmation bias, and the possibility that society is held together with rather more metaphorical duct tape than anyone would like to admit.
We all have enough heroic checklists for self-improvement. My aim is to make familiar ideas seem strange enough to re-examine properly. That and to leave you feeling slightly more optimistic about being human.
Treat mistakes as tuition rather than evidence of failure.
Make room for rest, curiosity, and unplanned opportunities.
Build beliefs carefully instead of inheriting them wholesale.
Listen in and discover why a less certain life may be a happier one.
SPONSORS
☺️ MOD.com
Prescription Modafinil for energy and focus.
Free consultation, free shipping and 10% off
Promo code PSYCHOLOGY at MOD.com
🌎 Planet Visionaries Podcast
Alex Honnold interview people reshaping what's possible
Part of the Rolex Perpetual Plant Initiative
Listen on Apple podcasts
UPGRADE to Premium:
🏖️ Ad-free listening
🤘 Support the show
🔓 Exclusive AMAs and bonus content
GrowthMindset.Supercast.com
Growth Mindset Psychology:
Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement.
📺 Watch - YouTube (Growth Mindset)
🛜 Website - Growth Mindset
📧 Email - GrowthMindsetPodcast (@) gmail.com
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Setting the Stage00:27 Exploring Thought-Provoking Ideas00:44 Welcome to the Growth Mindset Podcast01:09 Personal Philosophy and Lifelong Learning01:14 The Importance of Understanding Books02:54 Are You Pursuing a Shadow Career?03:32 You Don’t Need a Side Hustle04:14 You Do Need an Exercise Habit04:47 Your Best Work Happens When You Aren’t Working05:39 Ideas Are Stepping Stones06:14 Money Is a Tool06:54 Life Is Too Short for the Wrong Pursuits07:36 It’s How You Do It08:23 Practise the Emotions You Want to Feel09:35 Find Out Who You Are10:07 Find Your Personal Voice11:04 Discipline Is More Important Than Talent11:40 IQ Is an Unfair Advantage13:01 Apply Yourself Accordingly14:08 Make Other People Feel Clever14:59 Think Bigger16:17 No One Thinks About You as Much as You Do16:53 Make Your Life Story Interesting17:47 Use First-Principles Thinking18:56 Learn from Other People’s Mistakes19:56 Too Much of Anything Is Bad20:59 Society Is an Accident21:36 Embrace Unplanned Opportunities22:22 The World Is Duct-Taped Together24:06 Question What You Take for Granted25:54 Build Your Own Beliefs27:50 Keep Your Identity Small28:38 Understand Your Biases30:28 Empathy Makes the World Nicer30:38 Life Is About Contrasts31:20 Anger Is a Useless Emotion32:17 Camera Angles and Stories33:43 Big and Small Things Matter34:20 Final Thoughts and Birthday Wish
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices - An honest conversation on addiction, depression, and identity with recovery coach Powerful Eric.
This week we talk about the strange modern epidemic of porn addiction, an affliction so quietly widespread that roughly one in nine men wrestle with it, yet almost nobody mentions it at dinner.
Eric explains how the brain mistakes novelty for reward, why the "disease model" of addiction may be doing more harm than good, and how a golden Buddha buried under centuries of clay became his favourite metaphor for the human mind. It is a hopeful, occasionally hilarious, thoroughly researched conversation about getting your brain back.
Why the brain falls into compulsive behaviours
How identity, not willpower, drives lasting behaviour change
What a buried golden statue can teach you about recovery
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Promo code PSYCHOLOGY at MOD.com
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NEW SHOW - How to Change the World: The History and Future of Innovation
Learn about the evolving story of the human species and our ideas told in chronological order. The podcast is full of fun facts, surprising stories and philosophical insights.
Found on all major podcast players:
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT
Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast
UPGRADE to Premium:
🏖️ Ad-free listening
🤘 Support the show
🔓 Exclusive AMAs and bonus content
GrowthMindset.Supercast.com
Growth Mindset Psychology:
Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement.
📺 Watch - YouTube (Growth Mindset)
🛜 Website - Growth Mindset
📧 Email - GrowthMindsetPodcast (@) gmail.com
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Trigger Warning02:26 Recognizing Porn Addiction05:43 Eric's Personal Struggle08:26 Eric's Journey to Beating Addiction11:00 Identity Reconstruction15:44 The Dangers of Porn Desensitization20:10 Addiction's Impact on Mental Health22:08 Reframing the Disease Model24:31 The Rise of AI-Generated Porn29:04 Schizophrenia and Murder31:26 Finding a Healthy Habit35:12 Overcoming Moral Conflicts37:59 Masturbation vs Pornography41:36 Eric's Advice and Resources43:32 Earliest Memories and Acts of Kindness44:58 Outro
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices - Human beings, it turns out, are magnificently good at fooling themselves.
Sadly the mind has developed an elaborate way of hiding our worst thinking mistakes from us. Our shortcut-taking so instinctive we rarely notice it happening.
This episode explores seven of these habits and on the way answers a lot of questions. Why do we blame the referee and ignore our own missed shots? Why does a friend's anecdote beat a mountain of statistics? Why do the people who commit history's worst atrocities rarely think of themselves as villains?
I find it oddly comforting discovering that everyone, including myself, is quietly wired / weird this way. Hopefully you do to and can learn to start working around it.
Catch yourself assigning blame to one convenient cause
Ask what a friend's story leaves out that the statistics reveal
Notice when certainty feels good but the evidence is thin
Listen in, and you may never trust your first instinct quite the same way again.
SPONSORS
☺️ MOD.com
Prescription Modafinil for energy and focus.
Free consultation, free shipping and 10% off
Promo code PSYCHOLOGY at MOD.com
☺️ NOCD
Struggling with OCD or unrelenting intrusive thoughts, NOCD can help
Book a free 15 min call
https://learn.nocd.com/growthmindset
NEW SHOW - How to Change the World: The History and Future of Innovation
Learn about the evolving story of the human species and our ideas told in chronological order. The podcast is full of fun facts, surprising stories and philosophical insights.
Found on all major podcast players:
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Fj3eFjEoAEKF5lWQxPJyT
Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-change-the-world-the-history-of-innovation/id1815282649
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HowToChangeTheWorldPodcast
UPGRADE to Premium:
🏖️ Ad-free listening
🤘 Support the show
🔓 Exclusive AMAs and bonus content
GrowthMindset.Supercast.com
Growth Mindset Psychology:
Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement.
📺 Watch - YouTube (Growth Mindset)
🛜 Website - Growth Mindset
📧 Email - GrowthMindsetPodcast (@) gmail.com
Chapters
00:00 Benefits of thinking hard thoughts00:52 Developing ourselves and our thinking01:12 Optimizing for the wrong things02:45 Doubting takes time and energy03:39 The 7 biggest flaws of lazy thinking06:35 Single cause explanations to complex events08:52 Justifying your own actions while judging others11:52 Tangent on the book Evil14:01 Your field of vision isn't everyone else's17:45 Prioritizing stories over statistics20:26 Outsourcing hard decisions to experts23:47 Overconfidence25:59 Annie Duke and thinking in bets28:00 Accepting probability and reality29:11 Outro
Topics discussed
Why humans default to lazy thinking instead of doing the harder mental work
How rushing to eliminate doubt leads to wrongful blame and bad decisions
Why blaming one cause for complex events ignores the real bigger picture
How we justify our own mistakes while judging others for the same ones
Why ordinary people can rationalize evil without believing they're doing wrong
How assuming everyone shares your worldview limits empathy and understanding
Why personal stories persuade us more than statistics, even when we're wrong
The hidden risks of outsourcing big decisions to consultants and so-called experts
How overconfidence blinds us to the role of luck and probability in life
Why embracing uncertainty leads to better decisions than chasing false certainty
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About Growth Mindset Psychology: The Science of Self-Improvement
Most self-help advice is guesswork dressed up as wisdom. We dig into psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral science to find what actually changes lives.
WHY LISTEN?
Over 8 million downloads because we answer the questions that matter: How do I build mental strength? What creates lasting motivation? How can I understand my own mind well enough to work with it, not against it?
This podcast is for curious skeptics who want frameworks backed by psychology studies, not Instagram quotes. Whether you're navigating procrastination, building self-discipline, or designing your own philosophy for a life well lived—we explore the hidden psychology behind real change.
WHAT YOU'LL GET
Mental models and simple techniques from cognitive psychology, positive psychology, and ancient wisdom traditions like Stoicism and Buddhism.
Being a human can be confusing, learning about it doesn’t have to be.
We cover everything from emotional intelligence and habit formation to brain health and the nervous system.
WHAT YOU DON’T GET
No pseudoscience. No oversimplified "hacks." No hustle porn.
Just practical insights on mindset improvement, self-development, and human psychology that respect your intelligence and mental health.
THE APPROACH
Instead of telling you what to think, we explore how thinking works. Armed with psychology studies, social science research, and relentless curiosity, we uncover the mechanics of belief change, attitude change, and personal development.
Success is personal. You might want to leverage your neurodiverse strengths, build a business, or simply discover how to be happier. We provide the mental frameworks to pursue your definition of success with mental strength and self-care that fits your life.
YOUR HOST
I'm Sam Webster Harris—a lifelong learner with ADHD and an obsession with finding answers to hard questions. After launching businesses, traveling the world, and nearly dying a few times, I concluded that psychology and science are where real wisdom lives.
This show is my excuse to dive deep into health and fitness research, behavioral psychology, and cool science while helping you build genuine self-discipline and motivation.
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PAST SERIES
Previous guests include Olympians, Scientists, Billionaires, and Sam's Mum.
Past series:
— Psychology vs Stoicism
— Time Management for Busy Mortals
— Independence and Knowing Yourself
— Cognitive Biases and Rational Thinking
— Psychology of Connection and Relationships
— Carol Dweck and the Multiverse of Mindsets
— Addiction and Behaviour Change
— Nervous System Mastery and Polyvagal Theory
— Mental Strength and Self-Discipline
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