The fresh start effect refers to the fact that when we have these milestone moments or any kind of fresh start, that could be a Sunday, it could be the first day of spring, it could be your birthday.

It's a wonderful moment to seize upon when it comes to introducing behavior change into your life.

And that's because there's some psychological parting between past and present, right, that feels meaningful,

like a new set of behaviors that you might be willing to encourage because maybe you've left

some behind. So it's fertile soil for introducing other changes because you don't have

as built in routines and habits that you're really stuck to, which can make behavior change hard.

What's up, folks? Welcome back to the WOOP podcast. I'm your host, Will Ahmed, founder and

CEO of Woop, and we're on a mission to unlock human performance. If you're thinking about

joining Woop, you can visit Woop.com, sign up for a free 30-day trial membership and see how

you can use these insights to improve your health

and performance. That's at whoop.com. Okay, with summer ending, back-to-school routines happening

at home and a resurgence for healthy habits, we wanted to bring on a fantastic conversation

between Woop Global Head of Human Performance,

principal scientist, Kristen Holmes, and cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Maya Shankar.

Maya is also a former White House senior advisor and creator of the top podcast, a slight change

of plans.

Before she found her path as a neuroscientist, she was on a path to become a

concert violinist, studying under the famed Itzhak Perlman. Kristen and Maya discuss studying violin

until a serious hand injury, transitioning into neuroscience, the mental toll of forging a new

career path, the benefits of the fresh start

effect, cementing new habits and achieving goals, and the illusion of control. Remind her if you

have a question was answered on the podcast, email us, podcast at whoop.com. Call us 508-443-4952.

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