How to Focus Under Pressure (Encore)

The Science of Happiness

PRX and Greater Good Science Center

Science, Social Sciences

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 27 March 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider tries a body scan meditation to sharpen her focus and calm her nerves as she prepares for the Tournament of Champions.

Summary: Simple mindfulness practices, like a body scan, can help cultivate presence and reduce stress. By tuning into the body with curiosity and awareness, we can deepen our connection to ourselves and those we care for. The practice encourages a gentle shift from overthinking to embodied presence, fostering calm and resilience. Whether you're a parent, caregiver, or simply seeking more ease in daily life, this episode offers a practical tool for grounding and self-care.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

How to do this practice:

Get comfortable, sit or lie down in a quiet space, closing your eyes if you’d like.
Focus on your breath, take slow, deep breaths, noticing the sensation without changing it.
Scan your body, move your awareness from head to toe, observing sensations without judgment. Spend a few moments on each area before moving to the next.
Refocus as needed, gently return to the scan if your mind wanders.
Close with stillness, once you reach your toes, take a few deep breaths and notice how your body feels as a whole. Take a final deep breath and ease back into your day.

Today’s Guests:

AMY SCHNEIDER is the most successful woman to compete on the quiz show Jeopardy! and won 40 consecutive games.

Follow Amy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jeopardamy

JONATHAN GREENBERG is a psychology professor in Harvard University’s Clinical and Translational Science Center. His research focuses on the role of mindfulness and relaxation.

Learn more about Jonathan here: https://tinyurl.com/mrd6r8tb

Follow Jonathan on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/2j2b7muy

Related The Science of Happiness episodes:

How To Breathe Away Anxiety: https://tinyurl.com/3v9vts5a

How To Tune Out The Noise: https://tinyurl.com/4hhekjuh

How To Show Up For Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/56ktb9xc

Related Happiness Breaks:

How To Relax Your Body Through A Standing Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/2fv4c9h8

5-Minutes of Progressive Muscle Relaxation: https://tinyurl.com/yc3cvhsz

A Breathing Technique to Help You Relax: https://tinyurl.com/mryh6c72

Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/p23n2kn7

Transcript

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0:00.0	How much awe and wonder do you experience in your life?
0:03.6	From the John Templeton Foundation, our sponsors at the Science of Happiness,
0:07.3	the Templeton Ideas Podcast, explores the most awe-inspiring ideas in our world
0:12.4	with the people who investigate them.
0:15.0	Host Tom Burnett sits down with inspiring thinkers like Alison Gopnik, David Brooks,
0:20.2	Tyler Cowens, and Gretchen Rubin
0:22.4	to discuss how their investigations have transformed their lives and how they may transform yours.
0:29.2	Learn more at templeton.org slash podcast.
0:35.7	This is Jeopardy.
0:38.3	What would you like to wager?
0:42.3	2,000, 5,000, 5,000.
0:44.3	Who is Oscar Wilde? What is stewardess?
0:47.3	Who is P.G. Woodhouse? What is a tenor? What is noises off?
0:50.3	That's correct. If there's a Jeopardy Olympian, you are one of them.
1:03.0	One of the things that I came out of the Jeopardy experience with was I really was successful at being completely focused. I mean, and that's vital to succeeding on that show.
1:06.0	It was just practicing ways to interrupt outside thoughts, which was basically,
1:11.3	when an episode is taping for those 30 minutes, you're really entitled to tell everything else to wait.
1:17.4	It'll still be there, so just if something starts to come in, tell it to step aside and, yeah, get back to it.
1:24.2	And there was such a kind of good feeling about having that intense focus for periods of time.
1:30.3	But I haven't been able to do it outside of that context.
1:37.3	I've never had much success at full-on meditation, where you're trying to kind of just quiet your mind and think nothing to a certain extent.
1:46.5	And I think the other thing is the thing I've realized about myself again in the last few years is that
	...

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