meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

Standing Up for What You Believe In with Todd Kashdan

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

Being Well

Education, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.82.7K Ratings

🗓️ 21 February 2022

⏱️ 66 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

There’s a tension we’ve all felt at some point between the benefits of conformity and the desire to be true to ourselves and stand up for what we think is right. On today’s episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson are joined by Dr. Todd Kashdan to explore how we can combine prosocial values with principled insubordination, so we can speak up for others (and ourselves) and maximize our chances of creating meaningful change even in the face of social pressure. About Our Guest: Dr. Todd Kashdan is Professor of Psychology at George Mason University. He is a leading authority on well-being, curiosity, psychological flexibility, and resilience. He has published over 210 peer-reviewed articles, and is the author of several books including Curious? , The Upside of Your Dark Side, and most recently The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively. Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube. Key Topics: 0:00: Introduction 1:45: Combining skillful positivity and dissent 7:55: Distinguishing principled insubordination and generic misanthropy 10:05: Four elements of principled insubordination 19:05: Yin and Yang applied to insubordination 21:35: Safe havens and a secure base 26:20: How capable are we of cultivating self-awareness? 32:05: Positive intent, courage, and sitting with discomfort 38:45: Strategies for being a moral and effective dissident 46:40: Navigating societal hierarchies 51:50: Process comments as insubordination 53:00: What Todd does when his kids are insubordinate 58:05: Recap Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Have a question for us?  Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.   Sponsors: From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription. Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello and welcome to Being Well, I'm Forest Hanson.

0:10.2

If you're new to the podcast, this is where we explore the practical science of lasting

0:14.5

well-being.

0:15.5

And if you've listened before, welcome back.

0:17.8

I'm joined today as usual by Dr. Rick Hanson, Rick as a clinical psychologist, stand

0:22.2

at bestselling author, and he's also my dad, so dad, how are you doing today?

0:26.6

I'm doing great, and I'm thoroughly psyched about our topic today.

0:30.1

Yeah, same, we are social animals, and that's part of what we're going to be exploring today.

0:35.7

A big part of that includes finding the groups that we belong to, and constructing our identity

0:40.7

and part on the basis of what we think will lead to acceptance by those groups.

0:44.7

We evolve tendencies that push us to conform and fit in, not just because it's easier, but

0:49.9

because there are clear, survival benefits, and certainly we're back in the day associated

0:55.0

with doing so.

0:56.2

Alongside that pressure is the desire most of us have to be true to ourselves, follow

1:00.4

our own intuition, and speak up for what's right even when it's not popular.

1:05.0

So there's this tension we've all felt at some point between the benefits of conformity

1:09.1

and the desire to dissent.

1:11.1

That's what we're going to be focusing on today, and to help us do that, we're joined

1:14.0

by a professor of psychology, author, and expert on curiosity, anxiety, and dissent Todd

1:20.0

Cashden.

1:21.0

Todd is professor of psychology at George Mason University, and in 2004, he founded

1:26.1

the well-being lab at George Mason, which has produced, I think, over 200 peer-reviewed

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Being Well, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Being Well and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.