This is the 10% happier podcast.

I'm Dan Harris.

Alrighty, hello.

Welcome to the show to say the least suffering has some pretty negative connotations, especially

in Buddhism where the whole goal is to uproot suffering.

But is there a good kind of suffering?

My guest today says, yes, there is a kind of suffering that you choose a voluntary

suffering that can make your life more meaningful and also reduce your anxiety.

Paul Bloom is a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and the Brooks and

Suzanne Reagan professor emeritus of psychology at Yale University.

He's the author of six books, the most recent of which is called the sweet spot, the pleasures

of suffering and the search for meaning.

In this conversation, we cover why hedonism is not our natural state, why we are hardwired

to worry about bad things and why that's not such a bad thing, why paradoxically people

who strive for happiness are often the most unhappy.

The difference between chosen and unchosen suffering, post-traumatic growth and why

it's not always true that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Benign masochism, I love that term and the blurring of pleasure and pain.

Why suffering can be fun and pleasurable?

The brain as a difference engine, suffering as an escape from the self and the overlap

with and distinction from meditation practices.

And we dive into Paul's previous book to talk about the difference between cognitive

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