The world is often a chaotic, puzzling place. Reflection is how we can make sense of the world and our place in it. As the Jesuits at Boston College put it, “Reflection is the way we discover and compose the meaning of our e…
Do you ever feel like you’re going through life on autopilot? Most of us have, but life doesn’t have to be that way. Join Craig as he discusses mindfulness and its benefits. Mindfulness is an active, conscious process where…
Do you have a purpose in life? And do you know the difference between purpose and goals? In this episode you’ll learn how purpose is an elemental foundation to guiding your life and flourishing, as well as a means for having…
How much would your life improve if you could take more control over yourself and your behaviors? In this episode you’ll learn how to take charge of your life through self-leadership. Despite the influence of others, you and…
Whether you realize it or not, who you are is under your control. You get to decide the sort of person you are and the virtues you exhibit. In this episode, I discuss Benjamin Franklin's "... bold and arduous project of arri…
The Rational Ignorance Podcast is now Live Well & Flourish. If you're already subscribed to the podcast, you shouldn't have to do anything at all to keep listening, although you might notice our new artwork. Thank you! -----…
Cicero called gratitude not only the greatest, but also the parent of all other virtues. Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, a leading researcher on happiness, notes that gratitude can act as an antidote for negative emotions. A…
Grief comes from loss. But gratitude should accompany grief. Listen as Craig reflects on the puzzling relationship between grief and gratitude, and how a deeper understanding of how they interact can help you deal with grief…
We often hear of utility, usually as it relates to economics or usefulness. But there is a different view of utility, one that focuses on pleasure. In this episode, Andrea and Craig discuss this view of utility as pleasure, …
Humans are hardwired to pay more attention to negative events than positive events. This proclivity is known as the negativity bias. Thankfully, a large number of good events can overcome the effects of a small number of ba…
Craig’s favorite day of the week is Saturday, not just because it’s recording day, but also because it’s #Caturday! (It really is a thing.) Fun, seemingly silly activities like posting or viewing cat pictures (or dog pics, o…
Recently, a listener posed an interesting question in response to Episode 9 on Human Flourishing. In that episode we said that a hermit might be happy living alone in the woods, but that s/he wouldn't really living a flouri…
Andrea and Craig welcome Nita Sweeney, an author, distance runner, and meditator who shares her tale of overcoming depression and anxiety through long distance running with her dog Morgan. She details the first basic steps e…
Many of us have a faith, but how is that different from spirituality? Is spirituality like food in the sense that we need it to care for our bodies (or in this case, our soul), something that every person by the nature of be…
Music is synonymous with emotion and beauty and is a vital part of life. This week Andrea and Craig welcome musician Bryan Toney as he gives us insight on how music can help us flourish. He explains why it’s important to fin…
In this episode Andrea and Craig welcome Sebastian Siegel, a British-American director, producer, screenwriter and author to talk about some of the themes and experiences from his new film, Grace and Grit , based on the book…
In the first episode of season two, Andrea and Craig discuss some of the differences in how Aristotle, Dr. Martin Seligman, and Harvard view flourishing and some of the overlapping concepts in philosophy, religion, psycholog…
Andrea and Craig reflect about some key moments and concepts from season one and shine a light on what listeners can expect in season two. They discuss the Aristotelian mean, arete, virtues and many ways to live an excellent…
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, SnapChat … these and other social media platforms allow us to keep up with old friends and make new ones, lets us expand our knowledge and stay informed about current events, and even …
We live in a world filled with uncertainty. Often this uncertainty leads to anxiety about the future. Fortunately, information can reduce uncertainty, and in turn, reduce anxiety. The catch is that the new information may al…
Sadly, we live in a world rife with fake news, misinformation, and disinformation, in what President Barack Obama called "a dust cloud of nonsense." In this episode, we talk with Dr. Amber Hinsley, a former journalist turned…
Every day we are bombarded with a barrage of information, distractions, noise and unnecessary stimuli. Our attention is a limited resource, and with a myriad things competing for it, how do we protect ourselves and safeguard…
Social noise is phenomenon that concerns how the presence of others affects our social behaviors. This episode is the second in a two part series. (You probably guessed that from the "Part 2" in the title.) In this episode w…
The constant presence of social media in our lives leads us to, intentionally or unintentionally, form our impressions of some people through what they post on social media. In many cases, such impressions are wrong. In a ph…
