SuperPsyched with Dr. Adam Dorsay

I just upgraded my MacBook to iOS 11.5.  I’m told it will deal with bugs that the last upgrade couldn’t. Meanwhile, my brain and the brains in all of us haven’t really had an upgrade for about 35,000 years. Despite all the incredible strengths of this version of our brains, there are plenty of bugs including issues with memory, biases, and other shortcomings.  But what’s exciti...

Hello, Dear Listeners! It is summer 2021 and I am taking a bit of a break from releasing new episodes but here is a brief update on the podcast including some exciting news: SuperPsyched has been nominated as a finalist for a 2021 Sharecare Award! Listen in for more info and expect a new and regular batch of episodes coming in the forthcoming weeks!

I love it when I meet someone who positively changes my view of the world. One of those people is the guest on this episode, Blake Leeper. Blake was born without legs. And he would go on to play sports of all kinds—baseball, basketball, and he would ultimately become one of the world’s fastest runners. How fast? So fast that several of Blake’s 400-meter runs have been among the fastest ever record...

For many of us, a peculiar aspect of being human is the erroneous belief that we are exempt from certain rules of life. One of those rules is aging.  So here’s my confession about how I thought I was exempt: it took me forever to accept the fact that I needed reading glasses.  Somehow, I believed my eyes were meant to remain the eyes of a teenager and every time I’d ask to borrow some re...

I’m guessing that, like me, you have a Netflix account. And, like me, you may have wondered, how does it know what I will like? With more than 200 million households and over half a billion viewers in 190 countries, Netflix has become an international phenomenon. Part of the company's success has been its ability to advise us on what we will like by suggesting titles. And in this interview, you’ll...

The month of May was the one-year mark for SuperPsyched! I thought I would honor this anniversary with a short, behind-the-scenes look at SuperPsyched so far. In this 9-minute episode, I talk about how the podcast started, what goes into creating an episode, and other questions I am frequently asked. Thank you so much for listening, I am positively SuperPsyched to continue making episodes for you.

What is real magic? My guest’s story starts with Jim, a boy who loved magic tricks. Jim was from a small town and poor. His family life was challenging. One day, he went to a local magic shop in search of new tricks. Upon entering, Jim was greeted by the mother of the owner who offered to teach him real magic in addition to the tricks that were being sold there. This real magic came in the form of...

I'm going to take a guess: you are probably like me and love coffee. This wasn't a huge stretch on my part because you are listening to this episode! Coffee has been a major industry for hundreds of years. And it has contributed to cultural, philosophical, and technological changes as you will hear in this episode. I am so delighted to have Dr. Shawn Steiman as a guest. Shawn holds a PhD in hortic...

According to a 2018 Gallup poll, at least two out of three Americans either are not engaged or are actively disengaged from their work.  This is a big deal—especially because, for many of us, work comprises approximately a third of our waking hours. Imagine feeling disconnected and unfulfilled by something you spend one-third of your waking hours on! In fact, I’m sure it's a reality for a lar...

Failure. I think it's safe to say that virtually all of us hate it. And yet, it appears to be the price of admission to doing just about anything great. The road from having an idea all the way to having a fantastic result is rarely a smooth one. Ask any super successful person about their failures and struggles along the way and, if they’re forthcoming, I am confident they will have stories for y...

What does it take for a company to thrive? I know this is a broad question but, up until recently, if you had said increasing safety, compassion, and mindfulness in the workplace, you might have been laughed out of the room. Fortunately, there has been growing evidence that these are characteristics of great companies that achieve growth, reduced attrition, and increased engagement from their empl...

As parents we are tasked with many responsibilities: from the basics of making sure our child is fed all the way up to thinking about their distant future. But the linchpin that connects much of our child's future success is the topic of today's interview: being well-organized. As it turns out, a child's ability to be organized may predict all kinds of good things including future success, self-re...

Dr. Edith Eger is one of the most impressive people I have ever met.  Edie was born in 1927 in Hungary. In her teens, she was an Olympic-level gymnast but, because she was Jewish, was not allowed to participate on the Olympic team. Shortly after, she and her family were sent by cattle train to the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. In addition to losing her mother and her father there...

Each of us is unique; there has never been anyone exactly like us and there never will be again. One of the greatest risks we face in life is living day-to-day without any reflection on who we are, what we've done, where we've been, and what really matters to us. Enter Guided Autobiography, a brilliant system of capturing who you are. Guided Autobiography was developed by USC Professor James Birre...

We like to think of ourselves as good people. When we see or hear about injustices, most of us think we would do the right thing whether it would be defying authority in order to help people or by demonstrating courage under challenging circumstances. And yet, studies and history reveal that we often do nothing, conform with brutality, or comply with authority. It appears that the line between doi...

We hear a lot about ADHD these days. And yet, there are misconceptions about what it actually is and what a person can do if they are diagnosed with the condition. What may surprise people is that there can be many great gifts that often accompany ADHD. My guest, Dr. Lara Honos-Webb (www.addisagift.com), is a psychologist in private practice in Walnut Creek, CA, and she specializes in the study an...

All of us live with what could be described as treasure chests of genius just waiting to be discovered. The question is how can you find those treasures? My guest, Michael Gelb is one of the world’s leading authorities on the application of genius thinking and could be considered the Indiana Jones of finding people’s treasures.  And, as you’ll hear, he has done so much in his life! He once taught...

Our decisions are one of the biggest factors determining the quality of our lives. We make as many as 35,000 decisions every day; most are unconscious or small, like “When will I get out of bed?” and some can be big like “Who will I marry or where will I go to college?” And, when you think about it, every conscious decision we make is essentially a bet: it is a bet that we will be happy we made th...

What does it take to create success on your own terms? I know that’s a massive question. We all recognize predictable skills to increase the likelihood of that success like clarity, discipline, habits, mindset, and navigating relationships. Yet, there can be a chasm between what we know intellectually and what we put into regular practice. I had the pleasure of speaking with, Shellye Archambeau, a...

Our education system provides many incredible resources and yet, there is no class on how to be in a relationship. And, when we think about all of what life has to offer, the quality of our relationships repeatedly shows up as one of the most important. I would like to petition that the class exist and, if there were such a class, I would nominate this episode’s guest to be one of the instructors!...

To put it mildly, 2020 has been a challenging year. I decided the best way for SuperPsyched to cap it was with the sweetest invention known to humanity: ice cream! Ice cream could practically be considered a psychoactive substance: it’s been used by the military to soothe soldiers after trauma and, of course, it has been a tried-and-true post-breakup remedy for many broken hearts. The best person...

Regardless of our political leanings, I think we can all agree on at least one thing: we are living in polarized times. Many people are avoiding friends and family and even losing those relationships due to political leanings. Which leaves us with a big question: what can we do? Enter the great Dr. Tania Israel (http://taniaisrael.com/)! Tania is an exceptionally well-regarded professor of psychol...

I’m a happiness geek and by that, I mean I’m obsessed with research and lifehacks that help increase happiness. Even the name of my podcast, SuperPsyched, is an outshoot of that obsession. And that's where today's guest comes in! I am delighted to introduce transformational teacher and happiness expert, Marci Shimoff (https://happyfornoreason.com/about-marci/). Marci is a #1 New York Times bestsel...

Many years ago, I served on a jury. I was transfixed by how smoothly the court operated. Every person involved appeared to be at the top of their game. However, most impressive to me was the judge. As a student of how people think, I couldn't believe how quickly and precisely the judge was able to render complex decisions. I was also awestruck by the incredible presence and attention the job requi...

Have you ever met a true Renaissance person? I mean someone who engages in so many diverse and creative projects that it boggles your mind? For me, Hershey Felder ( https://www.hersheyfelder.net/ ) is such a person. He is an internationally-acclaimed, pianist, playwright, actor, singer, and director. A 2014 American Theatre profile said Hershey was "in a category all his own." Hershey specializes...