Everyday Vitality – Dr. Samantha Boardman

You leave many things behind when you head off to retirement. But some surprising things tag along, including stress. And there will be new stressors to deal with in your new life. Psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman, author of Everyday Vitality: Turning Stress into Strength, shares her insights from scientific research in positive psychology and her clinical experience, on how you can bolster your vitality and enhance your well-being. We discuss: Why she went went back to school to become a positive psychiatrist How she defines Vitality How two types of people – Teflon and Velcro -  react to stress Emodiversity Why old dogs can indeed learn new tricks How you can create Uplifts in your day The stories we tell ourselves - and the power of a new narrative The benefits of expanding your horizons How discomfort gives us valuable data Why you should want some “desirable difficulty” in your life Steps to have more Everyday Vitality Dr. Boardman joins us from New York. _________________________ Bio Dr. Samantha Boardman is Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Attending Psychiatrist at Weill Cornell Medical College. She is also the founder of PositivePrescription.com, a website that combines her training from medical school and psychiatry with her work and training in the field of positive psychology. Her weekly newsletter, the popular Weekly Dose, shares actionable, productive and digestible advice with her devoted readers.  Samantha received her B.A. from Harvard University, an M.A. in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Medical Degree from Cornell University Medical College where she was awarded the Oskar Diethelm Prize for Excellence in Psychiatry. Dr. Boardman has published papers in journals including Translational Neuroscience, The American Journal of Psychiatry and The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. ___________________________ For More on Dr. Samantha Boardman Everyday Vitality: Turning Stress into Strength  Website Newsletter: The Weekly Dose ____________________________ Podcast Episodes You May Like The Mind-Body Connection and The Rabbit Effect – Kelli Harding Chatter & Your Inner Voice – Ethan Kross Retire Happy – Dr. Catherine Sanderson How to Live a Values Based Life – Harry Kraemer ____________________________ Wise Quotes On Becoming "We get so stuck in this idea of who we are and the story we tell about ourselves. I am a morning person. I don't watch football. I can't stand this. And often, it's really preferences people have or habits about who they are. I think it's Dan Ariely, who spoke about how we're all sort of in the process of becoming. We can all look back and see how much we've changed, but we have such a hard time imagining how much we will change moving forward. And we're all in the process of becoming - no matter what age we are." On Noticing "Her advice was always look for three things every day that are different about your partner. Notice how different they look in that shirt. Notice the way that they are maybe doing something different. Notice when they tell you something. Maybe it's something they've never told you before. Prime yourself to be noticing nuance. This is the essence of mindfulness. It's not meditating. It's just noticing what's different - and what's new. For instance, if you ask people who are playing in an orchestra and they play the same thing every night, play it just a little bit differently. Not that anyone else would notice, but just for you so that there's more nuance in it." On Values, Actions,