#1 Mindset Expert: Simple Mindset Shifts That Transform Your Body, Energy, & Life

Do you believe the world is dangerous or safe? That's a mindset. Do you believe

safe? That's a mindset. Do you believe the world is just or unjust is a mindset. Do you believe the world is

mindset. Do you believe the world is abundant? You know, full of resources,

abundant? You know, full of resources, enough for all of us to go around. Or do

you believe it's scarce? That's a

mindset. These mindsets, Mel, they're not true or false. They're not right or wrong. They're oversimplified,

wrong. They're oversimplified, highly evaluative judgments, but they matter in shaping our lives. In fact,

they create our realities.

Today, the world's number one expert in mindset, Dr. Aaliyah Crumb is here in our Boston studios. Dr. Aaliyah Crrum is a Stanford professor and she runs the

Stanford Mind and Body Lab. She has

proven in her research over and over again that your thoughts are working against you.

>> My life's work is to understand the power of the human mind. Mindsets are

quite literally settings of the mind.

>> Wait a minute. Hold on a second. I Okay.

And now I feel almost like an idiot. So

the total effect of anything we do, whether that's medication or what we eat, for example, is a combined effect

of what's actually in it and what you believe to be true about it. It no

longer needs to be, oh, is it the mind over matter? No, it's mind and matter.

over matter? No, it's mind and matter.

Dr. Aaliyah Crumb in the house. Thank

you and welcome to the Mel Robbins podcast.

>> Thank you, Mel. It's so exciting to be here.

>> I am so excited because I really want to make being super fit and healthier and happier easy. And I I do believe that

happier easy. And I I do believe that you can help me change my mindset. So,

here's how I want to start. Could you

tell the person listening, how would my life be different? How might it be better if I take all of this amazing research and all the tools you're about to teach us and I just apply it to my

life? What's going to happen?

life? What's going to happen?

>> So Mel, uh my life's work as an academic but also as a human is to understand the power of the human mind.

So I think we all know this right? there

is this power of belief of mindset and the people who are listening to your show are especially clued into this fact but I'd like to go a little deeper and

be a little bit more specific right so when we say things like oh just believe or um think positive or you know change your mindset

>> like what do we really mean >> I don't know what I'm hoping you're going to tell me because I I think that a lot of us do feel like, okay, I just have to believe, but you're here to

teach us, no, there's actually something deeper and there's something more accessible.

>> Yeah, I think we need to be more specific. So, say you have something

specific. So, say you have something stressful on the horizon like a job interview or say you're trying to lose weight or get healthier or say you were

just diagnosed with cancer or some other health diagnosis. Like it really matters

health diagnosis. Like it really matters to know what should you believe, what is the best mindset to have like how much does that matter and most

importantly what can we do to adopt more useful mindsets.

So the goal as I see it for our conversation today is to help people to become more sophisticated and more

skillful in understanding and applying the power of the human mind.

>> Whoa. I love the idea that there is this skill that you can develop to be able to tap into the power of your mind. It goes

way beyond sort of just your beliefs but rather understanding the mechanics yeah of how it works. Now Dr. Crumb given that you are a worldrenowned researcher

on mindset >> maybe we should just start with vocabulary what exactly is mindset? What

does that mean?

>> Yes. So mindsets are quite literally settings of the mind. So they're Wait a minute. Hold on a second. I Okay. And

minute. Hold on a second. I Okay. And

now I feel almost like an idiot because I don't I've never heard anybody explain what is so obvious now that you said it.

>> Mindset is the settings in your mind.

>> Exactly. Now they're settings. They're

lenses or frames of mind which orient us to a particular set of experiences.

>> Okay.

>> Okay. So our minds can be set in many ways. The mindsets that I'm interested

ways. The mindsets that I'm interested in that have sort of occupied my thinking and research are the mindsets that are set by our core beliefs.

>> Okay. So our core beliefs are our beliefs about the essence of what something is and why it matters.

>> Okay. Can you give me an example?

Because already I'm like I don't know if I'm following this. Okay. So an example.

So, we have mindsets about many things in the world. In fact,

>> and hold and let me just because I want to track with you because I'm so excited to really think about mindset as simply the settings in your mind. And what I love about the idea of thinking about

mindset as the settings in your mind is that even somebody like me who is not a world-renowned Stanford researcher like you understands at a basic level wait a

minute if there are settings in my mind then clearly someone or something put those settings in place and if there's settings in my mind and I know about

them I have the ability by learning from you Dr.Rum crumb. How to change the settings.

>> Exactly.

>> That's what we're learning today.

>> That's what we're learning.

>> Oh my god, I love this.

>> And anybody can become aware of and change the settings.

>> Okay. So, give us an example of what you mean. Yes. When you say settings in the

mean. Yes. When you say settings in the mind and how it impacts your life maybe right now and you didn't even realize it.

>> Yes. So, we have mindsets about many things. Uh my colleague Jared Clifton

things. Uh my colleague Jared Clifton does great work uh looking at mindsets about the world as one big place. So, do

you believe the world is dangerous or safe? That's a mindset. Do you believe

safe? That's a mindset. Do you believe the world is just or unjust? You know,

kind of where you are on that continuum is a mindset. Uh do you believe the world is abundant? You know, full of resources, enough for all of us to go

around, or do you believe it's scarce?

That's a mindset. H

>> um Carol Dwek, David Jagger have done really good work on mindsets about intelligence or your abilities. So do

you believe that your intelligence is fixed set in stone or do you believe it's malleable? It can grow. It can

it's malleable? It can grow. It can

improve. It can change. Uh the work that we do in our lab is looking at mindsets about things related to our health.

>> Oh, >> so take stress. Do you believe that stress is going to kill you or is it going to make you stronger?

What's your belief about healthy food?

Do you believe healthy foods are the disgusting and depriving option or do you believe healthy foods are actually indulgent and delicious? What about

cancer? Do you believe that cancer is an unmitigated catastrophe or might cancer be manageable? Might it

even be an opportunity to make positive changes in your lives? So these these mindsets, Mel, they're not true or false. They're not right or wrong.

false. They're not right or wrong.

They're oversimplified, highly evaluative judgments about the nature of these things. Huh? But they

matter in shaping our lives. In fact,

they create our realities.

And they create our realities not through some kind of magic, but by design. So, our mindsets change what we

design. So, our mindsets change what we pay attention to.

If you believe the world is dangerous, you're going to see more danger in the world. Our mindsets change how we feel

world. Our mindsets change how we feel and expect to feel emotionally.

Our mindsets change what we're motivated to do and how we actually engage and behave in the world. And what our work has shown is that our mindsets also change our bodies. They change how our

bodies physiologically prepare and respond to different things.

>> I think that last thing is super fascinating and it's going to help us understand why the settings in our mind

>> which we can change matter so much. you

know, when you were coming um all the way here, we were all so excited and the production assistant on this show got

over a decade long fear of flying simply by listening to your TED talk and repeating to herself over and over again. She would say on this flight,

again. She would say on this flight, "This is just an old setting in my mind." M

mind." M >> and she says that that one technique from you helped her get over her fear of flying. In fact, I want you to hear from

flying. In fact, I want you to hear from Melissa.

>> Hi, Dr. Crumb. I've been afraid of flying for 10 years. And every time I fly, I get super overwhelmed with the idea that I could potentially have a medical emergency in flight after an

experience 10 years ago. And my body follows suit with physical symptoms that I'm sick. But since listening to your

I'm sick. But since listening to your TED talk, I was really able to update the setting in my mind and remind myself that my physical sensations only feel so real because I'm working myself up into

believing them. So last week, I flew

believing them. So last week, I flew round trip from Boston to LA and for the first time in forever, I felt no sickness or anxiety. It's been so incredible putting your work into

practice to make my mindset work with me, not against.

>> I love this. And here's what I want to ask you because I have personally the desire to turn this now into a personal coaching session for for like setting to

my own mind and my kids minds.

>> But what I want to know is if she were on the plane and she were repeating to herself, this is just an old setting in

my mind. And that intentional saying,

my mind. And that intentional saying, "These are just old settings in my mind >> allowed her to not get all worked up

>> and feel the physical sensations that freaked her out. Can you explain, Dr. Crumb, what's actually happening >> in this example?"

>> Yeah. Well, first of all, Alyssa, thank you for sharing that. Um it's always so wonderful to know that the work we're doing is useful. What's happening there

is really powerful, right? which is

first, you know, going back, her mind was set by probably some experience that she had as a child

>> where she maybe got sick on a plane or maybe was on a plane and felt deep fear and anxiety or lack of control or

whatever it was on that plane. And that

memory kind of forged in her mind as a setting, right? That, you know, if you

setting, right? That, you know, if you fly, you will feel horrible. You will

feel out of control. You will feel sick.

You will feel I don't know what it was, but I'm guessing there was some association that was made between flying and physical symptoms.

>> Okay. Now what's kind of glitchy about

>> Okay. Now what's kind of glitchy about the mind is that and the body is that learning that what the mind does is

thinks oh I need to protect you from ever experiencing that again right so it thinks let's avoid planes right let's avoid any kind of situations when you're

going to feel like that again but it also perpetuates this belief that if she flies she's going to feel those things >> now the belief and the kind of desire

ire to protect was well intended. But

what happens is that belief creates the reality. So when she gets on a plane

reality. So when she gets on a plane feeling, I'm afraid to fly cuz I'm going to get sick. Go back to those four mechanisms. What does she start paying attention to? All the ways in which

attention to? All the ways in which she's a little clammy, all the ways in which she's a little nauseous, all the ways in which she might, you know, feel her heart racing, maybe she's going to

pass out, right? We all have these symptoms like all the time, right? This

is what's you know so interesting about our bodies. If you ask yourself to pay

our bodies. If you ask yourself to pay attention to your body, you realize sometimes we do feel nauseous. Sometimes

our heart races. It's like happening all the time. Now she has a reason to find

the time. Now she has a reason to find that.

>> So that belief changed her attention. It

changed her emotions. She's, you know, anxiety up the uh off the charts. Um

fear off the charts. It probably changed what she was motivated to do. I'm

assuming she didn't take many flights for many years. And physiologically

those symptoms get created. So the

beliefs were intended to protect her.

The settings of the mind were intended to protect her, but they were actually creating the reality that she feared most. So what's beautiful her in her

most. So what's beautiful her in her example is that you don't need 10 years of therapy necessarily to kind of shift the settings in your mind. Now, don't

get me wrong. I'm all for therapy, and sometimes we do need many years to explore the origins of our beliefs, but in her case, she realized, "Oh, I don't

need that setting anymore. Thank you,

buddy, for trying to protect me, but I don't need that. I just don't need that setting anymore." And and that alone,

setting anymore." And and that alone, that awareness sometimes is enough to let it go.

>> There's so much I want to make sure that we unpack in that. And I love what you said when you said, "Sometimes you don't need 10 years of therapy to figure it out."

out." >> And I don't remember who said it, but I love the saying that if you didn't talk yourself into it, you probably can't talk yourself out of it.

>> And your work and what you're teaching us today is that the experiences of your life, they create settings in your mind.

and they may work for periods of your life, but there will come a moment in your life where you can start to access your research and say, "Wait a minute.

If I don't like the way I'm experiencing something, let me let me just consider that there's old settings in my mind that I don't need anymore." And anytime

I decide to, I can change the settings.

And I also would assume that you don't necessarily have to know the originating event. You just have to know that there

event. You just have to know that there are certain settings in your mind that every time you get on a plane >> or every time you get a a little tingle in your stomach, you feel like, "Oh gosh, I'm going to throw up." And then you start working yourself up into a

tizzy.

>> That's an old setting.

>> Yeah.

>> And so I love that because I feel like this is almost like myself doing tinkering with my own settings in my

mind for any kind of situation. There's

another thing that you said very quickly that I want to make sure I understand.

You basically said the reason why settings are so important, if I'm getting this right, please >> correct me if I'm wrong,

>> is that these settings, the way you see the world, affect four mechanisms. >> And if I heard you correctly, it's that

these settings in your mind tell you what to focus on. They have an impact on the emotions you feel.

>> They also impact what you're motivated to do or not do, >> in this case getting on a plane or not.

And they have a physiological impact.

>> So could you take the example of being afraid of flying, >> which is an old setting, a lot of people have that one. Mhm.

>> And tell me exactly how does the setting that I'm either going to get sick on this plane or this plane's going to go down or something terrible is going to happen. The old setting, how does that

happen. The old setting, how does that setting impact your attention, your emotions, your motivation, and your physiology? Just so we kind of get the

physiology? Just so we kind of get the power of these settings over these four things and how that then impacts your behavior.

>> Yeah. So the first thing I would want to do is figure out what the setting was, right? So sometimes fear of flying is

right? So sometimes fear of flying is about the core belief about flying, right? Like flying is dangerous.

right? Like flying is dangerous.

>> Okay.

>> Um I think in Alyssa's case, what I'm hearing, you know, I'd like to talk with her more about it is was actually a core belief about her body, right? That she

was worried that she was going to get sick, that she was going to have a medical emergency >> on that flight. And so it was the

setting of her mind that was a distrust in her body. My body is um not not only not capable but might turn on me in this very moment. Gotcha.

>> And flying was fearful for her because >> there was there's no help to be had on a flight. You have you know you can't get

flight. You have you know you can't get any further from medical attention uh when you're up in the air. And so that

belief of my body it can't be trusted, right? If we can work with that, how

right? If we can work with that, how does that change what she pays attention to?

She starts noticing all the ways in which her body is a little off today, isn't really working for her. Uh she

starts feeling anxious, which as you know further exacerbates physical symptoms in the body. Um maybe

behaviorally and Alyssa sorry if I'm putting you know words in your mouth and you can correct the record if it's wrong but a lot of people st they take pills or they drink

right which could cause more physical symptoms on the pl on the flight right so these mechanisms of what do you notice what are you doing how are you feeling emotionally and what is going on

physically are all kind of working together and they're working together ironically to create the reality that you fear most, which is your body is

going to turn on you in that moment.

>> You know, I've never had anybody explain the actual science of the mind, body, and the connection

and really do it in a way where I now think I understand what you mean when it's that your mindset is creating the reality. what you're teaching us and

reality. what you're teaching us and what your research proves is that the settings in your mind like like let's take a bunch of ones that people have just to start throwing it out then we'll kind of get into the health stuff

>> is that if you believe that you've completely screwed up your life it's too late to change you're never going to get out of debt you're never going to find

the one whatever it may be that setting in your mind becomes the it it drives what you focus on so you start to see everybody that's coupled pulled up. You

see everybody that's successful, you start to think that you're the only one.

That creates a lot of emotions for you.

That probably makes you feel very unmotivated to do the things that would change your life pretty drastically over time. And your work also says those

time. And your work also says those settings in your mind that I'm too late, I can't change, things don't work out for me absolutely changes the way your

body feels physiologically.

And so we're going to talk about some of the ways we can leverage this both for self-awareness, but more importantly to make change easier.

>> Yeah.

>> And to have us learn how to change the settings so that our minds are helping us and positively helping us stay motivated and focus on the right things

and feel what we want to feel, which Alyssa just did by just watching your talk, which is incredible. I just want to say that I think

I I just feel for all of us, right? Uh

like we we're doing our best, right? You

really want to find the love of your life.

>> Yeah.

>> And you haven't found them yet. And you

know, your brain like wants to help, right? And but it it latches on to these

right? And but it it latches on to these oversimplified statements like I'll always be alone or I'll never be enough >> or you know you want to be healthy and then you're but something happens and

you think oh my body's not good enough right the these again they're these are mindsets they're core beliefs about the nature or essence of who we are how our

bodies are what life has in store for us but I'll say it again like they're not true or false. They are not right or wrong. Um they're oversimplified,

wrong. Um they're oversimplified, highly evaluative judgments that we make in order to simplify things, but they

matter, right? So, choose wisely and

matter, right? So, choose wisely and know that the choices that you make interact with the world in ways that make it so. And the other thing I'll

just say in response is, you know, we are we shouldn't be to blame for our beliefs, our settings in the mind, and we can talk about this.

They're shaped by our cultures, by our upbringing, by our parents in ways that we may never fully understand. So, but

while we shouldn't be to blame for them, we should know that we can be empowered to change them, right? at any given moment, at any given time, you have the

power to flip the switch.

>> Let's dig into it. One of your favorite topics is the placebo effect. What is

the placebo effect? How does it work in our minds and our bodies? And then let's talk about how your research proves that we can use it to our advantage.

>> Yes. So, the placebo effect is typically understood in the context of a randomized placeboc controlled trial, >> which is for somebody who doesn't know what the heck that means. What is that?

Yeah. So, in a clinical trial, people are brought in and they're randomly put into two different groups. It's

typically to test a new drug or medication and uh half of the people will get the active drug or medication.

>> You mean like the real one?

>> The real one, the real thing. The other

half half will get a the exact same sort of capsule um but there'll be nothing in it or it will be an inactive substance.

So, that is called the placebo. Okay.

Now, clinical trials are important for testing the specific efficacy or effect of a new drug. Okay? Right? So, in a clinical tri trial, they'll bring people in, they put them in these two groups,

they'll measure the effect, and then they'll subtract out any effect that happens to occur when you're on the placebo, right? Because the assumption

placebo, right? Because the assumption is that's not real, right? The what's

real is in the capsule. If anything else happened because you believed you were getting a real pill or you were just taking a pill, the act of taking a pill or the feeling of being cared for, like

that's not real medicine. So, let's just subtract that out.

>> Okay.

>> Now, what's interesting and people have caught on with is that in almost all of these trials, the placebo tends to work to some degree. So, let me let me just

translate this so make sure I'm tracking. So, if you're doing like some

tracking. So, if you're doing like some sort of clinical trial and you've got the real drug that's supposed to treat some medical condition or whatever, you got that group taking that and then you

measure whether or not the drug works.

There's this whole other group taking the placebo. Basically, you're getting a

the placebo. Basically, you're getting a sugar pill that's fake.

>> Yeah.

>> It's not got any clinical research behind it in terms of its ability to do anything. But the mere fact that you

anything. But the mere fact that you believe that you are getting medication to help with this condition, you're

saying physiologically, biologically, people's symptoms do tend to get better in some cases. So what does that tell you about what the placebo effect actually is?

>> Yeah. So it's it's really interesting and it's lots of different things. So,

like a placebo, you know, simply believing that you're taking a pain pain reliever, yeah, relieves your pain. Uh,

simply believing you're taking a sleep aid helps you fall asleep. Uh, placeos

can calm your asthma, reduce your immune response, uh, lower your blood pressure, right? And it's not just that these

right? And it's not just that these placeos make people say they feel better, but they're actually real neurobiological coralates. So believing

neurobiological coralates. So believing you're taking a real pain medication can release indogenous opioids in the brain.

Um, placebo Parkinson medications activate dopamineergic systems in the brain. Uh, you can condition placebo

brain. Uh, you can condition placebo immune responses, right? So it's, you know, it begs the

right? So it's, you know, it begs the question as you just asked like what is actually happening?

>> Yeah. What is happening?

>> So obviously it's not the fake pill, right? Like there's no magic in the

right? Like there's no magic in the sugar pill. What we think is happening

sugar pill. What we think is happening is it's essentially the combined effect of three things. So first is the ability of your body to heal itself with time.

>> Okay.

>> Now this often gets discounted but I don't think we should discount it.

Right? Your body has an incredible uh remarkably efficient systems, right?

You have a growthpromoting endocrine system. You have a adaptive immune

system. You have a adaptive immune system. You have a regulating nervous

system. You have a regulating nervous system. And they're all trying to work

system. And they're all trying to work for you, right? So those systems in the body, and they heal us from most things we experience in life, even when we're

not paying attention. But those natural systems in the body can be activated by our mindsets by the belief that you're

in good hands, that this condition is managed, that you're going to be okay.

Those beliefs prioritize and prepare the systems to align in your body. And you

know, the other thing that's important here is it's not, you know, your beliefs don't come out of nowhere, right?

They're shaped by the social context, the the words the doctor shares, the their bedside manner,

>> um the label or branding of the drugs, right? The the white coat, the medical

right? The the white coat, the medical credentials, the medical ritual. All of

these things can shape our mindsets, which can in turn activate the body's self-healing systems. So, are you saying

that the settings in your mind can act almost like a placebo and turn on like things like ex like how how do you use this to your advantage?

Because I know that the the advice is not we're going to pop a sugar pill, right, >> and then pretend that now I'm motivated to exercise.

>> Yes. So, that's such a good question because we get, you know, kind of fascinated by placebo effects. like,

"Oh, how cool." Like, you respond by doing nothing. Like, a fake pill

doing nothing. Like, a fake pill magically makes you feel better. But if

you think about it, while the randomized control trial is good for testing the specific effects of the medication,

it's um you know, we what we forget when we actually go out and prescribe the medication or in the practice of med of medicine, in the reality of medicine,

when we take a pill, any effect of that pill is going to come not just from the drug inside, but from the belief that

the pill is going to work. Right? So the

total effect of anything we do, whether that's medication or what we eat, for example, is a combined effect of what's

actually in it and what you believe to be true about it. So this is really empowering, right? It it no longer needs

empowering, right? It it no longer needs to be oh is it the medication or the mind? Is it you know the mind over

mind? Is it you know the mind over matter? No, it's mind and matter. It's

matter? No, it's mind and matter. It's

mind and medication. So if you want to heal, if you want to uh improve your symptoms, right? Take the best

symptoms, right? Take the best medication we have if it's relevant to you, but also adopt useful mindsets about it. I think one study that really

about it. I think one study that really helps to kind of make this what I'm saying concrete, okay, is this great study. It was done by Cam Hansen and

study. It was done by Cam Hansen and colleagues and what they did was they took people who had um you know persistent migraines

and they followed people as they got these migraines in their life and every time they got a migraine they were given a pill.

Now, sometimes they were given the real pill, a max salt, which is a actual real medication for migraines.

Other times they were given a placebo, an inactive fake pill. So like their regional clinical trial, but they had a catch to it. So what they did was sometimes when they were given the

Maxalt, they told the people it was Maxalt.

Other times they told they gave people the real max salt, but they told them it was a placebo. Huh. When they gave people a placebo, sometimes they told them it was max salt and other times

they told them it was a placebo.

So now you're >> really screwed everybody. Okay. So what

did you find?

>> Fun studies. What they found was was fascinating. Right. So the most pain

fascinating. Right. So the most pain relief came from the Maxalt labeled Maxalt.

>> Okay. So when you were told it was the right pill and you took the pill, you got the most relief.

>> When you told when you had the real pill and believed it was a real pill, you had the most relief.

>> So you got settings in the mind and the biology together.

>> Exactly. Got it.

>> But now get this. When they were given the real pill but told it was a placebo, it worked significantly less.

>> Right.

>> Whoa. So you've got the real pill, you got the biology, but because of the settings in your mind not believing it, your mind reduced the effectiveness of the pill being able to work on the biology.

>> Yeah. And that's crazy, >> right? And it still worked, but just not

>> right? And it still worked, but just not as well as the pill plus the belief.

Okay.

>> And in fact, it worked about the same as a placebo pill labeled Maxalt.

>> No way. So then you get the settings that you think you're getting the the the medicine, but the biology isn't there and your mind still works as if you're taking the pill.

>> Exactly.

>> It's crazy.

>> It's crazy. And it's so it's it was beautiful cuz it was sophisticated and skillful, you know, how they separated these things. that those conditions kind

these things. that those conditions kind of what they suggest is that the pain relieving effect of the pill was about the same as the pain pain relieving

effect of the belief.

Now another fun uh and interesting thing they found in the study was the placebo labeled the placebo was also better than doing nothing.

So that's a whole other conversation on understanding that. Well, why do you

understanding that. Well, why do you think taking a pill that you know isn't the prescription but taking it anyway has a positive impact on your health?

>> I think it's because people still believe that something might work for them here. Um Ted Capchuk, who's an

them here. Um Ted Capchuk, who's an incredible person and scientist, has been doing a lot of research on what he calls open label placeos, and they tend

to work, but I think, you know, we still don't really know why. I personally

think it's the belief in place.

>> Yeah.

>> Um but we need more research, >> but it points back to what you're teaching us today, which is the settings in your mind are wildly powerful. Mhm.

>> So, change the settings to align with the outcome that you want. I I want to just tease this apart a little bit because I love what you're saying and I

personally I 100% believe this is true. 1,000%

believe that it's true. And at the same time, I want to be sure that the person listening or who's watching right now and spending time with us >> that they really get what you're talking

about because it can be a little confusing.

>> Yeah.

>> When we talk about belief versus what's actually happening physically.

So if somebody has cancer >> or if somebody is really struggling to lose weight, just believing that you're going to heal, that doesn't cure cancer.

That's not what you're saying, right?

>> This question about cancer is really important, right? It isn't it shouldn't

important, right? It isn't it shouldn't be mind over matter, right? It should be mind and matter.

>> So, if you're diagnosed with cancer, >> like you should get the best treatment for you. We have great drugs and

for you. We have great drugs and therapies for cancer. Many of the cancers uh that were incurable 10, 20 years ago are curable now. And that is a

beautiful thing thanks to hardworking biologists and scientists.

So we should take those right. But what

I would add is we should also think about our mindsets.

>> So what are the mindsets we have about cancer about what it means for our life?

What are our mindsets about the treatment and the care we're getting? It

turns out those mindsets matter too and they can radically shape the whole experience that someone is having when they are going through cancer. As a

worldrenowned researcher on mindset and its impact on health, what is the mindset >> that is the best mindset to have when

you are going through a cancer treatment or you're facing some other kind of scary health diagnosis.

>> Yeah. So we've been working on this question for nearly 10 years now working with Lydia Dr. Lydia Shapiro Dr.

Jonathan Bareric um David Spiegel Sean Zeon and others and you know what we found is that you know the best mindset to be in when you have cancer first it's

not um just think positive it's not just believe you don't have cancer or believe you'll be okay. Those are actually acts of denial. The best mindset to be in

of denial. The best mindset to be in when you have cancer is the mindset that this is manageable.

Contrast that to the mindset of this is a catastrophe. It's unmanageable. Right?

a catastrophe. It's unmanageable. Right?

>> Another mindset that we found is very useful for people going through cancer is the mindset that their bodies are capable.

>> Many people who are diagnosed with cancer feel like their bodies have let them down. that their bodies have turned

them down. that their bodies have turned on them or at, you know, at best are just sort of not working right now. And

what we found in a number of studies, including trials where we work to inspire people into different mindsets, is that moving to adopt the mindset that

cancer is manageable, their bodies are capable, is profoundly transformative in shaping their whole experience. Uh so it

changes their quality of functioning in life. uh and it also reduces physical

life. uh and it also reduces physical symptoms like nausea and fatigue and upset stomach and other things when they're going through chemotherapy. So

we don't know right now we're doing another trial looking at how to change these mindsets and we're measuring people's blood samples and we're looking at immune markers that are associated

with um cancer outcomes. So, we don't know yet the results of those trials, but I would bet a lot of money that these mindsets uh don't just stay, you know, above the skin, they're getting

down and they're influencing our body's response.

>> Well, I'm excited that you're explaining the mechanisms in the brain and the research that proves that your mind and body are linked and the settings impact

your biology. I would love to have you

your biology. I would love to have you explain your famous milkshake study. If

there was ever a scientific study that I wanted to be a subject in, I think it would be a study called the milkshake study. But could you explain what this

study. But could you explain what this study is, how you conducted it, and more importantly, what did you find in the famous milkshake study? And what does it

tell us about what's possible regarding the settings of your mind and the power that it has over your health?

>> Yes. Great. So, the milkshake study was very simple actually. We brought people into the metabolic research lab. This

was done at Yale University. And we had them come in two time points and we had them drink a 350 calorie milkshake.

>> Okay. What flavor?

>> Um it was vanilla. Just a simple vanilla milkshake. And meanwhile, while they

milkshake. And meanwhile, while they were drinking this milkshake, we had them hooked up to an IV. And the reason we had them hooked up to an IV is we were measuring their blood.

>> Okay?

>> And in particular, we were interested in this hormone called ghrein.

>> Grein. Okay. Grein.

>> So ghrein, medical experts call this the hunger hormone.

>> Okay.

>> Okay. So the hunger hormone is thought to help regulate hunger and metabolism.

So when grein levels are high that signals to your brain, hey seek out food, right? And it also slows

food, right? And it also slows metabolism until you actually secure and consume that food.

>> Okay?

>> And theoretically it had been assumed that in proportion to the amount of calories you eat, grein levels will drop. So if we go out and have a burger

drop. So if we go out and have a burger and a milkshake and a lot of calories, ghrein levels will plummet. Okay? which

signal to the brain, okay, you can stop prioritizing food consumption and rev up the metabolism in the body to burn the food that you just ate. Okay? Now, of

course, if we didn't get food or if we only ate a little bit of food, ghrein levels would drop only slightly, therefore kind of perpetuating those hunger signals and keeping metabolism slow.

>> Okay.

>> Okay.

>> So, so you give these people these milkshakes, you put an IV in them, and what do you suspect would happen?

>> Yes. So we if we had just given them the same milkshake at two different time points and it's the same person, okay, >> both time points, same milkshake, we would assume that their bodies would

respond exactly the same.

>> Okay. So what did you do in the study though?

>> Yes. So here's the catch. So I'm a psychologist, so I like to play around with how does changing what we believe to be true change how our bodies respond. So, in the study, we actually,

respond. So, in the study, we actually, even though we gave them a 350 calorie milkshake, at one point we told them it

was an indulgent milkshake, 620 calories, high fat, high sugar. This is

really the decadence you deserve, right?

We even had on the label like decadence you deserve. Uh, and the other the other

you deserve. Uh, and the other the other time point, we told them it was a sensible shake. It was called the census

sensible shake. It was called the census shake. It was light and fit. It was 140

shake. It was light and fit. It was 140 calories, low fat, low sugar. Uh, this

is sort of your diet shake.

>> Okay. So, just so I'm tracking.

>> Yes.

>> I'm in your study. One day I come in and you give me the sensible shake and I'm told and I believe it's 140 calories and

that's one shake. Yes. Another time I come in at the exact same time I am told. Now, it's the same shake I'm

told. Now, it's the same shake I'm drinking, but I am told and it is labeled the indulgent shake and it's 600. It's a luxury that I deserve. And

600. It's a luxury that I deserve. And

so that's the information I'm told. And

I'm assuming these are now manipulating the settings in my mind about what I'm actually consuming. What did you find

actually consuming. What did you find when you did that with people?

>> Essentially, the labels were setting their minds. it the label either put

their minds. it the label either put them in the mindset of indulgent, you know, high caloric shake or the mindset of sensibility somewhat of restraint,

right? The low-fat option. What we found

right? The low-fat option. What we found was that their ghrelin response differed >> in response to simply changing the mindset. And in particular, when they

mindset. And in particular, when they thought they were consuming the indulgent shake, their body's grein levels dropped at a three-fold rate compared to when they thought they were

consuming a sensible shake. So in

essence, what this means is when they thought they were consuming indulgently, their bodies responded as if it had had

more food. What? Wait. I So you're

more food. What? Wait. I So you're saying that by changing just the settings in the mind, by having somebody

believe that the shake was more caloric and more indulgent, it actually changed the biology that you could measure in someone's body. The

body responded based on the mindset changes.

>> Yep. That's exactly right.

>> That's insane. It's surprising because we have this kind of oversimplified assumption that a healthy weight is kind of calories in, calories out. But it's

really not that simple. And what this study shows is that our mindsets also matter. The settings of the mind that

matter. The settings of the mind that we're in when we eat will change how we experience that food. Both, you know, on a taste level, but also on a physical level.

>> I think this is so exciting. And one of the things that I really like about this is that okay, so I'm gonna dumb this down, >> okay, for myself. So I would have thought that if you slurp down a

milkshake, whatever it is that you drank, that would be the singular input that your body then processes and responds to. Mhm.

responds to. Mhm.

>> But what you're saying is that the research is very clear that when you get very intentional about the settings in the mind, the settings in the mind also

are communicating to the body at all times and also sending information to the body that changes the biology of what you're experiencing. That's

extraordinary.

>> Yep. You know, I don't do research only because it's interesting, right? Like I

do research in large part because I have problems I want to solve or I see problems in others that I want to help

solve. So in fact the stud the the idea

solve. So in fact the stud the the idea for the milkshake study came from a problem that I was struggling with myself and that was struggling with diet

and weight which >> a lot of people have. And the idea actually for the milkshake study came to me when I was having dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

>> Oh my god. Okay.

>> So, get with me here. I assume you've been to a Cheesecake Factory at some point.

>> Absolutely. Yes.

>> And so, I was at the Cheesecake Factory with my mother.

>> And if you haven't been to the Cheesecake Factory, they have a menu that is spiralbound and probably has what, 400 items on it. I don't It is the

biggest menu I've ever seen in my entire life. And they give monster portions.

life. And they give monster portions.

Okay. So, we're at this restaurant.

You're with your mom. Great place to go to celebrate or hang out with somebody.

>> Yes. So, I'm with my mom. We had a great meal. It was the end of the meal. The

meal. It was the end of the meal. The

plates were cleaned and cleared. And I

was faced with this obvious but, you know, existential question, right?

>> You might have dessert.

>> Yeah.

>> Are am I going to order the cheesecake?

Okay. So, you're with me here. So,

anybody here who's struggled with their weight or diet knows that this is a stressful question.

>> Mhm.

>> And it's stressful because it's really a catch 22. You're like faced with two bad

catch 22. You're like faced with two bad options.

>> So, on the one hand, you could let yourself go and have the cheesecake, right? But if you're watching your

right? But if you're watching your weight, you're eating it with this sneaky sense of guilt and shame as you eat.

Or you could, you know, be virtuous and restrain. But if you're like me, that

restrain. But if you're like me, that would leave you leaving the whole experience like somewhat unsatisfied.

Like it is the Cheesecake Factory after all.

>> So here I was agonizing over that decision when the thought occurred to me, you know, what if our beliefs, what

if my beliefs about this cheesecake could change my body's response to it?

And I thought I hoped I was like maybe like the placebo effect if I just believed this cheesecake was good for me that my body would respond as if it was

good for me. Right. So that's where the idea for the milkshake study was born.

>> Oh >> yeah. So fast forward we did the study.

>> yeah. So fast forward we did the study.

>> Why did you order the cheesecake?

>> You know I didn't order the cheesecake.

And the reason I didn't order the cheesecake was that at the time I had been obsessively counting calories. I

had been struggling with my weight.

>> Um I had disordered eating. I had had gone through a period of bulimia. I was

recovered at that time. But it was still sort of a like, you know, I was well over the 2,000 calories that I had allotted myself. I was like, I will not

allotted myself. I was like, I will not have this cheesecake. But it was not a very pleasant state to be in.

So I hoped like, okay, maybe I can just make I maybe I can find a way to literally have my cake and eat it too, like if I just believed good things about it. Um, so I kind of went into

about it. Um, so I kind of went into that study with this wishful thinking.

Okay. And fast forward to what we found, which as you know is that our beliefs did matter, right? What we believed about the cheesecake, in this case, what

people believed about the milkshake changed their body's physical response.

Now, that alone was radical, as we've discussed, because it took that calories in, calories out equation and flipped it on its head.

>> But when I started to apply these results >> uh in my own life, when I was like, okay, what did I learn from this? How

can I make this useful to me? What I

realized was that the lessons from the milkch study were even more profound and important.

And I realized that we, you know, what I thought was going to happen was the exact opposite as what actually happened. So if you're eating, right,

happened. So if you're eating, right, what you want to have happen is you want your grein levels to drop.

>> Mhm.

>> Right. Because that will signal to your brain that you've had enough, right? But

what we found was when people thought they were eating healthy, sensibly, sort of, you know, restraining their eating, they their bodies responded as if they

weren't getting enough. It was actually the mindset of indulgence that was the better mindset to have, right? Because

the mindset of indulgence, even though it was the exact same milkshake, led to them the the the appropriate the ideal response of ghrein levels falling.

>> Wow.

>> Right. So, this was like mind-blowing for me because I realized I had been going about it all wrong. Like I had been, you know, sort of gritting my

teeth trying to diet, but I was doing all the hard work in a mindset of restraint, a mindset of sensibility, a mindset of I'm not getting enough. And

that setting of my mind was counteracting the hard work that I was at dieting. So I realized, me, I

at dieting. So I realized, me, I realized like it's not about the milkshake. It's not about the

milkshake. It's not about the cheesecake, right? The real gem in this

cheesecake, right? The real gem in this study is that the mindset of indulgence is the best mindset to be in when you eat. And let me be clear about what I

eat. And let me be clear about what I mean by indulgence. Right? Indulgence by

the original definition of the the word it means to allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of right. So So does this

license you to eat cheesecake and milkshakes all the time? No, of course not. But now when I eat, whether that's

not. But now when I eat, whether that's a cheesecake or a salad or like a side of veggies, I try to eat in a mindset of indulgence.

So if I find myself back at the Cheesecake Factory, um, I'll eat the whole meal in that mindset, right? And what I found is that when I

right? And what I found is that when I eat the whole meal in that mindset, I don't even want the cheesecake.

Of course, sometimes I'll have cheesecake. And when I have cheesecake,

cheesecake. And when I have cheesecake, if I really want it, I'll eat that in a mindset of indulgence, too.

>> This we have to unpack cuz this is amazing.

>> Yeah. Um,

what you're saying is that when you have settings in your mind that are all around healthy eating and can only have certain calories and I'm trying to be

good and all of those kinds of settings, regardless of what you're eating, >> signal to your body that you're not actually full.

>> Yeah. Because you are in a mindset, the settings in the mind of restriction and scarcity and you got to like just follow

this certain thing versus what the research shows biologically is that if the settings in the mind are that I am

going to be in a mindset where I am in the indulgent setting, meaning I am allowing myself to enjoy this. M

>> regardless of what I'm eating, that setting in the mind lowers all of the craving and hunger.

>> Yeah, >> that's incredible. And you have the research to prove it.

>> Yeah. And also, you know, the research is one thing, but I can say that this study alone changed my life. Like that

insight for me totally just it changed everything, right? And I I've I can

everything, right? And I I've I can literally say I no longer struggle with eating. I enjoy what I eat. I feel good

eating. I enjoy what I eat. I feel good about what I eat and it's all because of this, you know, striving for this mindset of indulgence.

>> So, if you go a little deeper into your own settings, what were what were the old settings in your mind?

>> Yeah. that kind of kept you in that like restrictive scarce uh you know mode around food and then what were the new settings just so the person that's with us cuz I know this is going to be like

share share share wait a minute indulgent my because it makes a lot of sense what specifically was the old setting >> and what specifically was the new

setting that allowed you to have that big of a life transformation >> yeah the old setting was one that was focused on what the behavior. What am I doing? Right?

doing? Right?

>> It's all about I shouldn't eat this, I should eat that.

>> Um, and when you do that and you eat the thing you should but not the thing you want, you put yourself into a mindset of restraint. Like you're avoiding the

restraint. Like you're avoiding the thing you want, which leads to the setting of the mind of I'm restraining myself. I'm not getting what I really

myself. I'm not getting what I really want.

And that mindset turns out to be unhealthy uh physiologically with respect to hunger signals and grein. The

new mindset was okay sure like still try to eat healthy right still try to eat nutritiously say but the the more important goal that I have is not

focused on what I eat but what mindset I'm in when I eat it. So the goal whenever I go about a meal is to ask myself what what would it take here to

eat in a mindset of indulgence uh to enjoy whatever it is that I'm eating for the sake of the pleasure in that food. And I would say that you know

that food. And I would say that you know yeah it is this tricky difference in indulgence like don't misunderstand it as oh this is licensing you to just like

you know whatever it is just for the sake of eating it. Like I don't hear that. No. And and what you do is you

that. No. And and what you do is you you're just like I I can, you know, like if I really want to eat this dessert, that's okay, right? Can I eat it in a

mindset of indulgence, a mindset of this is enough? This is good. This is

is enough? This is good. This is

pleasurable. This is what I want right now.

>> Um so I, you know, I always look at the dessert menu and I give myself permission to say, "Do I really want anything on this menu?"

>> This is so cool. I I would love given your amazing research and the insights and now the science that we understand the profound breakthrough that it's had

on your life to really kind of break this down into practical tools >> based on your research. And so I am going to pick up objects that are

related to health. Okay?

>> And for if you're listening I will describe it. You'll be able to see it if

describe it. You'll be able to see it if you're watching on YouTube. And then I would love to have you describe what are the settings in our

mind, the mindset that we should have if we want better health outcomes.

>> Okay.

>> All right. So the first one, this I'm holding a big head of iceberg lettuce. Okay. If you like a wedge

lettuce. Okay. If you like a wedge salad, we've got a whole head here waiting for the blue cheese and the bacon.

>> Okay, great. So, I guess I would turn it on you, Mel. And I would say like when you look at that lettuce, like what's the first thing that comes to mind?

>> Well, the first thing that came to mind is my mom, cuz she loves iceberg lettuce in a salad.

>> Oh, interesting.

>> Yes.

>> Okay. Um, well, that's interesting.

Um, if you decided you were going to feed your kid >> Uhhuh.

>> Uh, maybe when they were littleer. Yeah.

Um, this iceberg lettuce for dinner, what would they think?

Yuck. That's it. Salad.

>> Do I have to eat it? I don't like the texture. That would be Oakley.

texture. That would be Oakley.

>> Exactly. So, that's a mindset.

>> It is. Picky eaters are a mindset.

>> Well, the belief that healthy foods are the disgusting and depriving option is a mindset.

>> And it we have it actually for good reason. And again, they're set by things

reason. And again, they're set by things outside ourselves. Like

outside ourselves. Like food companies spend billions of dollars each year.

>> Yeah.

>> Trying to teach us that the delicious option, the indulgent option is the, you know, the fast food option, right? The

>> Oh, that's true.

>> Right. So, they're spending billions associating McDonald's cheeseburgers or, you know, insert X uh brand name product with not only taste, but also other

things we want like happiness and um attractiveness and freedom, right? The

vegetable industry hasn't spent any money really trying to get us to think about healthy foods in a way that

associates them with pleasure and taste and happiness and freedom.

>> Now, of course, I wouldn't say, you know, go out and eat a a head of lettuce, right? Like what we should try

lettuce, right? Like what we should try to do, again, it's the mind and the matter. Okay. Can you take that head of

matter. Okay. Can you take that head of lettuce and make it something that actually looks indulgent, right? Turn it

into a salad. Add the blue cheese dressing. Add the nuts. Add the farm

dressing. Add the nuts. Add the farm grown tomatoes. Add whatever it is that

grown tomatoes. Add whatever it is that is, you know, appealing to you.

>> Can I say something?

>> Yeah, please.

>> Did you just change the settings of my mind? Is my mouth starting to water

mind? Is my mouth starting to water because you are now encoding in me this sort of indulgent

setting related to the salad because I I I I started to feel hungry for a salad as you were describing it as an indulgent thing. Yes. And that's the

indulgent thing. Yes. And that's the beauty of our mind. It's connected to every single physical system in the body. So just changing this thought of

body. So just changing this thought of like oh I'm going to eat this indulgent salad. your body is preparing to eat it.

salad. your body is preparing to eat it.

>> So changing the setting about the things that you don't crave but would be better for you to indulge in is one way to use all this science.

>> Yeah.

>> To help you be more motivated >> to stick to your healthier eating goals.

That's really cool. My mom used to when I would come home after some sport, she would give me V8. The kind of >> Of course. Remember the lit? Yeah. Like

it would pop. Yes.

>> Yes. And um she would give me V8.

>> What was it? Thank god I had a V8. What

was it? I think I'll have a V8. Oh,

that's a Heineken. I think I'll have a Heineken. There's something related to a

Heineken. There's something related to a V8. There's a V8. There is a V8.

V8. There's a V8. There is a V8.

>> Unhealthy options get in your You know what? It's indulgent. Come to think of

what? It's indulgent. Come to think of it. I'm out with my work colleagues.

it. I'm out with my work colleagues.

I'll have a Heineken. Very indulgent,

which makes me >> be smart and happy and, you know, connected. But the the V8, she would

connected. But the the V8, she would pour in a wine glass, you know, I was like, yeah, I don't know, 10, 11. I

never got to drink out of the wine glasses. And she would put a lemon on

glasses. And she would put a lemon on it, right? And so I was just like so

it, right? And so I was just like so thrilled to get this, you know, indulgent option, which was actually vegetable juice, right? So she, you

know, we we as parents can rethink how we approach healthy eating with our children. Again, it's not don't just

children. Again, it's not don't just focus like yes, hopefully you can get them to eat more nutritiously in life, but the focus should also be on how can you get them

to believe that those things are actually the more delicious option.

They're the more indulgent option.

That's so cool. All right, I'm going to pick up another item. And I think my team is playing a joke on me because I'm going to try to grab a weight and this

is 30 lb. And so I got to use both hands.

Okay. Okay. This is a 30 lb weight.

>> Oh my god. Okay. I have a lot of settings about how weak I am apparently as I'm lifting this thing. Okay. So,

let's talk about weights and mindset.

Yeah. So, what's the first thing that comes to mind or came to mind when you were lifting it?

>> Um, I'm almost embarrassed to tell you >> because the settings are I'm weak.

>> I need to do more weightlifting. Uh, I

uh have terrible grip strength.

>> Uh, I'm going to die early if I don't get my farmers carry going. Uh, that I'm not doing enough.

>> Uh, I don't know quite what to do. Uh,

in terms of the the lifting, I know a few moves but not a lot.

>> Yeah.

>> And just basically I'm weak.

>> Yeah.

>> And like I have to >> Yeah. And you're like angry at yourself.

>> Yeah. And you're like angry at yourself.

You're like, why couldn't they put a 15 lb weight?

>> Yes. Like are you trying to embarrass me? I'm like I I like I don't like

me? I'm like I I like I don't like what's going on here. I don't know why we have 30 lb weights at the office. I

don't know who's lifting instead of working, but it's not me.

>> I heard Stacy Sims was in here.

>> Stacy Sims was in here. And I have been doing a lot of resistance training.

Apparently not heavy enough because I I can't lift that with one hand.

>> Well, this is it's such a beautiful example because it's like, you know, the minute you lift it, right? That triggers

a mindset, right? And for you it was I'm not strong enough. I'm weak.

>> I'm weak.

>> And that again is a mindset, right?

Maybe what if they had brought a 10 pound weight? Maybe if you had lifted

pound weight? Maybe if you had lifted that, you would have said, "Woo, I got this. Oh, that reminds me that I'm

this. Oh, that reminds me that I'm strong, that I'm fit, that I'm fitter than most people.

>> Well, it's funny because if it had been a 10 lb, I would have lifted that sucker like an Olympic torch. But now that this was 30 lbs, I'm thinking Dr. Stacy Sims is going to see me bending over with a hump on my back like my grandmother

because I can't get this thing off the ground. So, a lot of self-destructive

ground. So, a lot of self-destructive settings in the brain. What What What should I be thinking?

>> Yeah. Well, cuz I do want to like here's two goals of mine.

My goals this year are very simple. I

want to take all of the expert advice >> that I really believe in and all of the science and I do want to make resistance training

>> and getting more complete quality protein in my diet every day. The the

the the streaks that I go on, >> Dr.Rum, >> yeah, >> I feel like a completely different person. But then I'll go through a busy

person. But then I'll go through a busy streak at work and like now we're going to have a psychology session. Is that

okay? Because I have not I was consistent for a while >> and then I fell off the mark because all kinds of crazy stuff started happening

you know in business all good and life happens to everybody and I have not been consistent.

>> Yeah. Yeah. And when you're not consistent or when you go back on what you had hoped you were going to do Yes.

this creeping sensation comes in or belief that you're not doing enough, that now you're failing. Yes. That now

you're going to get unhealthy and you're going to die early, you're going to have heart disease. You're right. It's like

heart disease. You're right. It's like

you can see your mind just spiral, right?

>> And so again, here like look, the behaviors matter. I'm not saying don't

behaviors matter. I'm not saying don't try to do resistance training or don't try to get more protein or don't try to eat better, but you should focus as much

on getting into mindsets that are useful for you.

>> Let's talk about both.

>> Yeah. As you are on the behavior.

>> Okay.

>> So, you can start to think of the spiral, right? If you you have a busy

spiral, right? If you you have a busy week and then you're like, "Oh, I'm not not getting enough. Yes.

>> I'll never be able to achieve these goals that I set for myself. I'm, you

know, I'm just inevitably going downhill." Right. Yes.

downhill." Right. Yes.

>> Then what do you start paying attention to all the ways in which you are? How do

you start feeling worse? Uh how are your how's your motivation? You now you don't want to go to the gym, right? You don't

want to do that extra thing, right? And

your body is like, "Oh, I guess, you know, I guess we're going that way."

>> Yes. Right. So, it's you by the, you know, if you aren't focused on the mindset, you can really spiral spiral quickly in the wrong direction.

>> I can really see that. I can see that because I can I can see how your mindset if you're like I blew it.

>> Yeah.

>> You know, I I I was good for a while, now I'm bad.

>> Just proves more of the same. It means

you won't go back and try again.

>> Yeah.

>> And it's so subtle but so powerful.

>> So powerful.

>> I love that. I'm capable. Do you get that? We're c We're doing enough and

that? We're c We're doing enough and we're capable. And that if we just keep

we're capable. And that if we just keep saying that, it makes it more likely that you're going to believe it, which makes you more likely to be a little more active.

>> That's right. Now, pick up the weight.

>> Okay.

Okay. I can actually pick it up with one hand.

>> Yeah.

>> Take that, Dr. Stacy S. Proud of me now.

I'm going to tip over in this chair, though. Okay. We're going to do two

though. Okay. We're going to do two hands here. But I felt a little

hands here. But I felt a little stronger.

>> Yeah. And that's what's interesting, too. It's like once you get into that

too. It's like once you get into that mindset of capable >> Yes.

>> then the weight will actually feel different to you.

>> Is that researchbacked?

>> That some some research has shown Yes.

that the feeling of a weight in your hand differs depending on the mindset you're in. We need to do a lot more

you're in. We need to do a lot more research.

>> I I love that because when I saw the 30, my setting immediately clicked on and it went "Oh no."

>> Yes.

>> I don't like I don't know if I can lift that off the cabinet.

>> That's right. But after taking on the setting, well, I'm capable and I'm I'm moving my body and I'm doing pretty good here. I just picked that sucker right

here. I just picked that sucker right up. Look at that. Mind over matter. All

up. Look at that. Mind over matter. All

right, then I'm going to stand up for my god. Okay,

my god. Okay, >> see Mel, now you've gotten your workout for the day. We don't have to worry about it anymore.

>> Oh god, I got chocolate all around.

>> Okay.

>> Okay. I I the the the top of I've got chocolate cake right here. It's not

quite as big as a uh as a a cake from the the the uh cheesecake factory, >> but let me show you something.

>> If we did this, >> this is what a Cheesecake Factory slice of cake would look like right there for those of you that don't have the glory of a cheesecake factory.

>> Okay, so we're going to I'm going to tip this down this way. I've got a big layered chocolate cake in front of me and now I've got it all over my hands.

Okay. So, what do do we think about this?

>> Well, I'll ask you again. What's the

first thing that comes to mind when you see this?

>> Well, the first thing that came to mind was actually what came into my nose because it smells delicious.

>> Like, it smells like a really good expensive >> Yeah.

>> kind of luscious buttercream >> chocolate cake. This is not a dry slice of cake, people. Yeah,

>> this this sucker looks like lubrication for your mind, body, and spirit. That's

what this looks like. And and when I saw the sprinkles, I thought celebration.

When I first saw them bringing this into the I thought that this was going to be like a surprise for somebody's birthday.

Somebody recently got married here, and I thought that maybe we're going to surprise them with a cake.

>> Yeah.

>> I didn't realize it was for you.

>> Yeah.

>> So, I The first thing that comes to mind is I want a bite of this.

>> Yeah.

>> It looks delicious. It's interesting all the language that came to your mind.

>> Uhhuh. I feel like you need to lick your thumb.

>> Well, I I've got, if you're not watching on YouTube, I I have uh chocolate frosting and sprinkles on my pointer finger and my thumb because the frost

the cake tipped over on the file cabinet next to me and I don't know why I picked up the icing. Okay.

>> Yeah. So, I think what I find fascinating is the first thing that came to mind was all these delicious and indulgent words, right? like luscious,

delicious. And again, I think those are settings of the mind that have been set by forces outside of yourself. So,

you've grown up in this environment that's been telling you, >> "Oh, well, my grandparents owned a bakery."

bakery." >> Oh, well, there you go.

>> So, I I love baked goods.

>> Yeah. So, you love baked goods, but also the baked goods are the luscious, delicious mouthwatering um, you know, uh, sensations that you can get. And that's great. That's

can get. And that's great. That's

wonderful. And that's beautiful. That is

actually a mindset of indulgence, right?

>> You know, you I'm to I'm starting to get this >> because for a long time in my life, if I saw a cake, even if I wanted, I'm like, I can't have that. It's like whatever.

Not time for cake right now.

>> I'm going to ruin my appetite. all these

settings of don't don't don't don't don't.

>> Yeah.

>> And that would just make me want it more.

>> Yes.

>> Why does that happen?

>> Um it's a lot of reasons, but one reason is what psychologists call ironic mental brain processing or the white bear effect. So whatever you do in the next

effect. So whatever you do in the next 30 seconds, you can think about anything you want. Y

you want. Y >> but whatever you do, don't think about a white bear. Don't think about one.

white bear. Don't think about one.

>> Ready? Go.

What are you thinking about?

>> I'm thinking about a polar bear right now.

>> Exactly. So, it's this um phenomenon in our brains in which when we try not to think about something, the brain registers, okay, that's a goal. Don't

think about that.

>> And then when a brain has a when our brains have a goal, it wants to check in to see how we're doing with respect to our goals. So, it's like, let me check

our goals. So, it's like, let me check in about that goal and not think about a white polar bear. Oh, there it is.

Right? So, when you're trying not to think about the cake, right? Your

brain's like, "But what about that cake?

What about that cake? You didn't eat that cake." Not to mention, your grein

that cake." Not to mention, your grein levels are probably like, "What about the cake, Mel?" Like, "Eat the cake."

Right?

>> I'm ready to eat the cake.

>> So, but let me ask you this. So, I don't know where this cake came from.

>> Me either.

>> But here it is. But what if I told you >> that the cake was actually a store-bought cake >> from not a great store? It's not from

your grandparents bakery. That it's 3 days old. It's actually kind of dry.

days old. It's actually kind of dry.

>> Ew, I don't want that.

>> Right. It's the same cake.

>> That's why I'm not eating the frosting on my fingers cuz I God knows what's on that file cabinet. I don't even know where it came from. And so I just scooped it up and I don't know what. But

I want the cake.

>> Yeah. But so it's the same cake. So you

describing this as storebought stale.

It's got that kind of crust thing on the side of it because it's been out for a little bit.

>> Yep. And what if you know I told you that the content in it was not very It's not real butter. It's Crisco. It's all

these highly processed ingredients. Um

you know all of a sudden the same cake under a different setting of the mind becomes less appealing.

>> It's true. That's not this cake. So,

it's still very appealing.

>> I'm not sure what the cake is, but the point is even no regardless of what the cake is, >> you have the power over your mindset

about it, right? And you can choose to view it and think, okay, this is tasty.

This is indulgence. This is what my body really wants and needs right now. And

maybe it's for a celebration, right?

Maybe it's to celebrate uh this great podcast that you're doing >> or the new settings in my mind around indulgence.

>> Yeah. Then eat it by >> I feel like I should You're my guest. Do

you want a bite first before I take a bite or do you not want some chocolate?

>> You know, honestly, I don't want any of this.

>> Okay. Well, I do. I I I want some luscious chocolate cake, but I only want a bite. I'm not I'm not that I'm I'm not

a bite. I'm not I'm not that I'm I'm not that I I just want to taste it. Oh my

god, that's delicious.

>> And I don't even want anymore. I think

this is so fascinating and so interesting. Okay, so another thing that

interesting. Okay, so another thing that a lot of people have goals around, let me show you something else. I am holding up

some money. I've got dollar bills here,

some money. I've got dollar bills here, four of them. One of which has chocolate frosting on it because the dollar bill hit the frosting.

>> Um, >> let's talk about mindset and settings and the mind related to money.

>> Yeah. So objectively it's what?

>> Four bucks.

>> Four bucks. Okay. So that's the objective reality.

>> Okay.

>> The mindset is what is your core belief about it or what is your assumption about the essence of that money?

>> Well, at the moment my setting is um that this is going to sound really weird, but that I should give this to somebody.

that uh dollar bills to me feel like something to give to somebody else.

>> Not now. Maybe if this was a hundred, I might not think that, but there's something about um but there was a period in my life where

if I had even just held $4 bills, I would have said, I better like hold on to this cuz I'm about to lose this.

>> Yes.

>> Like I don't have a lot of money.

>> Yeah.

>> Like I I I can't make money. like I

something's going to happen with this money. I better hold on to this money

money. I better hold on to this money >> and the belief of like there's a I don't know I don't I don't know what settings people should have about money.

>> Yeah, I think you do, Mel. I mean, we have mindsets about money that it's either scarce, that it's not enough, that it's going away, that it's I'll never have enough, I'll never be good

with money, I've lost it all, right? I

can't. or you have the belief that you have enough, >> that it's it's there for you, that it's abundant, and when you put your mind to it, you can make whatever it is you need

and give away the rest. Right? Those are

just beliefs. They're just settings of the mind. Now, of course, the objective

the mind. Now, of course, the objective amount of money matters, too, of course, right? But you could start to see how if

right? But you could start to see how if you were in this mindset of scarcity that might lead you to think, feel, and behave in ways that actually made the money more scarce in your life.

>> Yes. And it made me less responsible with it too in a very weird way. M

>> and I what's interesting about this with money is that when you don't have any it is such a crushing level of stress because

you think about it and worry about it all the time.

>> But I could see how changing the settings to I'm capable of figuring this out.

>> I am capable of getting through this very stressful period. I am capable of making more money.

>> Yeah. and that money will come to me when I start believing that I'm capable of doing that because that'll change the way I act around it.

>> Yeah. Yeah. And in some cases, it's not about the money, right? Like in all these exercises, you're showing one object >> and we're talking about the object, but

usually it's a category of things that the settings about those, the core beliefs about those are the most poignant and powerful, right? It's, you

know, it's not just a head of lettuce.

It's what's your belief about healthy eating in general.

>> It's not just, oh, can I lift up this weight or not? It's, you know, on the whole, do I feel like I'm fit?

That's what matters, right? And and

maybe it's not even the money. It's just

the belief that you can create the life you imagine, right? Those are the beliefs that

right? Those are the beliefs that matter. They're about categories of

matter. They're about categories of things like yourself, healthy eating, your fitness, and so forth. I got to change those settings. Dr. crumb. If the

person who's with us right now really wants to put your work into practice today, >> Mhm.

>> what's one thing >> that you think is the most important thing to do after listening and learning all this today?

>> Yeah.

I think what I would say to the person listening or watching is to to start where you are, right? To start by

acknowledging the problems that you're facing. Start by acknowledging the goals

facing. Start by acknowledging the goals that you have and then take that next step and ask yourself, what mindset

could I adopt that would help me address those problems or achieve those goals?

to the person who might be struggling with their weight, I would remind them to sure focus on eating nutritiously, but focus more on adopting the mindset

of indulgence, >> eating while enjoying the pleasure of doing so. And if you're somebody who's

doing so. And if you're somebody who's dealing with a health diagnosis like cancer or any health diagnosis for that

matter, can you know that mindsets like this is manageable?

Your body is capable that those mindsets are well within your grasp. And what I love is they're also well researched

>> and have extraordinary benefits that you have now explained to all of us. So

amazing. Dr. Chrome, what are your parting words?

>> Yeah, I think I would say two things.

The first is to just get in touch. Um,

we've done a lot of research, but we're really just at the tip of the iceberg in understanding the power of our mind. Um,

and I don't do this research so it can sit on dusty shelves. Like I truly do it to solve my problems, our problems, right? So I really encourage people to

right? So I really encourage people to get in touch, however that might be, whether that's LinkedIn or through our website, Instagram, and share your

stories, share what works, share what doesn't work, share your questions, share your ideas, right? Because this is what makes the research better. This is

what enables us to do studies that are relatable, they're relevant, and they're uh applicable at the end of the day. And

then lastly, I think I would say most importantly, is that you got this right?

There's so much in life that we can't control, that we can't change, but our mindsets are something that we can. So,

you got this. And because of you, Dr. Crumb, we actually do. So, thank you for your research. Thank you for traveling

your research. Thank you for traveling all the way to Boston to be here to teach us all of this. Thank you for everything that you do. And thank you

for explaining the power of the settings in your mind in such a way that I totally believe you. And I am going to

use everything we talked about today and I know it's going to make a huge difference in my life. So, thank you.

>> Thank you, Mel. It really is an honor and a pleasure to have this conversation, and I'm so grateful for the work that you do.

>> Oh, well, thank you for saying that. And

I also wanted to say I'm grateful that you're here with us. I love that you spend time listening and watching uh this show because it is helping you

learn, it's helping you grow, it's helping you do better, and it's also an incredible resource. I mean, share Dr.

incredible resource. I mean, share Dr. crumbs research with everybody that you care about. How extraordinary to know

care about. How extraordinary to know that there are settings in your mind that are well within your control to change and the research is there and it proves that it creates better outcomes.

You're going to feel better. You're

going to do better. And in case no one else tells you as your friend, I wanted to be sure to tell you that I love you.

I love you for listening to this. I love

you for being interested in this. I love

you for taking what you learned today very seriously. And I also believe that

very seriously. And I also believe that if you do that, it will help you create a better life. All righty, I will see you in the very next episode. I'll be

waiting to welcome you in the moment you hit play. And thank you for watching all

hit play. And thank you for watching all the way to the end. And you're going to love this next video. And I'll be waiting to welcome you in the moment you hit play.