She’s one of the world’s preeminent social psychologists, a professor at Harvard University and a pioneer in the study of how the mind influences the body.
Dr. Ellen Langer believes much of the decline of old age may be driven by negative perceptions about one’s later years. In other words, mindset determines outcome.
Dr. Langer’s says her work has repeatedly shown that we have enormous control over our health and well-being as a function of our mindsets.
For centuries, philosophers and scientists have studied the the mind-body problem. How do you connect a thought with real changes in one’s body? Dr. Langer says if you put the mind and body back together, whereever you put the mind, you put all of yourself.
So, put your mind in healthy places, and in some cases, the results are extraordinary.
She describes some of her experiments and the amazing ways simply changing your mindset and assumptions can change your entire life, including your weight, health and happiness.
“Most of the limits we assume are real are really just mindsets,” Dr. Langer says. “When we become more mindful, go forward without assuming you know, all sorts of possibilities open up for us.”
She explains why she believes doctors should never deliver terminal diagnoses and how the simple act of reaching for a goal can be hugely gratifying, even if you fail to achieve that goal.
To learn much more about Dr. Langer’s research, including her books, “Mindfulness” and “Counterclockwise,” click here to visit her Website.