Growth Mindset Psychology: The Science of Self-Improvement

Growth Mindset Psychology: The Science of Self-Improvement

There are a lot of opinions on how to master your mind, but then there’s PSYCHOLOGY. We’re all stuck with the brain we’re born with, but we aren’t stuck with how we use it. Learn science-backed answers to make the most of your mind and your life. CURIOUS? Growth Mindset Psychology is the "self-help sceptic" podcast for the curious. Whether you want to improve performance, navigate setbacks, or know who you are. We find answers to the true science of self-improvement. So put down the astrology chart and start working with your mind, instead of against it. With over 8 million downloads and 60,000 monthly listeners, you’re invited to join. PROCESS Instead of telling you what to think, we discuss how thinking works. Armed with a stack of science journals, textbooks and a boatload of curiosity, we uncover the mechanics of the mind. Why? >>> Success is personal! You might want to make the most of your neurodiverse strengths, start a business, or simply find more reasons to smile. Hone your ability for independent thinking and growth with mental models to pursue your definition of success. HOST I’m Sam Webster Harris, a lifelong learner with ADHD, a raging curiosity, and an obsession with finding answers to hard questions. After launching several businesses, travelling the world and nearly dying a few times I concluded that science and Psychology are where it’s at. What actually makes people happy? What’s the best way to treat a brain? How can I get more done? Studying the answers we find that changing behaviours requires building mindsets, mental models, and a healthy relationship with failure. I run the show to help listeners enjoy nutritious content that feeds their minds (and I needed a legitimate excuse to cover for my reading addiction). PREMIUM Go Ad-Free and listen to exclusive content. Support the show and access the AMA features and community Discord. Growth Mindset Premium ARCHIVE Previous guests include Olympians, Scientists, Billionaires, and Sam's Mum. Past series: — Psychology vs Stoicism — Time Management for busy mortals — Independence and knowing yourself — Cognitive biases and rational thinking — Psychology of connection — Carol Dweck and the Multiverse of Mindsets

Episodes

October 16, 2025 21 mins
Build a mindset that doesn't care what other people think, because you know what actually matters to you. In this episode we examine insightful ways to take control of your life and define where it's going. We steal some of the best questions and ideas from existential psychology that you can try applying to your own life. What is a life worth living? Healthy vs toxic aspirations? How to abandon what doesn't serve you? ...
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Rethinking the problem and our mindset from scratch when it comes to this whole life thing. What if the problem isn't your schedule—it's your metaphor? We've inherited a story about work and life as opposing forces, locked in eternal combat for our limited hours. This story feels true because everyone tells it. But stories shape reality. Consider this: your life contains multitudes. Work, yes. But also relationships, creativity,...
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We evolved shame as a gift. A signal that whispers when we've drifted from who we might become. What if the discomfort you feel isn't the problem, but the compass? This episode explores a surprising truth: the hardest patterns to change aren't the ones destroying us, but the ones keeping us comfortably mediocre. Yet they hold us back and sometimes shames even stops us from acknowledging they exist. But we need to step back and as...
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Our cognitive biases and ego can muddy the waters of our minds and block the path to clear communication. Today's episode provides strategies on how to be both a more effective thinker and communicator. Topics: Communication problems in relationships, business and writing Cognitive blockers to clarity How to identify and maintain a grip on the most important thing What bundling and unbundling can apply to problem-sol...
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Dame Stephanie Shirley built a billion-dollar tech empire from her kitchen table in the 1960s, pioneered remote work before anyone knew what Wi-Fi was, and discovered the psychology behind turning survivor's guilt into unstoppable motivation. This isn't some feel-good story about "everything happens for a reason." It's a masterclass in how your brain can rewire trauma into resilience. Stephanie shows us that the experiences that n...
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We chase alignment with our purpose, values, passions but can sometimes get a little lost on the way. Life has a scary habit of passing us by in a rush and Sam has just turned 35 years old and feeling very philosophical about the whole thing. We take a tour of some of the big problems in society people struggle with and the paradoxes that make them difficult. From waning attention spans to political chaos or the lenses and minds...
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You know that Stupid questions = Stupid answers. It's the same for boring questions. If you want to live a meaningful life with space for personal growth and connection with those around you. The answer is fantastic questions. Questions that help you understand yourself better and your partner. Questions that lead to conversations where you really see each other deep down at a human to human level. Topaz Azides, is an Emmy-winn...
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The ego is more unruly than you think. We dissect how it works and how to make it work for you. When you don't watch it carefully your brain will trick you into thinking it knows things it doesn't. This can lead to all sorts of disasters. Learn 3 ways that your ego get's in the way of real growth and learning and how to build a stronger and more open mindset. Lessons: Create Space: Begin by admitting what you don't know t...
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Ever felt like you're fighting a losing battle with your own brain? Addictions are like that. We learn the mindsets and psychology to build self-awareness and take control of your decisions and behaviours. Jeremy Lipkowitz, a former Buddhist monk, meditation teacher, and coach is the host of "Unhooked: breaking porn addiction podcast". He helps men break free from compulsive behaviors—especially porn addiction—and build lives of...
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You want your kid to magically become some badass, challenge-eating machine? Lectures don’t work, praise gets boring, and perfectionism is just another word for control freak. We dive into the reality behind both teaching and practicing a growth mindset. Firstly it starts with you living a growth mindset so this episode is primarily a masterclass on building one yourself. Self-efficacy is crucial for resilience and overcoming se...
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Ever felt like life’s locked you in a box and thrown away the key? Tom Davies (GeoWizard) knows the feeling—and he picked the locks with curiosity and a pinch of madness. This isn’t your standard self-help fluff. Tom went from odd jobs and dead-end days to having 1.4 million followers watching his adventures. His fame launched when he crossed Wales in a straight line, just because he asked, “What if?” His adventures aren’t just g...
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Freedom doesn’t arrive when you finally “figure it all out”—it arrives the moment you move.We’ve built mental walls around the idea that creativity is genetic and strength is inherited. But imagine a world where every step, stretch, or stumble is a tiny act of liberation, welding new circuits of possibility in your brain. Picture the mountaineer navigating a cliff, or a child learning to throw—a dance as ancient as humanity itself,...
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Positive Psychology applied to the shortness of life. This episode is a repeat of a masterclass from last year on living wider and deeper with psychologist and author Jodi Wellman. We cover: The walking dead vs astonishingly alive Overcoming habits and autopilot living Regret avoidance and controlling your life Useful positivity vs toxic positivity As they say "Get busy living, or get busy dying". Jodi has a morbi...
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Have you ever wondered how important something really is, yet lacked a reference point to put it into context? These days news, apps, jobs or neighbours comments all seem to be infinitely important and it's somewhat distracting. If you want to actually do stuff you need to know what is important and screen out the rest. Sam shares a framework for working out the impact of any idea or event that adds context to anything around you...
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We think fitness is about the body. But in truth, it begins in the story we tell ourselves. In this conversation with Jake Parker, we explore fitness not as a battle of discipline, but as a shifting of identity. Humans evolved in a world of scarcity where every calorie mattered. Now, in a world of abundance, that same wiring works against us. The magic, Jake suggests, is in designing new defaults. Defaults where exercise becomes ...
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It's not just what you do, it's how you do it. We are increasingly bombarded with demands and equally confused by how important everything seems. Growing up every year the next exam will make or break the rest of your life... The reality is some things don't matter and other things matter much more than you will ever know. Saying hi to that stranger that becomes your wife, helping a friend start that stupid idea, putting way too...
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Ever felt like you were wrestling with more than just a campfire? Me too. Turns out, controlling fire is a bit like trying to control your own mind; tricky, unpredictable, and full of surprises. In this episode, we have an episode drop from Sam's new show "How to Change the World; The History and Future of Innovation". We dive into the wild story of how humanity’s obsession with fire set us on the path to becoming who we are toda...
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What if success isn’t about working harder or even more achievement, but about how we feel day to day? In this episode, Mike Winnet invites us to reconsider the very stories we tell about ambition and achievement. The culture around entrepreneurship often creates illusions; mirages shimmering in a desert of social media noise. Mike challenges us to step beyond these distractions and ask: What if the real path is serene, sane, an...
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The art of making work not suck; how playing helps you stress less (and achieve more). In today’s episode, we challenge the architecture of adulthood, built brick by brick with “shoulds”. Using stories of ancient ancestors and modern cubicles, we’ll ask: Why do we surrender to seriousness, and at what cost? You’ll learn how the prison of comparison, the tyranny of the checklist, and our fear of imperfection rob us of the very au...
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Imagine training every day for a decade… and still losing. Then figuring out one question that changes everything. Olympic gold medallist Ben Hunt-Davis didn’t win because he trained harder, he’d been doing that for years and kept losing. He won because he and his crew started asking one question before every decision: Will it make the boat go faster?  In this conversation, Ben shares the messy reality of chasing big dreams. We...
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