How To Make Your Life Exciting Again

New research shows that your work, your life, and your relationships will get boring. 

Today, you’ll learn a simple tool you can use to make your life exciting, joyful, and energizing again. 

This profound conversation will allow you to truly understand and connect the dots between why you've become bored with what used to excite you – and how you can create more meaning in your life.

In this episode, Mel is joined by the renowned neuroscientist from University College London and MIT, Dr. Tali Sharot. 

She is here to teach you the groundbreaking science and research about how you can start feeling excitement about your life again.

Dr. Sharot is a behavioral neuroscientist and the director of the Affective Brain Lab at University College London. Her research integrates neuroscience, behavioral economics, and psychology to study how emotion and behavior influences people's beliefs and decisions.

After today, you will know how to use Dr. Sharot’s research to make your life sparkle again and reignite happiness in your day-to-day life.

You’ll also learn very specific, tactical things you can do to make your vacations better, avoid a midlife crisis, and improve the experience of your everyday life.

If you liked this episode with Dr. Tali Sharot, you will love her first appearance on The Mel Robbins Podcast: How to Motivate Yourself (and Others) to Change Any Behavior

And to go deeper in the themes of this episode, you’ll love this one: 5 Fun Ideas to Shake Up Your Life & Get Out Of A Rut

Connect with Mel:

• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Go deeper with Mel’s free video course, Make It Happen‍
• Follow Mel on Instagram ‍
• The Mel Robbins Podcast Instagram‍
• Mel's TikTok ‍
• Sign up for Mel’s personal letter ‍
• Disclaimer

In this episode:

• 01:42: Do you feel like your life has gotten boring?
• 04:06: The spontaneous adventure Mel went on last night.
• 05:15: How to easily mix up your life when it feels too routine.
• 07:27: The research-backed reason why life is getting so boring.
• 08:44: What ‘habituation’ is and how it impacts every aspect of your life.
• 10:25: Why change is foundational for happiness and joy.
• 12:02: Why do you feel like you are outgrowing your romantic relationship?
• 14:56: What is happening in your brain when you experience something new.
• 16:27: How long should your vacation be for ultimate happiness?
• 18:49: Why the anticipation of good things is what actually makes you happy.
• 20:34: 2 ways to hack happiness and feel better starting today.
• 22:04: Why 'taking space’ in your relationship is an essential action to take.
• 26:07: The surprising situation you will find your partner the most attractive in.
• 27:54: Why you need to stop buying new things you do not need.
• 29:24: Next time you feel bored and burned out, take a break.
• 32:04: A simple mindfulness exercise to find gratitude for what you have.
• 33:24: Based on neuroscience, this is how habituation is impacting your sex life.
• 36:24: Why, between ages 40 and 60, you will be the unhappiest.  
• 38:09: If you hate your job, try THIS before you quit.
• 43:02: The one action you need to take today to find peace.

Dr. Tali Sharot: 

• Dr. Sharot’s book, Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There 
• Dr. Sharot’s book, The Influential Mind: What the Brain Reveals About Our Power to Change Others
• Dr. Sharot’s lab at UCL,  Affective Brain Lab
• Dr. Sharot’s Affective Brain Lab, publication list
• Dr. Sharot’s Affective Brain Lab, current research highlights
• Dr. Sharot, Ted Talk
• Dr. Sharot, University College London academic profile
• Dr. Sharot, Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry academic profile
• Dr. Sharot, MIT profile, Affective Brain Lab MIT website

Additional Resources:

• The New York Times: Laura Vanderkam’s study and how  to make more time..
• The New York Times: Why we all need to have more fun 
• The New York Times: Do you seek out new experiences? 
• Harvard Health: Having a hobby tied to happiness and well-being 
• Forbes: A psychologist explains why you need more ‘microadventures’ in 2024
• Columbia: Why you should try something new everyday 
• Forbes: Stop. Reflect. Try new things 
• The Atlantic: Big dreams and small actions go together.
• Harvard Business Review: The key to a fulfilling career? Variety. 
• American Psychological Association: Habituation and the human evoked potential 
• Washington Post: Boredom is a warning sign. Here’s what it’s telling you‍
• Harvard Business Review: It is time to leave your comfort zone
• Esther Perel: Research on relationships and the importance of change