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MindFull of GOOD

Dr. Rick Hanson's Occasional Collection of Good, Free Stuff

NEW ON THE BEING WELL PODCAST:

Self-Concept: The Secret to Changing WHO You Are

"Self-concept is like a frame in which information is assimilated or even accommodated to budge and change your frame."
— DR. RICK HANSON

Forrest and Dr. Rick Hanson explore how self-concept, the invisible architecture of who we are, shapes our lives. They discuss how identity can become a cage, the unconscious beliefs we have about who we are, and how loosening those beliefs might be the key to lasting change.

NEW QUIZ:

What's Your Attachment Style?

Want to understand how you relate to others—and why? 

We've all developed patterns over time in how we connect, depend on, and respond to others. Whether you lean more anxious, avoidant, or secure, recognizing your style is a powerful step toward greater insight, healing, and more fulfilling relationships.

So check out this quick quiz we put together to help you understand yourself more - and get tips on how to connect more successfully with others!

NEW FROM THE WEDNESDAY TALK/MEDITATION:

Three Ways to Live with Loss

How Do We Live With Loss?

Whether it’s the heartbreak of losing a loved one, the gradual loss of health or ability, the rupture of a relationship, or even the loss of a future we once hoped for — grief touches all of us. And yet, so often we bear it alone, ashamed, stoic, or simply overwhelmed.

So this week in my free Wednesday talk series, I focused on how to live well, even while facing what feels unbearable. I shared five key factors that help steady the mind — intention, relaxation, warmth of heart, releasing anxiety, and positive emotion — and how they can support us through the grieving process.

HAVE YOU READ IT YET?

Buddha's Brain: 15th Anniversary Edition

With more than 500,000 copies in print since it was first published, I'm proud to announce the 15th Anniversary edition of my book Buddha's Brain, which features this new preface.

ALSO NEW ON THE BEING WELL PODCAST:

Emotionally Immature Parents: How They Shape Us, and How to Heal – with Dr. Lindsay Gibson

Dr. Lindsay Gibson joins Forrest to explore emotional immaturity, the consequences of growing up with emotionally immature parents, and what we can do to change those patterns in adulthood. They discuss the key signs of emotional immaturity, including egocentrism, low empathy, and affective realism. Dr. Gibson then shares how having an emotionally immature parent affects children, often by leading to emotional disconnection and people-pleasing, and the consequences of these patterns in adult life. Topics include the problems with “just be more compassionate,” estrangement, balancing competing desires, and how to heal in adulthood by reconnecting with your feelings, letting go of old fantasies, and setting healthy boundaries.

NEW ON YOUTUBE:

Rick's Reactions to the Netflix show Adolescence

Netflix has a new show called Adolescence — which is powerful and difficult all at the same time, and touches on the many forces that can shape young people today. Rick recorded his thoughts and reflections while watching the show, and you can check out his videos for all four episodes here.

ASK RICK:

What changes take place in our brains when we make the decision to repeatedly focus on the way we think about and react to situations in our lives?

In practical terms, learning – brain change – is a two stage process in which an activated experience must be installed through some kind of lasting change in neural structure or function. We become happier through having repeated experiences of happiness and related factors that get encoded – installed – into the brain.

Without installation, there is no learning, no change: in effect, the experience is wasted on the brain. This is the dirty little secret in most psychotherapy, human resources training, coaching, addiction recovery, and character education: most hard-won beneficial states of mind are momentarily positive but have no lasting value. That’s why many efforts to develop deep inner strengths in people are largely if not completely ineffective: they are indeed being fostered – but without deliberate mindful attention to sustaining them, feeling them in the body, and intentionally absorbing them into oneself, they just don’t get encoded much into the brain. The person may have a memory of a harrowing sailing trip or an intense week with Outward Bound, but is still basically just as vulnerable to stress, loss, or setbacks as ever because they didn’t “take in” those experiences.

Here is the key takeaway: it is commonplace to activate experiences of love, support, determination, endurance, and tenacity.

"What is rarer and more important is to bring skillful attention to installing these experiences in the brain so that they have enduring benefit for the person."

The good news is that this skillful attention can be readily developed, as we found in the research on my training in positive neuroplasticity, and as explored in Hardwiring Happiness. But we have to do the work 5, 10, 20 (usually enjoyable) seconds at a time. Then we know in our hearts that we have earned the results – which makes the strength that we develop even sweeter.

FREE FROM OUR FRIENDS:

Attachment, Trauma, and Toxic Relationships Online Conference

Did you know that toxic, stressful relationships can significantly contribute to anxiety, depression, fatigue, isolation, weakened immunity, chronic pain, and even disease?

If you're ready to begin healing the relationships in your life to experience a dramatic improvement in your physical, mental, and emotional health, check out the 2025 Attachment, Trauma & Toxic Relationships Super Conference, happening from April 28th - May 4th,

RICK'S PICK:

The Mirage: Timothy Olson's Race Against Time

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