ML58: Ellen Langer on The Power of Mindful Learning, Common Learning Myths and How To Practice Mindfulness in Your Daily Life
Discover the nature of mindfulness, the learning myths that we're vulnerable to at school and the practical strategies needed to apply mindfulness to your learning and life.

Ellen Langer is a Harvard psychologist widely known as the βmother of mindfulnessβ and is the author of eleven books and more than two hundred research articles on mindfulness over the last 35 years.
Mindfulness is becoming more and more of a buzzword these days but very few people actually understand it and even fewer know how to apply it in their everyday lives. But there are few things that can have a bigger impact on your learning and life than improving your awareness of yourself and the world around you.
Ellen is the perfect guide to the field of mindfulness because she takes a clear, no nonsense approach, devoid of the mysticism that often surrounds it. This makes her ideas easy to digest and more importantly, easy to apply in practice.
In this conversation we discuss a range of topics including:
- What mindfulness actually is and how it differs from mindlessness
- Some of the most common learning myths and how to combat them
- How to keep learning fun and avoid it becoming a chore
So whether you're looking to finally understand mindfulness, uncover some of the learning myths that we're vulnerable to at school or improve your awareness of your own learning, this episode will give you all that and more.
Related Posts
Podcasts
π ML54: Barry Schwartz on Practical Wisdom, The Meaning of Work and the Paradox of Choice
π ML28: Richard Nisbett on Mental Models, The Geography of Thought and The Nature vs Nurture Debate
Articles
π Measure Up: How to Dodge Cognitive Biases Using Calibration
π Reflect to Learn: How to Create Your Own Mental Playbook
π Engineering Insight: How to Boost Your Creativity with the Focused and Diffuse Modes of Thinking
Selected Resources
π The Power of Mindful Learning - Ellen Langer
π Mindfulness (25th Anniversary Edition) - Ellen Langer
βΆοΈ Mindfulness Over Matter