Crappy to Happy

Stuck on a big life decision? Let’s talk about the psychology of decision making. Whether you're weighing up a job, relationship, starting a business or buying a house, big decisions have a way of keeping you stuck on the fence. In this episode I'm explaining why your pros and cons list is no help, and how your predictions of how happy you'll be depending on what you decide are wildly unreliable, and why we usually default to the status quo even if it makes us miserable rather than take a risk on the unknown.

If you're going around in circles on whether to make a change or take the plunge, tune in to hear which information you should discard and what to pay attention to if you want to come to a decision that gives you the best chance of satisfaction in the long term.

What you'll learn:

Why change feels so hard, even when you want it
The reason your pros and cons list is not helping you at all
The science of predicting how you'll feel in the future (and how much we underestimate our own resilience)
what happened when 22,000 people let a coin toss decide for them
The decision making formula that is most likely to get you closer to an outcome you'll be happy with.
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: hello@crappytohappypod.com
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's nice to feel content, peaceful and satisfied with life. But how long do you let yourself feel any of those things before you get twitchy?

Let's talk about why you might find it so challenging to allow yourself to feel content. It might be guilt, or a fear that you'll get complacent, a history of struggle that makes peace feel foreign to you, or a core belief that you're not worthy or deserving of ease.

Takeaways:

The difference between contentment and happiness
How our conditioning to strive and achieve makes rest feel like a threat
Why your brain might resist pleasant feelings
Why joy and peace can feel uncomfortable when you try to access them
The worthiness blocks that keep you from feeling okay with your own life
How waiting for the worst robs you of joy
Why cultivating contentment from the inside is the only version that lasts

Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: hello@crappytohappypod.com
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re feeling a little bored and uninspired, I get it. I noticed recently that after 9 years of podcasting, ideas were not flowing and creativity felt like a chore. (This is normal of course.) But after spending two days out of the office at The Podcast Show last week, I’ve discovered renewed enthusiasm.

I realised that getting out of my bubble was exactly what I needed, so I’m sharing some ideas that might help you tap into some of that inspiration and spark up your interest and energy again. Whether you work for yourself, work from home, or just spend a lot of time alone at a laptop, there is some science that can point us in the right direction. I’m sharing some of that science, some practical ideas, and things that have helped me personally.

What you'll learn

What's happening in your brain when you're in a rut - and why pushing harder often makes it worse
Why getting out of your usual environment does more than change the scenery (there's actual neuroscience here)
How to engineer novel experiences without booking a flight (by all means, feel free to also book a flight)
Why being around people who can help is the first thing we cut when when we're busy - and why that's a mistake
Simple ways to shift your workspace and change your energy
Why your brain generates better ideas when it has space to breathe - and how to give it that
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: hello@crappytohappypod.com
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you've ever wondered whether your sleep tracker is actually accurate, or whether meditation is doing anything measurable in your brain, this episode is for you.  Ariel Garten is the co-founder of Muse, the brain-sensing headband, and she's back on the show with a significant update on how the technology has evolved. The Muse Athena contains an entirely new technology called fNIRS that tracks real-time blood flow and oxygen delivery to your prefrontal cortex.

We get into why wrist-based devices like Oura and Apple Watch can only ever estimate your sleep stages - because they're guessing from heart rate and movement, not brainwave data, whereas the Muse measures deep sleep at 94% accuracy compared to a clinical sleep lab. It's Deep Sleep Boost feature uses barely-audible pink noise pulses to increase the amount of time you spend in deep, restorative slow-wave sleep. We also go into ADHD territory. Both Ariel and I are diagnosed, and we talk about what neurofeedback and meditation training can do for focus, executive function, and the near-constant urge to abandon tasks halfway through.

What you'll learn
Why wrist-based sleep trackers can't accurately measure deep sleep, and how EEG-based tracking changes the picture
What deep sleep actually does for your brain and body - and why it matters for memory, cognitive function, and reducing the risk of Alzheimer's
How the Deep Sleep Boost feature uses tiny pink noise pulses synced to your delta waves to deepen your sleep (and why your bed partner won't even hear it)
What your alpha peak frequency is, why it tends to decline with age, and how you can track and potentially maintain it through neurofeedback
What fNIRS technology is and why training your prefrontal cortex to demand more oxygen could be important for long-term brain health
How Muse's neurofeedback and meditation tools can support focus, attention, and executive function - and what this means if you have ADHD
The full range of content in the Muse app, including over 500 guided sessions covering sleep, stress, relationships, focus, and more
How the app's AI assistant, ENSO, can help you interpret your data, track trends over time, and find the right tools for your goals
Resources mentioned

Muse headband:
www.choosemuse.com/
(enter code cassdunn at checkout for 15% off)

Previous episode with Ariel Garten (2019) 
https://www.crappytohappypod.com/wearable-technology-for-your-brain-with-ariel-garten/

Beyond Confident 2.0 for Solopreneurs & Service Providers 
Open for enrolment NOW.

Transform self-doubt & self-sabotage, rewire your nervous system for success, and do the inner healing work, while being supported to create a streamlined, profitable business that supports your lifestyle.

www.cassdunn.com/bc2

Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: hello@crappytohappypod.com
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: hello@crappytohappypod.com
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Working title was “How to Deal with Ar5eholes” but I thought Apple might ban me.

After being evicted from our rental in the UK, I had to sell our house in Australia from the other side of the world. I did not expect the amount of conflict and tension I would have to manage (uncooperative tenants, RE agents not communicating and a selling agent in London applying pressure to meet an impossible deadline).

Let’s just say I was not always my best self. 😐 I reacted emotionally, sent emails I shouldn’t have, and felt like I couldn’t trust anybody.

Somewhere in the middle of it, while I was walking my dogs, where most of my better thinking happens, I realised there are useful lessons here, and they’ll be worth sharing once I’m through to the other side.

Well, I’m through to the other side! The house is sold. And I’m sharing five things that helped me navigate a high-conflict period without losing my mind or my values in the process. These are my go-to strategies for dealing with difficult people, managing your own emotional reactivity, and staying true to who you want to be, even when other people are being complete dicks.

What you’ll learn in this episode:
The one question to ask yourself first when you’re angry at someone else
How everyone -including the most difficult person in your life right now - is just trying to get their own needs met (and how understanding this can shift the whole dynamic)
Why email and text are the worst ways to communicate when there’s tension
How to hold your ground assertively and firmly without compromising your values and adding fuel to the fire
The woo woo things I do when I feel powerless and why it’s so helpful even if you don’t think it works

Beyond Confident 2.0 for Solopreneurs & Service Providers
Open for enrolment NOW.

Transform self-doubt & self-sabotage, rewire your nervous system for success, and do the inner healing work, while being supported to create a streamlined, profitable business that supports your lifestyle.

www.cassdunn.com/bc2

Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: hello@crappytohappypod.com
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Connect with Cass:
www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: hello@crappytohappypod.com
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.