Maya Shankar: The Other Side of Change

Change can come from out of nowhere. A relationship ends, a doctor gives an unwelcome diagnosis, a business closes, a loved one passes away. At times like those, it can feel as if we’re in free-fall into the unknown.

Maya Shankar, a cognitive scientist, has spent decades studying the human mind. When she experienced an unwanted change in her own life that left her reeling, she sought out people who had navigated major disruptions in their lives, and she tells what she learned in her new book The Other Side of Change. She shares their stories, along with insights from science to shine a light on universal lessons.

She says we can rethink how we engage with change altogether. When something big happens to us, she says, it can lead to profound change within us. That can lead to uncovering new abilities, perspectives, and values; the process can transform us in extraordinary ways.

Can moments of upheaval be seen as opportunities for positive change? What potentials lie within people waiting to be unlocked?

Join us to hear a scientist’s take on finding meaning in the turmoil of changes.

Notes

Shankar photo by Kirsten Lara Getchell; courtesy the speaker.

Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs.

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SPEAKERS

Maya Shankar, Cognitive Scientist; Creator, "A Slight Change of Plans" podcast; Author, The Other Side of Change: Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans

In Conversation with DJ Patil, Former U.S. Chief Data Scientist; General Partner, GreatPoint Ventures; Member, The Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California Board of Governors; X @dpatil

5:30 p.m. doors open & check-in
6–7 p.m. program
7 p.m. book signing
(all times Pacific Time)

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