An interview with Dr. Shauna Shapiro of Good Morning, I Love You and the simple mindset shift that can change your life

In this interview, self-compassion researcher Dr. Shauna Shapiro talks about a simple mindset shift that can change your life.

She dives into why your attitude really matters and why self-compassion in itself is so incredibly transformative and radical.

Finally, she discusses simple ways you can practice mindfulness and self-compassion in your daily life.

The Feel Good Effect podcast is all about helping you fill your cup, empty your to-do list and lead you to a life that feels good.

So I’m thrilled to bring you this conversation on the science behind mindfulness and how to use it to unlock small mindset shifts that create big change.

here’s a glance at the topics we cover:

• the science behind mindfulness
• a new definition of mindfulness
• self-kindness as the key to change
• 3 steps to cultivate self-compassion
• understanding the negativity bias
• a new definition of self-compassion
• the magical morning question to ask yourself
• a practice to cultivate gratitude

meet dr. shauna shapiro

As a teenager Dr. Shauna Shapiro underwent a spinal fusion surgery, due to worsening scoliosis.

After months of rehabilitation and significant physical and emotional pain, she was introduced to mindfulness when her father visited her in the hospital with a copy of Wherever You Go, There You Are, by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn.

The first paragraph read, “No matter what has happened to you, it’s already happened. The only question that matters is, ‘now what?’”.

This book offered the possibility of happiness after being in a hospital bed for months, a reminder that no matter what’s happened, you can always begin again.

understanding the science behind mindfulness

Neuroscience teaches us that our brain is constantly changing and evolving over the course of our life.

That means we can learn, grow, and develop new pathways, that we can even rewire our brain to be happier.

Once we get past childhood, we tend to think that we have past the opportunity for neural growth and change.

But it’s never too late and neuroplasticity is still relevant in adulthood.

In fact, we all have the capacity to re-architect the physical structure of our brains through intentional practice.

what we practice grows stronger

When Shauna was 20, she studied meditation at a Thai monastery during which she was taught, “what you practice grows stronger”.

If we meditate with frustration, judgment, and self-criticism, we strengthen our frustration, judgment, and self-criticism.

We’re practicing something at every moment and it’s our repeated thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that shape our brain.

We can choose to engage in practices that cultivate generosity, creativity, peace, and happiness, but we have to bring intention into our lives.

combining neuroscience with the practice of mindfulness

The intention behind Shauna’s book, Good Morning, I Love You was to integrate the current scientific understanding of mindfulness with tactical practices that people can easily integrate into their lives.

All of us have the ability to change, but we often make efforts in a way that misses a crucial ingredient of self-compassion.

The key to change is actually recognizing that shame, judgment, and perfection don’t work.

When we judge or put pressure on ourselves, or get lost in self-criticism, it actually inhibits the brain from learning. Instead, our brains shut down learning centers, shuttling our resources to survival pathways (fight or flight response). 

self-kindness is the key to cognitive change

We can change through kindness and compassion, yet, so often we think that we need to change by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps or whipping ourselves into shape.

A study at UC Berkeley showed that women who were trying to lose weight who were taught to be kind to themselves, to recognize that they were never going to do it perfectly lost more weight and stayed on the study’s diet much more effectively than the control group, who were harsh on themselves.

The key is to treat ourselves with self-compassion. 

Self-compassion lets us see our mistakes and increases dopamine production.

First, it lets us see our mistakes more clearly because we aren’t so ashamed or overwhelmed by them; we can actually have the courage to look for them.

Second, positive emotions bathe our system in dopamine, which activate motivation centers in the brain.

Lasting change and transformation require this attitude of kindness.

a new model & definition of mindfulness

People often misunderstand what mindfulness is, neglecting kindness, which is crucial to change.

To solve this, Shauna and her colleagues built a new model of mindfulness in 2006 with three key elements: intention, attention, and attitude.

The first element, intention, aims to answer “why am I paying attention to this?” and “what’s important to me?”.

Your attention is your most valuable resource and our intention helps to remind us.

The second element is attention, which is simply training and strengthening your capacity to stay focused. 

Research from Harvard has shown that our mind tends to wander about 47% of the time, meaning that about half of your waking hours are spacing out.

Part of mindfulness is learning how to train and stabilize the mind in the present moment so we can see clearly so we can respond effectively.

Lastly, attitude has to do with the quality of our attention and how we’re paying attention.

Is it with judgment and criticism?

Or with kindness, curiosity, and compassion?

The key to mindfulness is to pay attention with kindness.

This point is exemplified by the Japanese kanji for mindfulness, which has two characters: the top means “presence” or “attention” and the bottom character means “mind” or “heart”.

Having interchangeable meanings, “mindfulness” could have also been translated as “heartfulness”.

As a culture, we are so focused on perfectionism and striving that we miss the part of mindfulness that is about the heart and kindness. 

what is the 5% Principle?

The antidote to perfectionism isn’t to give up; it’s to practice it in an imperfect way.

The 5% Principle: Invite in 5% more kindness than you currently are.

Self-compassion practices are not about achieving all-out self-love. Rather, they’re about 5% more kindness, more gentleness, and more care. Change happens in small increments. Subtle is significant and these baby steps can lead to really significant change.

how to cultivate self-compassion

1. Acknowledge your pain

The first step in cultivating self-compassion is just to acknowledge that you’re hurting, which many of us pass over.

2. Meet your pain with kindness

The second step is to bring kindness to our pain, to treat ourselves as we would a dear friend who was suffering.

For this, it doesn’t work to imagine what your friends would say to you if you were suffering, you need to imagine what you would say to a dear friend.

When you think of it that way, all of a sudden your heart opens in compassion.

3. Common humanity

The third step is recognizing that we’re not the only ones suffering.

So often, we isolate ourselves in our pain, feeling like we’re the only ones in pain.

But all of us struggle, and the key is to open our awareness to common humanity. 

You might feel worse first

Something that people often don’t expect is that when you start practicing self-compassion, you might actually feel worse before you feel better.

When we start paying attention, we notice how harsh we are on ourselves and it’s painful to witness.

Again, it’s not about doing it perfectly.

It’s about noticing that even just witnessing how we treat ourselves is painful, bringing compassion to it, and knowing that it’s part of the process.

As we bring the light of our awareness to these patterns, it can create pain.

for mindfulness: incline your mind toward joy for balance

We don’t need to go all-in on mindfulness or healing, but can we bring just a little more compassion to our practice?

It can also be helpful to pendulate, moving from difficult, painful things to including practices of joy, gratitude, and appreciation in your life.

So often, practices of meditation focus on suffering and what we need to fix.

The intention behind meditation was really to awaken us to the full capacity of living, which also includes learning how to hardwire these pathways of joy and happiness.

Part of the Good Morning, I Love You book really focuses on how to cultivate and incline the mind toward joy, to prime the mind to look for the good and the beautiful instead of constantly scanning the environment for danger and negativity.

the negativity bias

We have evolved with something called “the negativity bias”, meaning we are primed for negativity.

This made sense for our ancestors who were confronted with more life-threatening experiences than we tend to be, but as descendants of these ancestors, we have evolved to look for what’s scary and dangerous.

In the fullness of life, there is pain and sorrow, but there is also beauty, tenderness, and joy and we need to invite in both.

There’s a need for mindset work around self-compassion, which Shauna calls the “self-compassion misgivings” and Robyn calls “the resistance”.

Often, when people hear about self-compassion, they think one or more of these: it’s selfish, self-indulgent, undermines motivation, weak, and/or it undermines responsibility and integrity. The research actually shows otherwise, though.

redefining self-compassion

Self-compassion is not selfish.

In fact, people who are more self-compassionate are rated as much more generous, giving, open beings by their partners.

Self-compassion is not weak.

Self-compassionate people are much more resilient and have more courage.

In a study with combat veterans, those who practiced self-compassion were less likely to have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

Self-compassion doesn’t undermine motivation.

Instead of losing your motivation or edge, self-compassion actually makes you much more effective, giving you the motivation to work on things. 

You’re able to live your best life and take care of yourself because when you care about yourself, you take care of yourself.

You can be your best self through being kind.

We’re never just meditating for ourselves either.

In fact, everything we do in this universe has ripples.

We have no idea the impact of our individual practice and compassion will have.

Research shows that people who are more compassionate with themselves are more compassionate with others, and this is what our world really needs.

self-compassion in movement

Another big name in the field, Kelly McGonigal, PhD, researches exercise and movement, specifically the joy of movement.

The inherent way that we assign value to movement (calorie burn or strength-building) causes us to lose opportunities to practice things that really do have value.

We’re always trying to find happiness outside of ourselves, but external changes don’t change our happiness levels.

The only thing that consistently changes our happiness is changing our internal landscape through these mindful, self-compassionate practices.

These practices aren’t just stress management techniques or teaching us how to survive life, they’re teaching us how to thrive.

a mindfulness practice: the magical morning question

One of Shauna’s favorite practices is called the Magical Morning Question.

When you wake up, reflect on “I wonder what surprising and magical thing will happen today.”

This is a way to prime our brain to look for the good and the beautiful instead of scanning the environment for danger.

It changes the quality of your day when you start to incline your mind to look for what’s beautiful instead of what’s frightening.

You don’t have to be an optimist or even fully on board to adopt these habits because they will actually shift the way your brain works over time. You’re planting seeds and putting the compass of your heart in the direction we want to head; just trust the process.

how to hold onto positive experiences

Another expert, Rick Hanson, PhD, talks about how to be more resilient and the concept of “mudita”, which is taking joy in someone else’s joy.

He talks a lot about choosing where we put our attention because negative things tend to hold our attention and when positive things happen, they just kind of slip away.

We can encode positive things into our long-term memory by, first, becoming mindful of them, then, engaging all of our senses and pausing to savor that moment. 

trauma on the body

So much of our memories are around trauma and negativity because we don’t want them to happen again.

Holding onto them creates a certain signature, or “chemical soup” in the body.

By encoding beautiful, positive, simple moments into long-term memory, we’re actually changing the flavor of that chemical soup. 

As human beings, we’re going to experience the full spectrum of emotions, but we can do it with curiosity and kindness.

Let yourself feel whatever you’re feeling, however, when you’re actually feeling happy, it’s important to let that in, which many of us don’t do.

seek out and focus on the joy

Shauna’s teachings here are to (1) really focus on joy when it happens, and (2) to engage in practices that cultivate joy.

If you want to actively cultivate joy, you can practice gratitude or with a friend, ask them, “what brings you joy?”, over and over again.

Over and over, you’re grooving a pathway of joy and gratitude

We need self-compassion to experience joy and to feel like we deserve it.

There is so much suffering in the world and it is imperative to experience the joy and when it’s offered to us.

There is a way in which we can feel our privilege and we can feel guilty about it, but it’s important to use that awareness to motive us to make a change in the world instead of getting lost in shame. 

a practice to cultivate gratitude

Being a scientist and writing about science, Shauna fought for the title “Good Morning, I Love You”.

It was the most powerful practice that she had ever experienced in her life, and she wanted to share it.

Sharing something that makes joy does not preclude you from being taken seriously, yet it’s still a very real barrier.

Nonetheless, her book is here and she can share her practice.

When Shauna was going through a divorce, dealing with all of the pain and fear around that, a meditation teacher suggested that she start practicing kindness for herself every day, by saying, “I love you, Shauna” every day.

She didn’t want to at first, so she started off by saying, “Good morning, Shauna” when she woke, putting her hand on her heart when she said it to release oxytocin.

Instead of the avalanche of judgment and fear, she greeted herself with kindness.

It became a ritual for her that within a few months she was able to say, “Good morning, I love you”.

This practice changed everything for her.

A pathway of self-love and kindness was established and she’s been practicing every day, and each day it grows stronger.

She continues to plant the seeds, trusting in the science that what we practice grows stronger.

The ripple effect is truly amazing.

She shared it in her TEDx talk and now it’s been viewed and practiced over a million and a half times and she’s received so much feedback about how this has changed people’s lives.

Fast-forward to now, the love that she is experiencing today from her fiancé is so different from anything she thought was possible, coming from this dedication to finding that love in her own heart.

what it really means to be healthy

Shauna’s answer to “what does it really mean to be healthy?” is:

“Health is about wholeness.

It’s about inviting and welcoming all of ourselves and all of life and really trusting our capacity that all of us are these self-organizing, self-healing systems, and we have these incredibly beautiful hearts.

These practices help us uncover and get back to that innocence, that beauty, that purity.

In fact, for everyone listening right now, think about your intention for going on this journey.

It’s really to cultivate greater health and happiness and joy… you can feel the purity of your intention… that helps remind us of our own good hearts.

And that I really believe is what health is.”

“Health is about wholeness. It’s about inviting and welcoming all of ourselves and all of life and really trusting our capacity”

Dr. Shauna Shapiro

about dr. shauna shapiro

Shauna Shapiro, PhD is a best-selling author, clinical psychologist and internationally recognized expert in mindfulness and self-compassion.

She is a professor at Santa Clara University and has published over 150 papers and three critically acclaimed books, translated into 16 languages.

Shauna has presented her research to the King of Thailand, the Danish Government, Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Summit, and the World Council for Psychotherapy, as well as to Fortune 100 Companies including Google, Cisco Systems and LinkedIn.

Her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Mashable, Wired, USA Today, Dr. Oz, the Huffington Post, and the American Psychologist. 

Shauna is a summa cum laude graduate of Duke University and a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, co-founded by the Dalai Lama.

Her TEDx Talk, The Power of Mindfulness, has been viewed over 1.5 million times.

links mentioned in this episode

Good Morning, I Love You: Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Practices to Rewire Your Brain for Calm, Clarity, and Joy, by Dr. Shauna Shapiro, PhD

Wherever You Go, There You Are, by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD

What You Really Need to Know About Mindfulness with Leah Weiss, PhD

How to Use Exercise for More Happiness, Hope, Connection & Courage with Kelly McGonigal, PhD

The Secret to Becoming More Resilient with Rick Hanson, PhD

Dr. Shauna Shapiro’s TEDx talk

Visit Shauna’s website at drshaunashapiro.com and join her community

Connect with Shauna on Instagram @drshaunashapiro

more resources on self-compassion

How to Cultivate Self-Compassion with Dr. Kristin Neff

Stop Being So Hard on Yourself: How to Rewire Your Brain to Feel Good Now

3 Ways to Practice Self-Compassion with Dr. Kristin Neff

Easiest Starter Mindset Shift Practice to Feel Good Now

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