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b'Restless in the often too structured world of academia, Anna Katharina Schaffner carved her own path as a professor, researcher, writer, coach, and modern thinker. In her forthcoming book, The Art of Self-Improvement: Ten Timeless Truths, Anna sets out to shift the way we think about self-help and how to better ourselves by taking cues from our ancestors\\u2019 ways of thinking and living that still remain true today. Traci was thrilled to sit down with Anna for this latest episode of The Sidewalk Talk podcast to chat all about Anna\\u2019s new book, how metaphor shapes our human experience, and where to find the soul in today\\u2019s culture of human as computer.\\xa0\\nAs the two talk, they make discoveries about the benefits of growing as a collective versus as an individual, explore the concept of loneliness, and talk about mutual messy interactions they\\u2019ve had in the past. Towards the end of the episode Anna shares a few of the \\u201ctimeless truths\\u201d from her new book, including the truths of controlling your mind, using your imagination, and being humble. In a time where we\\u2019ve increasingly been told that we simply need to \\u201crewire\\u201d our brains in order to function better as humans, Anna and Traci explore a different way of thinking\\u2014one that helps us examine the metaphors we use about ourselves, and become more vulnerably human in the process.\\xa0\\n\\xa0\\nEpisode Milestones\\n[00:07] Intro\\xa0\\n[02:25] Meet Anna\\xa0\\n[06:40] What made Anna restless in academia\\xa0\\n[08:41] Provoking to leave a legacy\\xa0\\n[12:09] How metaphor shapes our human experience\\xa0\\n[16:32] A shift to growing as a collective\\xa0\\xa0\\n[20:28] Learning from Eastern cultures and ways of thinking\\xa0\\n[23:39] Where\\u2019s the soul?\\xa0\\n[26:35] Questions and definitions of loneliness\\xa0\\xa0\\n[29:40] Messy interactions\\xa0\\n[33:25] Anna\\u2019s discoveries about self-improvement\\xa0\\n[37:06] \\u201cTimeless truths\\u201d of self-improvement\\xa0\\n[39:57] Anna\\u2019s word for you\\xa0\\n[42:15] Outro\\xa0\\n\\xa0\\nResources Mentioned\\nPerspectiva\\xa0\\nExhaustion: A History\\xa0\\nThe Art of Self-Improvement: Ten Timeless Truths\\xa0\\n\\u201cYou\\u2019re not a computer, you\\u2019re a tiny stone in a beautiful mosaic\\u201d\\xa0\\n\\xa0\\nStandout Quotes from the Episode\\n\\u201cI like to take issue with what everyone accepts to be the case. I like to look at ideas that we take for granted, and that we don\\u2019t really investigate very much.\\u201d \\u2014Anna Katharina Schaffner\\xa0\\n\\u201cI think it\\u2019s always very important to have a questioning mind.\\u201d\\u2014Anna Katharina Schaffner\\xa0\\n\\u201cThe language we use to talk about the psyche is very very telling because it reveals the models of the psyche that we believe in as people, but also as a culture.\\u201d\\u2014Anna Katharina Schaffner\\xa0\\n\\u201cThis focus on self-actualization and self-realization has begun to sound very tired, and very unsatisfying.\\u201d\\u2014Anna Katharina Schaffner\\xa0\\n\\u201cStories can give a lot of solace.\\u201d\\u2014Anna Katharina Schaffner\\xa0\\n\\u201cSelf-help reveals our models of selfhood.\\u201d\\u2014Anna Katharina Schaffner\\xa0\\n\\u201cBe aware of the kind of language you use to think about yourself, and inner voices, and reflect on it because they will tell you a lot about your deeper values and deeper models.\\u201d\\u2014Anna Katharina Schaffner\\xa0\\n\\xa0\\nConnect:\\nFind | Sidewalk Talk Podcast\\nAt sidewalk-talk.org\\nOn Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg\\nOn Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg\\n\\xa0\\nFind | Traci Ruble\\nAt Traciruble.com\\nOn Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT\\nOn Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT\\nOn Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT\\n\\xa0\\nFind | Anna Katharina Schaffner\\xa0\\nAt AnnaKSchaffner.com\\nOn LinkedIn: @AnnaKatharinaSchaffner \\n\\xa0\\nSUBSCRIBE TO THIS PODCAST\\nOn Apple Podcasts\\nOn Google Podcasts\\nOn Spotify'