Choiceology with Katy Milkman | S18 EP1
The Hardest Promises to Break: Peer Accountability (With Angela Duckworth)
How did small index cards help a high school football team pull off a legendary 151-game winning streak? And what can a 1960s Queens housewife teach us about sticking to our goals?
In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we explore why some goals are easier to achieve than others—and how the people around us can change whether we abandon a goal or follow through.
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, historian and author of Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession, tells the story of Jean Nidetch. Frustrated by the isolating diet culture of the 1960s, Nidetch realized something powerful: People didn't just need better advice—they needed to stop struggling alone. What began as a small gathering of women in her living room eventually grew into Weight Watchers, one of the world's most recognizable wellness brands.
Then, Katy speaks with Angela Duckworth, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and bestselling author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance and her new book, Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best. Together they explore why we're so quick to rely on willpower instead of changing our circumstances—and how making our goals visible to the right people can dramatically improve our chances of success.
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The books How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best, and Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (CS&Co.). Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (CS&Co.) has not reviewed the books and makes no representations about its content.