Dr Ben Gardner - THE man on habits

It is impossible to read any book or paper on habits that has done any level of research without coming across the name "Gardner", quite often in the context of "Gardner, Lally et al". Dr Gardner is one of the leading researchers in the science of habit formation and a leading lecturer on the topic. His research output is immense, but his latest paper is the one that raises the most questions in my view.  I'm delighted Ben agreed to be on the podcast, please enjoy!

Gavan Wall is a successful entrepreneur and venture capital investor...who lived for 5 years with his wife and three kids in his sisters spare bedroom after he became homeless. Gavan has a really interesting story (obviously) but also has very clear and strong views on the role that habits have played in both his success and his failures. A really interesting listen!

Martin Grunburg was talking about habits way before most of the rest of the world woke up to how important they were. Like a decade before Atomic Habits, Tiny Habits or any of the other best sellers from today. And his view on Habits is quite interesting, and something the science seems to be catching up with. Take a listen.

Dave Moore is a multi-award-winning radio presenter. He's fierce successful altogether to he is. But what role did habits play in his life and his success?   Let's find out.

What Separates High Performers from the rest of us? If we had the right habits, could we be high performers too? These are just two of the questions I had for this weeks' guest, Dr Sylvain Laborde a Dr. of Sports Psychology who lectures and researches at the Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln where we works with elite athletes to help them achieve peak performance  

Pete Lunn is the founder and head of the Economic and Social Research Institute's (ESRI)Behavioural Research Unit. A behavioural economist, he holds degrees in Philosophy & Psychology, Neuroscience and Economics. Pete’s primary research interest is economic decision-making and, in particular, how people negotiate trade-offs. He's also a REALLY interesting guy and has really interesting insights into our behaviour which will really make you think! Enjoy, and if you do, please like and leave a comment!

This week's guest is Rob Cullen. Rob and his wife Yvonne lost 13 stone between them, which, obviously, is a huge amount of weight. Importantly, they didn't do it using any mad diet or exercise regime, and just as importantly, because of that the weight has stayed off. For anyone thinking of losing weight, you would be hard pressed to listen to a more important or inspiring interview today.  

I wanted to record an episode of the podcast that specifically addressed why you might get the impression from my social media that I'm completely against New Years Resolutions. I'm actually not....if they are done properly. The problem is, they almost never are.

Dr Dana Cohen is a medical doctor from New York who has co-authored a fascinating book on hydration called 'Quench'. I chat to Dana about all things hydration and we try and convert US measurements to metric with limited success!!

My guests this week are talking about something that sounds easy, but actually isn't. Drinking water. Or more specifically, drinking enough water to stay hydrated all (or nearly all) of the time. Dr Esther Papies and research assistant Amy Rodger undertook a study earlier this year to find out how and why people drink water, and to see how if could be habitualised and looked at in a different way.  The results are fascinating, and after listening to the podcast you'll never think about drinking water in the same way again. Please leave a review or comment if you can (and want to!) Brian