Words of Wisdom from Season 3 of 92,000 Hours

by Lexie Banks

On 92,000 Hours, we explore how to find meaning, passion, and purpose in every aspect of our lives — in our homes, in our workplaces, and in our communities. Season three brought deep conversations with everyday people — our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends — to learn what really matters to them and how they’ve navigated their lives with authenticity, vulnerability, and humor. And through those conversations, we’ve dug into our own values to ask hard questions about what it means to bring our whole selves to every aspect of our lives.

Below, read some of the biggest lessons I learned from our guests this season. From how to prioritize your life to how to give yourself kindness and the space to grow, this season’s guests were full of wisdom…

From Lee Payne, I learned that priorities rely on clarity. It’s not possible to prioritize without first understanding what we value. And as our values shift throughout our lives, so will our priorities. Lee recommended fast-forwarding to your “obituary view” — “I’ve lived a good life and now I’m gone. Someone is going to ride an obituary for me…. what do I want people to say about me? What do I want them to remember about me and how I lived my life?” If someone wants to be remembered as a world-famous surgeon, their priorities will look different from someone who wants to be remembered as a loving and supportive father.

From Troy Hooton, I learned that you must silence the inner critic to be successful. Preparation and openness are the building blocks of success—whether you’re taking the stage for a sales pitch or a stand-up routine. “If you're trying to make somebody laugh, you don't have a lot of time… You're writing it down in advance. You're getting clear. You're getting concise,” he said. “If you go into a meeting or a negotiation and you're prepared, and you're concise, and you're clear, and you've done your homework — you've won a big part of the game.” And you must come to the table with an open mind, an open ear, and an open heart — silencing your inner critic and being present in the moment — to unleash people’s potential as well as your own.

From Tofi Ta’afua, I learned the importance of remembering who you are at your core. When asked what she’s most proud of about herself as a human, Tofi said:

“That my core person is still the same, that I am still the human being people knew when I was five… There are people who get so into what they do, they don't know how to be human again. To me, it's important as you go through life that you continue to discover and rediscover yourself through the process. And, honestly, that's a real fear for most of us who don't come from a privileged background, for most of us who are not straight white males… you don't want to get to the other side, or get to what is defined by society as success, and forget who you are. Most of us are not willing to admit that out loud.”

From Jeff Girton, I learned to embrace disillusionment and use it to drive change in myself and my community. Jeff described growing up disillusioned—convinced that if he followed the rules set before him, things would work out and he would find success. But, he says, what typically gets us ahead is dumb luck. “I think we try to tell ourselves the opposite, because it seems scary if it operates by luck. I'm out of control if it operates by luck. And that's something that gives a lot of us the heebie-jeebie, anxiety, creepy kind of feeling,” he said. He reached a tipping point where he could continue the path of disillusionment or follow a new “thing my heart and my body and my soul and my mind are telling me is a better way”—and it’s paying off.

From our host Annalisa Holcombe, I learned we need to give ourselves the same kindness we extend to others. In our journey to be whole, purposeful, vulnerable humans, we’re bound to mess up. We say the wrong thing, make a joke at the wrong time, continuously repeat an interaction we wish had gone differently. Annalisa said, “It’s easy to go to the place of ‘You're dumb’ or ‘You say the wrong thing every time’ or ‘You're so awkward’. Instead, I ask ‘What about that situation made me feel so insecure? And how can I approach that in the future? What is it about that particular boss that's making me act this way? What is it about that particular friend set that makes me feel like I'm supposed to act differently than I usually act?’”

From Nicole Palmer, I learned that holding space for your community starts with holding space for yourself. Nicole said she’s spent her life being intentional about who she is as a person and who she wants to become. “What are my values? What do I hold sacred? How do I want to be in relation to other people so the world can be a better place? I feel this sense of responsibility to get out of my own way so I can be available both to myself and to the world.” Once she understood that for herself, she was able to create a community and steward a sense of belonging for her students to do the same.

From Natalie Murray, I learned that armoring up leads to a defensive outcome. If we go into a situation assuming it will be tense, the way we show up influences the environment. What assumptions am I making about the people and circumstances in my life? As Natalie asks, “how does that influence how I show up, how I respond to others, and how I interpret the situation?” Part of this response is physiological—as we experience strong emotions, “our heart rate quickens. Our breathing is more shallow, literally not getting enough oxygen to our brain. There is a bodily impact to stressful situations.” This is a barrier to us staying present and being intentional in our words and actions.

From Michael Bassis, I learned that we must challenge the status quo to create a visionary future. Michael is a higher education “maverick” — someone who understands what conventional wisdom is, but makes their own decisions and choices anyway. As he explains, progress relies on dissent and challenging the way things have always been done. “Dissent is helpful for the leader because it forces you to submit your idea to a sterner test — somebody whose talent you admire, who has another way to think about it,” he said. “Who knows, you might even learn something and change your mind, which is terrific.”

“For me, this season reinforced that life requires you to discover and rediscover yourself, adjust as you change, have patience with yourself, and give yourself space to grow. ”

Next season, we’re diving deeper to discuss how we can apply the lessons we’ve learned from three seasons of guests to lead more intentional lives. Each week, we’ll discuss a different topic for you to reflect on and take action. From trust to belonging to walking a different path, each episode will have relevant exercises you can incorporate in your own life. How will you learn to trust yourself and others? How do you identify your values and prioritize them in day-to-day life? What scares you, and how can you overcome those fears?

These are all questions we’ll address this season. Subscribe now.