Nate’s Notes 264: Professor Tali Sharot | Where You Are Matters More Than You Think

Thanks for listening to this episode of Meikles & Dimes. I was struck by how Tali’s childhood experience of moving between countries gave her a powerful insight: circumstance matters more than we think. Traits like happiness, sociability, and even patience aren’t as fixed as they feel; they can meaningfully change depending on our environment.

That means thriving isn’t just about changing ourself—it’s about using our agency to find the settings where we function at our best. But doing that requires exploration. And exploration is uncomfortable. We stick with what’s familiar because it feels safe, even if it’s only “good enough.” The risk, of course, is that by avoiding uncertainty, we miss out on discovering what might be an even better fit.

And maybe most intriguing is the idea that different environments don’t just change how we feel—they actually activate different versions of who we are. We’re not just a single fixed person; we’re a range of possible selves, shaped by where we are and what we’re doing.

In summary,who you are is more flexible than you think—and where you are plays a bigger role than you realize. It’s a simple idea. Please take it seriously.

Tali Sharot Bio:

Tali Sharot is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London and on the faculty of the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. Tali’s research integrates neuroscience, behavioral economics, and psychology to study how emotion and motivation influence people’s beliefs and decisions. Tali’s award winning books – The Optimism Bias The Influential Mind, and Look Again, have been praised by outlets including the NYT, Time, Forbes and more. Her two TED talks have been viewed more than 17 million times, and she has written multiple Op-Eds for the NYT, Time, Guardian, Washington Post, CNN, and others.