Many Drexel students may still be figuring out what they want to pursue. Thinking back to your own time as a student, what first sparked your interest in psychology?  

My interest in psychology started when I was three years old, and I was diagnosed with a central auditory processing disorder that made it very hard for me to process things in real time. People really thought I was stupid. They did not realize that I had this rich imagination inside of me, and a lot of creativity. In fact, some teachers wrote on the report card, "He's a very creative kid, but there's no points for that on this report card.” I always was fascinated with why I was so different. What was the difference between the kids in my special ed class and the gifted kids across the hall? I was very curious about the contrast between gifted and special ed and understanding differences among people. 

When I applied to colleges, I applied to a cognitive science program, wanting to redefine our measure of potential, and I got rejected. I went in as an opera major instead, and did the opera major for a full year before I switched into psychology. I've always felt like I have this combination of artist and scientist within me. I feel like I can easily switch back and forth between these different modes of thought. All these experiences led me to formulate a theory of intelligence in my PhD dissertation, which argues that we need to rethink intelligence as not just scientific thinking and rational thought, but to also include the kind of intelligence that happens in the arts.  

You’re passionate about helping people live creative, fulfilling and self-actualized lives. What does living well mean to you?  

I teach a course at Columbia, 'The Science of Living Well.' To me, living well is very intimately tied up with self-actualization. To live your best life, the environment matters, of course, being in a place where you feel free to express your core being. But it takes some big decisions to focus and get in touch with what you really want out of your life, as opposed to what other people tell you you want out of life, and the societal pressures that we all experience. To me, living well is intimately tied up with self-actualization, self-realization, and I think that's in line with the idea of eudaimonia that Aristotle talked about [an ancient Greek term for human flourishing or living a good, meaningful life, which is a deeper state than mere happiness].  

In your new book, "Rise Above," you encourage readers to reject the victim mindset and become the hero of their own lives. Can you share more about that?  

My book is a call to not define yourself by the worst things that have happened to you in your life, but to expand your identity to include what is not broken within you — your greatest strengths, your character, your hope for the future. I think it's very easy for us sometimes to get so caught up in our victimhood and in a particular mindset where we blame the world for all our problems, that we lose sight of the power we still have to create the world we want to create and become the kind of person we want to become. We can all fall prey to this kind of mindset, especially when things aren't going our way, and look for something to blame outside of ourselves. It's a very human mindset to curse the gods when things have not turned out how we wanted them to turn out. And I want people to learn hope. You know, hope is not a default state of being. We can fall into a helpless state very easily, but there are tools and techniques, as I teach in the book, that can really help us not become such prisoners of our own minds.  

What is one thing you hope audience members will take away from your lecture on November 4? 

I want them to be empowered to go after becoming who they really, truly want to become. I think we all kind of know, at some level, who we truly want to become, and there are lots of forces within us and outside of us that are acting against it. I want people to be inspired, and also really value living well. I think every one of us on this planet is worthy of living well. 

A common theme of this lecture series is creativity, and I think that a big part of living well is being creative in your lifestyle and creating who you want to become. It takes an act of will, but I also think it takes an act of imagination. It's art! You are an art project that is unfolding as we speak. 

By Sarah Hojsak