Podcast Summary: Becoming You with Suzy Welch

Episode: How To Never See Anything The Same Again: Part 3
Air Date: February 10, 2026
Host: Suzy Welch, NYU Stern Professor, Author, and Decision-Making Expert

Episode Overview

In the third and final installment of her travel-themed series, Suzy Welch explores how life’s journeys not only take us to new places, but also reveal new truths about ourselves—especially about our core values. Using a recent trip to Paris and her experience earning a PhD as anchors, she delves into the personal and universal tension between work, achievement, and enjoyment (what she refers to as “eudaimonia”), ultimately encouraging listeners to understand and honor their unique value systems without judgment.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Backstory: From Loss to Purpose

• Transition after Loss: Suzy recounts the period after her husband Jack’s death, when she felt lost and disengaged in upstate New York. An invitation to appear on the Today Show catalyzed her realization that she needed to return to meaningful work ([03:00]).
• Birth of “Becoming You”: Inspired by her own search for purpose and her students’ uncertainties, Suzy conceptualized and began teaching the “Becoming You” class at NYU Stern. The class quickly gained popularity, especially in the post-pandemic landscape when many were reassessing their life choices ([04:30]).

2. Confronting Expertise and Impostor Syndrome

• Values Teaching Doubts: Despite initial success, Suzy felt she knew “just enough more than her students” about values, likening it to being assigned to teach tennis as a camp counselor with little actual skill—“You just have to be better than the campers” ([07:10]).
• Pursuit of Deep Knowledge: Prompted by her scholar best friend, Suzy pursued (and eventually obtained) a PhD from the University of Bristol in values expression. She describes the process as “the hardest intellectual thing I’ve ever done in my life,” dwarfing even her MBA ([09:10]).

  “There was nothing, nothing that compares to the intellectual torture of getting my PhD...” (Suzy, [09:15])

• Struggle and Triumph: Suzy shares about her repeated thesis rewrites and moments of near-defeat, only to be encouraged (or “kicked in the butt in a very polite British way”) by her advisors. The joy upon final acceptance brought her to tears ([11:15]).

3. The “Values Bridge” and Its Impact

• Suzy’s research during her doctorate led to the creation of the “Welch Bristol Values Inventory” and the “Values Bridge,” now foundational tools for her work and teaching.

  “It made me the professor my students deserved. They were putting so much trust in me, and... it just refined and elevated everything I was doing.” ([12:50])

4. The Paris Epiphany: Grappling with Enjoyment (Eudaimonia)

• Paris as Celebration: To celebrate her PhD graduation, Suzy and some family members traveled to Paris before heading to Bristol. She describes feeling oddly melancholy despite the celebratory circumstances, especially as her family members split off to pursue their interests ([13:20]).
• The Challenge of Enjoyment: Alone on Île de la Cité, she had to coax herself (and eventually her daughter, Sophia) into joining her at an outdoor café for oysters and champagne. She confesses to feeling almost alienated by the concept of sitting and enjoying life for its own sake ([14:00]).

  “I can’t believe people do this, like, all the time... I can’t believe people go on vacations and, like, have fun.” (Suzy, [14:20], retold by Sophia)

• Phone Call with Sophia: In a candid on-air call, Sophia describes Suzy’s shock at experiencing simple pleasure:

  “You were... in a state of shock because you had just been enjoying yourself.... I think part of you is definitely uncomfortable with it, with having fun.” (Sophia, [14:06])

5. Values in Daily Life: Work vs. Enjoyment

• Eudaimonia and Generational Shifts: Suzy notes that while “eudaimonia” (self-care, leisure, enjoyment) is a top life value for most people, it ranks almost last in her personal set. This, she observes, differs radically by generation, with younger generations (like Gen Z and her own children) prioritizing it far more ([16:20]).

  “I have never enjoyed enjoyment. I am like a working girl. When I was three years old, I saw people with briefcases and I thought, I want one of those.” ([17:20])

• Alignment in Relationships: She reflects fondly on finding alignment in values with Jack (“We left our honeymoon early because we weren’t working—we were bored!”) and discusses how divergent values can lead to relationship friction ([18:30]).

  “If he had high eudaimonia and I had low, but we were both the same that work was, you know, work is fun, but eudaimonia is different...” ([17:50])

• Travel as Values Discovery: She posits that travel uniquely illuminates our values—do we prefer beach relaxation, bustling sightseeing, or purposeful volunteering?—and that talking about values openly prevents misunderstanding and judgment ([19:10]).

6. Living Without Judgment

• Embracing Differences: Suzy advocates for making peace with one’s unique value priorities—whether achievement, work, or eudaimonia—and for resisting the societal urge to prescribe what others “should” value.

  “I don’t think we should tell people how to organize their lives. I don’t think we should judge each other. I think we should live our values freely and fully and authentically.” ([20:32])

• Practical Takeaway: She encourages listeners to use resources like the “Values Bridge” (valuesbridge.com) to clarify their own and others’ value structures, especially if friction arises in relationships or at work ([19:40]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Self-Discovery:

  “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” (Marcel Proust, cited by Suzy, [01:10])

• On Impostor Syndrome:

  “I knew about values. I just knew about it a little bit more than my students. That wasn’t cool to me because I took being a professor really seriously.” ([07:25])

• On Getting a PhD:

  “I wept from exhaustion, and I wept from joy.” ([11:47])

• On Enjoyment:

  “Eudaimonia is when you pause and when you do stuff that just feels really good. And I’m just not in that business. I don’t do it.” ([17:35])

• On Values Alignment:

  “All you have to do is just understand that your choices around these things have consequences. And that’s fine if you can accept that.” ([19:30])

• On Judgment:

  “I’m going to start a low Eudaimonia pride club... but I’ve been told by people my whole life to stop working and have fun.” ([20:00])

Key Timestamps

• [01:10] – Sets up the “new eyes” theme with Proust’s quote.
• [03:00] – Describes her lost period following her husband’s death.
• [04:30] – Talks about creation and impact of the “Becoming You” course.
• [07:10] – Compares early teaching of values to being an unqualified tennis instructor.
• [09:10] – Begins PhD journey, prompted by best friend.
• [11:15] – Emotional discussion of finishing the PhD.
• [12:50] – Creation and significance of the “Values Bridge.”
• [13:20] – Pre-graduation trip to Paris, Notre Dame visit.
• [14:00] – Experiences discomfort at enjoying leisure in Paris café; phone call with Sophia.
• [16:20] – Discusses generational and personal differences in valuing enjoyment.
• [17:50] – On values compatibility in marriage.
• [19:10] – Travel as a mirror to personal values.
• [19:40] – Recommendations: take the Values Bridge assessment.
• [20:32] – Final word on embracing value differences and avoiding judgment.

Conclusion and Takeaways

Suzy Welch’s exploration of values through the lens of personal travel, professional transformation, and everyday choices highlights a core message: Authenticity means understanding and owning what you value, even if it’s not what the world expects. Whether it’s enjoying oysters in Paris, diving into work, or taking time for self-care, the key is to live your life by your unique compass—without judging others for following theirs.