Laura's Journey

Dr. Laura Gabayan is a physician, researcher, Psychology Today contributor, and the award-winning author of Common Wisdom: 8 Scientific Elements of a Meaningful Life.

For years, Laura dedicated her life to helping others as an emergency physician. She was accustomed to being the person people turned to in some of their most vulnerable moments. Medicine was her profession and a fundamental part of who she was.

Then, in 2013, her life began to change.

After developing severe and debilitating symptoms, Laura was erroneously diagnosed with an autoimmune condition and treated with medications that made her worse. By 2015, she could only see patients using a rolling desk chair, and by 2017, she was no longer able to practice medicine.

This experience forced Laura to confront something she had never expected: the knowledge and training she had relied on to help others couldn’t provide her with the answers she desperately needed.

But instead of giving up, she started to think about the people who possess something she wanted to understand.  Those who have learned to navigate adversity and create meaning from whatever life brings them. These are the people that think outside the box, the Wise.

She immediately learned that our knowledge of wisdom was limited and anecdotal. This is when she used her research expertise and decided to scientifically study wisdom.

She created the Wisdom Research Project(opens in new tab). Through a complicated and rigorous nomination process, she and her team identified 60 adults across North America who met the criteria for this study.  to interview for the study.

With a commitment to the scientific process and research, she and her team identified eight elements that consistently appeared in the lives of these wise people in this order: resilience, kindness, positivity, spirituality, humility, tolerance, creativity, and curiosity.

These discoveries became the foundation for her book Common Wisdom: 8 Scientific Elements of a Meaningful Life.(opens in new tab)

Dr. Gabayan describes Common Wisdom as more than a self-help book—it’s a practical guide to rethinking life. It’s written in a very concise, understandable manner for everyone to relate to.

She hopes readers will adopt a warrior mindset, understanding that “things are happening for you, not to you.” Her mission is to help people improve their lives, foster deeper connections, and embrace a life of deeper purpose and meaning. She shares, “When things seem like they’re not in your favor, have faith. Don’t live in fear.

Dr. Gabayan’s second book, Common Wisdom Journal(opens in new tab), extends that work, giving readers exercises and prompts to deepen their personal development journey.

Laura's journey began with a desire to understand what was happening to her when her body started to break down. It ultimately led her to change her life and discover that much bigger discovery: Wisdom may be one of the most important and most learnable tools we have for navigating life.