What you say to yourself does matter, according to a series of research studies described in a recent article. Not only does self-talk work, but it also helps when you talk to yourself out loud and in the 3rd person (e.g., "Come on, Jim!). I encourage the athletes I work with to use self-talk to build [...]
New York magazine just published a really unsettling article on perfectionism, expanding on my own notions on the topic. Let me state this clearly: Perfectionism is REALLY BAD! It may appear to lead to great success, but, to the contrary, it often results in a lack of true success and, more importantly, it will make [...]
A fascinating article in The Huffington Post debunks the myth, so dearly held by so many, that birth order impacts personality. Two recent large-scale, international studies (here and here) found no relationship between birth order and five primary personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism). In fact, the only known effect that birth order [...]
I was recently interviewed by a new magazine and website devoted to the experience and expression of creativity in its many forms. If you'd like to take a look inside my head (however messy it may be) and see what creativity means to me and how it manifests itself in my work, this interview is a [...]
Please, don't waste my time! If you do, don't expect me to hang out for very long with you. And don't expect me to spend time with you in the future. I confess, I discriminate against certain people. I don’t hate these people; most are quite decent and likable. Though I do avoid them as [...]
Obsessive man laying on grass, perfection I've written quite a bit about how unhealthy perfectionism is for both children and adults. Yes, it can drive you maniacally to become successful. But it can also create a powerful fear of failure that ultimately prevents you from being truly successful. Plus, I've never met a happy [...]
I'm excited to have just reached a new milestone of readership on my PsychologyToday.com blog: 2,000,000! It is really gratifying to know that so many people are reading (and, hopefully, benefiting from) my blog posts.
I’m the co-founder of Beyond, a tech start-up that is using wearable technology (e.g., smartwatches) and biometric data (e.g., heart rate) to recognize and reduce stress in real-time (meaning in the moment when you experience the stress). We’re in the Alpha testing phase of product development (meaning early stage) and are looking for people who [...]
An interesting New York Times article debunks the power of positive thinking, to a point. The article describes research which found that people who simply think positively feel less energy, have less motivation, and accomplish less than those who don't think positively (or negatively). The research indicates that a combination of positive thinking and thinking [...]
Have you ever been at a social event, whether a hosted dinner, picnic, party, what-have-you, and you meet someone who is obviously intelligent, well educated, and successful? You fully expect an interesting conversation, yet it stumbles from the start. The conversation stays at a superficial level and, within a short time, you are actually struggling [...]