When you fail at something, how long should you keep going? I often hear famous people saying that you should “never” give up on your dreams. But is that really realistic for most of us?

Say you want to be an artist or a TV presenter. Sure, you can keep applying for jobs. But if you’re not earning much money at all – how long can you keep going?

Some … Read more

A client of mine I’ll call Joanna had a tendency to take things personally. When projects went wrong at work and her colleagues pointed out her mistakes, she either got irritated and angry or she retreated and sulked.

Another client called Rupert wanted to change his life. He wanted to get a new job – but he wasn’t able to find the motivation within himself. When we first met, he … Read more

When I go to parties and tell people that I’m a psychologist, people sometimes ask me about topics such as the meaning of dreams. You probably know plenty of people in your life who are really interested in dreams and their meanings. Or perhaps you’re fascinated in the content of your own dreams.

Some believe that dreams have hidden messages for us. For example, seeing a church or snakes or … Read more

Psychologists have spent decades researching ways that we can boost our chances of achieving whatever goals we set ourselves. Here are 7 proven tips and tricks to boost your chances of success:

1. Set yourself manageable, specific actions.
Rather than saying something like “I want to lose weight” or “I want to be more outgoing,” decide on particular behaviours that you will demonstrate in certain circumstances.

For weight loss, you … Read more

Not long ago, a friend kept saying that she didn’t like her job and wanted to find a new one. But every time we met up, she said she was too busy (with work and also moving home) to look for a new job.  For months, she talked about how frustrated she was with work but she didn’t actually do anything about it.

Sneakily, I applied a psychological technique to … Read more

Everybody struggles with motivation at least occasionally, right? The good news: there are some great, research-backed techniques for boosting motivation.

Perhaps you’re trying to coach colleagues at work to help them to be more productive. Maybe a friend or family member needs help to find a new job or lose weight. Or it could be you who is looking to summon up more motivation for your personal goals.

The … Read more

What are your goals for the next 12 months? Maybe you want to lose weight, eat more healthily or quit a bad habit. Perhaps you want to socialise more – or socialise less and study more.

A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research suggests a new way of setting goals. Suppose you want to lose weight. You could either set yourself a specific goal (e.g. “lose 10 pounds”) … Read more