We talk about other people’s personalities in terms of the adjectives we use to describe them. So, one person might be “talkative but rude” while another person may be “quiet and inquisitive”. But in psychological terms, personality is broadly defined as a set of enduring traits and processes within the individual that influence that person’s interactions with the world.

Most psychologists agree that there are at least five (but possibly … Read more

I’m coaching a lot of individuals at the moment who are trying to set goals for their careers as well as their home lives. Here are a collection of tips:

People often set themselves really big goals. So, a lot of people in their personal lives decide they want to lose so much weight. Often, people decide that they want … Read more

Like most people, you probably want to be able to cope with more work so that you can achieve even more. But here’s the reality: there are only 24 hours in the day. So, before you think about committing to even more work and greater responsibilities, consider these five pointers.

1. Ruthlessly review all of your existing commitments
Sure, you can work longer hours. But how sustainable would that be … Read more

There’s an old English proverb that “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”.

For me, I think of the saying as a warning that working long, long hours but not taking the time out for leisure activities can make people feel bored – and perhaps even less able to achieve their goals. And a recent research study suggests that this may indeed be true. However, the researchers … Read more

What are your professional or personal goals right now? For my work, I’m trying to write more short pieces to put on my Instagram and LinkedIn profiles. And for myself, I am aiming to (and so far managing to) do three Youtube workouts a week. But what about your goals?

Psychological research continues to identify methods we can use to boost the likelihood that we will achieve our goals. I’ve … Read more

What are your goals right now? I currently have a variety of professional and personal goals about staying in touch with clients, my eating and exercise habits, reading non-fiction books, improving my Cantonese language skills, staying in touch with friends and family, and so on.

A recent research paper in the journal Behavioural Public Policy by social scientists Samuli Reijula at the University of Helsinki and Ralph Hertwig of the … Read more

What are your goals in life?

New research suggests that most human goals may fall into four broad categories. Researchers led by Benjamin Wilkowski at the University of Wyoming used what’s known as a lexical approach to investigate the structure of goal-related words in the English language.

The researchers initially identified more than 140,000 English nouns; they then asked hundreds of people to rate the extent to which the nouns … Read more

Want to boost your commitment to your goals and achieve more?

Silly question, really. Because I’m sure your answer is “yes”.

Perhaps your biggest goal at the moment is to do with your work – getting a promotion, finding a new job, securing a pay rise, or reducing your stress levels, for instance. Or maybe your main goal is to do with your personal life – finding someone to date, … Read more