Whenever the news announces heavy snow in London everybody goes into panic mode. The local supermarket shelves are quickly emptied, petrol stations run dry and suddenly everybody gets super productive before the white blanket arrives. Psychologist refer to this phenomenon as the “Romeo and Juliet Effect,” when we know something is going to be unavailable it suddenly becomes more attractive, … Read More
The “Screw That” Attitude
As we grow older, we each collect a list of things we believe we could never do. It’s not that we have any real evidence for these assumptions but instead we’ve fallen into the inferiority trap of believing the opinions of others. Whether it was an old teacher, a parent or even a close friend, when we’re told we’re not … Read More
5 Things Graduates Can Learn from Tree Roots
When I graduated from university to pursue a career in television the first thing the manager of a well-known production house told me was, “We don’t hire people with media degrees.” Having just spent the best part of £21,000 and now having to sign on to Job Seekers Allowance you can guess I wasn’t feeling too great. This summer, thousands … Read More
Compete With Yourself Not Conformity
Everyday we’re given the option to either compete against ourselves or with conformity. Adverts constantly remind as that unless we buy their products or services we’re likely to fall behind in whatever social standard society requires, but shouldn’t we be the ones who decide which races are worth entering? When I was younger I used to think that the clothes … Read More
Reducing Stereotype Threat in the Digital Age
There is no group in society stereotyped more than young people. You can’t open a newspaper without reading a story about the young being unemployed, uneducated or depressed but other than making convenient news filler could all this negativity be causing longer lasting damage on our countries young minds? Psychologist have found that negative preconceptions of social groups can have … Read More
From chronic worrier to chronic optimist
People who worry are hugely creative, they can think up an endless loop of self-perpetuating worries for why they or their ideas are likely to fail and so they successfully scare themselves away from actually trying. This irrational worrying is similar to that of superstitions in which something trivial can become the bearer of bad luck. “When a worry is … Read More
Upgrade Your Thinking
Every year technology companies spend millions of pounds updating their operating systems in order to stay in the game. Microsoft recently brought us Windows 8 and Apple, OS X Mountain Lion but when was the last time you did an upgrade on your own system? Too many people accept their old way of thinking even when they haven’t been getting … Read More
F**k being realistic.
The worst bit of advice you can give someone who is looking for work or planning to start their own being is to be realistic with their expectations. I hate the word realistic. Being realistic means not pushing yourself too far, not over committing, it’s hedging your bets, playing it safe. The most damaging thing about those people telling you … Read More
Why be rational?
“The inability to suspend judgment is one of the most prevalent aspects of irrationality.” – Stuart Sutherland Our decisions in life are based on the information that’s available to us at any given time. It’s easy to take the stance that finding a job in today’s economy is virtually impossible. The newspapers, the radio and that person you know are all … Read More