We often take criticism as a personal attack upon our character and abilities, but shouldn’t we really be putting a lid on our egos in return for the possibility of personal growth? There have been many times in my life where someone has criticised the way I write, the way I talk or even the way I look but as … 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
Why you need to start throwing away negative thoughts – literally
We are all plagued by negative thoughts – they’re part of our nature, but it’s the way in which we process them that makes all the difference. A recent study found that by literally throwing away pessimistic thoughts, participants mentally discarded the thoughts as well. “When they threw their thoughts away, they didn’t consider them anymore, whether they were positive … Read More
Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better
Youth unemployment is nearly at 1 million in the UK but with all this adversity comes huge opportunity. Unfortunately too many young people are using these statistics as a scapegoat for their own lack of drive; after all it’s easier to blame the wind instead of putting in the time to realign the sail. The demand for workers may have … Read More
Volunteering: The Art of Repairing
Last week I travelled around the UK interviewing outstanding volunteers for the vInspired National Awards 2013. In the process I began to notice a pattern in the lives of these super humans who consistently go beyond the call of duty to help others. Whether it was family illness, childhood scars or bad early life choices, each of them at some … Read More
Making your past useful
You hear it all the time, someone complaining about how they would do things differently if only they were back at school, didn’t have kids or if they were ten years younger, but why are we so quick to overlook the now? It’s easy to complain about what you coulda shoulda done – everyones has regrets, but if years later … 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
Curiosity And The Cat
Many of you will be familiar with the popular proverb, “curiosity killed the cat,” – inquisitiveness leads to danger, but is this really the kind of emotional guidance young people should be taking forward into their careers? We’ve all grown up in a school system that suppresses curiosity; classes have become a one-way stream of information that adheres to the … Read More
Why you need to break life’s patterns
A paper published by Duke University researchers in 2006 found that more than 40% of the actions people performed each day weren’t actually decisions, but habits. When Simon & Gardfunkel uttered the lyrics, “My life is made of patterns that can scarcely be controlled,” they hit the nail on the head, but just how scarce is our control and shouldn’t … Read More
Scheduling in procrastination
Procrastination is a dirty word when it comes to productivity but the truth is it can be highly effective if we learn how to take control of it. Humans suck at foresight and so we find it difficult to comprehend the success of our future selves, even though the rewards are likely to be much bigger. This is known as … Read More