As with bilingualism, it’s generally assumed that being an expert completely beneficial and has no downsides to performance. However we know that expertise tends to be domain specific, for example, chess grand masters can memorise chess boards far more quickly and easily that novices, but on standard cognitive tests tend to fare no better. In [ Read More ]
Some people just have that “Get up and go,” don’t they??? This goes by many names – self-control, grit, motivation, drive, persistence, work-ethic. When it comes to succeeding in a particular pursuit, this thing is a pretty important factor, too. One study found that self-reported grit was more important than IQ in predicting a …
A few months ago I did a little experiment. For a month, I tried to make all my decisions based on intuition and gut feeling, rather than logically thinking things through. This proved harder than it sounds, and some interesting things happened. It was quite a freaky experience, in the sense that many …
Just like Santa Clause, happiness brings gifts with it too – and you don’t have to be good all year to get them! In the last three articles, I’ve discussed a paper arguing that happiness leads to success, through a better career, better relationships and better health. This works in part through behaviour – positive [ Read More ]
There’s a big focus on weaknesses in the world these days. It seems like people want to balance themselves out by developing their weaknesses – to become rounded. Previously, I’ve argued that it’s best not to be rounded, that we’re better off focusing on our strengths. But if we do this, we …
If, like me, you’re studying positive psychology, or if you’re keeping up with the field for personal or professional reasons, you will find the following links useful. They are great for finding new information and opinions, and especially for getting hard-to-find journal articles in PDF: Positive Psychology Search – The Google of positive psychology Positive [ Read More ]
I recently made a case that it’s better to “stick to your strengths” than to do “whatever you set your mind to.” The main thrust of my argument was that even if you could do anything you set your mind to, it’s a slower, longer, and more frustrating road to excellence if you’re not using [ Read More ]
Previously, I’ve explained why it’s best to stick to your strengths, and explained how to identify your strengths through self-reflection. In order to use self-reflection, you’d have to be aware of your body and mind, watch how they naturally respond to situations, and take some extra time to sit and reflect in the ways I [ Read More ]
Robert Biswas-Diener is a big name in positive psychology research. He’s sort of the Indiana Jones of positive psychology; he travelled around the world, through rich countries and tribal cultures, investigating happiness in these varied places. Rumour has it he took a whip and a hat along with him, although I can’t confirm this. Anyway, [ Read More ]
Are you aware of your personal strengths and weaknesses? In this article we’ll look at: The distinction between strengths and weaknesses, and why it may be more important to focus on strengths. How to identify your strengths and weaknesses How to manage and work around your weaknesses when focusing on your strengths “What are your [ Read More ]
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