We are all at times overwhelmed by life and lacking in what is needed to take on something new. But according to new research in the field of positive psychology, building psychological capital can help.

PsyCap, as it’s typically shortened to, can help you manage who you are now and who you want to be.

And unlike other forms of investment, it has no financial risk and is almost always guaranteed to pay great dividends.

What is PsyCap?

PsyCap is about building the mental resources required for doing what you want and realizing your potential. After all, according to research, when your psychological…

While authenticity can be derailed, it can be restored

Authenticity, or being true to ourselves, is not only crucial to our well-being but also essential to outstanding leadership.

While oppressive environments and people can block authentic behavior, there are ways to break free and be ourselves.

According to research, authenticity is often driven by context and the individual’s relationship with it, including the following environmental factors:

• Degree of trust
• Deployment of power and politics
• Degree of challenge
• Not taking things for granted
• Being brave and unafraid of failure or being different

Coaching can help us better understand and even reframe that relationship.

After all, “we are born authentic,” the…

Thinking about thinking is your brains most powerful tool

Metacognition–being able to think about our thinking–is one of our defining features. The capacity to reflect on ourselves, such as how we feel, perceive, decide, and believe, is essential to who we are.

In his new book, Stephen Fleming, one of the world’s leading experts in neuroscience, explores and explains the power of the reflective mind to help us with lifelong learning.

Understanding metacognition and using our reflection skills can help us in education and enhance our ability to acquire the skills we need throughout life.

Not only that, we can learn how to do it better.

Great questions can…

If you believe you can, then you probably will

Helping people to stop unhealthy or damaging behavior is far from easy.

And yet, having the right conversations can motivate change.

Motivational interviewing is highly effective at counseling individuals. It can overcome ambivalence, enhance motivation, and get people ready to stop old habits and adopt healthy new ones.

Powerful and backed up by a wealth of research, motivational interviewing can help people talk themselves into making positive changes in their lives.

The acronym DARN is often used to focus change talk, using questions such as:

• Desire: What are you looking for? What do you want to achieve?
• Ability: How do…

Finding your way back

Even before the craziness of the last 15 months, burnout was a real problem. In high-pressure working environments, employees all too easily become the shock absorbers, taking the organizational strain when things get tough.

“Burnout occurs when an individual experiences too much stress for a prolonged period,” says Dr. Susan Bruce, researching extreme exhaustion in educators. The person becomes less productive at work, but more importantly, exhausted emotionally, physically, and mentally.

Burnout in teachers impacts not only their own and their family’s lives but also the education of their students.

While in business, burnout impacts the bottom line. Exhausted staff…

Applying lessons from therapy outside

While more and more people are seeking help from therapists, it is not always an easy path.

Despite engaging a professional, the client often does their best to resist. Perhaps it’s fear regarding hearing the truth, techniques that don’t resonate with the client, or a lack of readiness to make the necessary changes.

Either way, there are lessons to be learned from therapy that we can take outside the session.

It may be uncomfortable, but, perhaps surprisingly, awkward interactions can strengthen the relationship between therapist and client and improve the chances of a positive outcome.

Clients may consciously or unconsciously…

Self-talk and feeling your best

I talk to my dog. At best, he looks perplexed; mostly, he rolls over and goes back to sleep.

Even though he doesn’t reply, it helps. And it’s no surprise. At an elite level in sports, athletes are encouraged to self-talk. Research suggests that talking to ourselves–out loud or in our heads–can significantly impact performance and how we approach the tasks and obstacles ahead.

It seems that words lead to a host of thoughts, feelings, and even fears, that are not intrinsic to the word. “It is this additional meaning that can influence us,” says sports psychologist Peter Clough.

Take…