While the solution to loneliness often seems straightforward—connecting with others—it goes beyond mere social interaction. Loneliness is far more than just solitude. It’s the distressing feeling of being disconnected, even when in the presence of others.
Author Archives: fionamurden
Falling for Charisma: How Hollow Communicators Cast Their Spell
We’ve all encountered someone who speaks with confidence and charisma, drawn in by what they say. Whether it’s listening to a podcast or meeting someone in person, there are those people who are just utterly convincing, so much so that we’re almost bewitched by their words
Artificial Intelligence – The End of Humankind or a New Beginning? Part 2
Artificial Intelligence often gets a bad rap, with the focus on its risks and warnings dominating the conversation. But what if we shifted our perspective and explored how AI could actually help humanity and even enhance our unique qualities as human beings?
Artificial Intelligence – The End of Humankind or a New Beginning? Part 1
The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to have taken hold of our inner most fears, accelerated recently by the introduction of ChatGPT. But do these leaps forward in AI capability mean that we are all doomed? Elon Musk would have us believe that yes AI poses an existential threat to the human race (but pleaseContinue reading “Artificial Intelligence – The End of Humankind or a New Beginning? Part 1”
Are you sitting and waiting for life to happen? The difference between knowing and doing.
The difference between knowing something and doing something is like the difference between reading a recipe and cooking a meal. You can read a recipe all day long, but until you actually gather the ingredients, follow the steps, and put it in the oven, you won’t have a delicious meal to enjoy.
Does Anyone Actually ‘Do’ Personal Development?
As an organisational psychologist, I hope the answer to this is ‘Of course, we all want to grow and develop, tell me how?’ But is my viewpoint biased? The answer is yes.
Why if you want to succeed and be happier in 2023, something’s got to give!
How mentoring, mental health, performance and success are all intertwined with giving.
Models and Mentors
My Dad died 8 years ago today. If I sit and think about the happy times and the sad, it doesn’t take long for tears to sting my eyes, but whereas once that happened several times an hour, with time that emotion has sunk deeper inside. Grief passes, loss never does. Who were your role-models whenContinue reading “Models and Mentors”
Knowing you, knowing me
‘How well do you really know yourself?’ A hugely significant 95% of us think that we’re self-aware, but the reality bears a stark contrast with 10% to 15% actually knowing who we really are (Eurich 2017). Although we believe that we know the image we see starting back at us from the mirror, the way we position ourContinue reading “Knowing you, knowing me”
Who believes in you?
I believe in you. I believe that you can do whatever it is you set out to. I believe that you are better than you realise. We may feel like we don’t or shouldn’t need others to believe in us, but in reality, we do. It matters to feel like we matter, that we have worthContinue reading “Who believes in you?”
Need to fix your life, fix your habits (or so they say)!
You can’t fail to miss the approaches that currently espouse habits as being the core to self-improvement. And because we humans like things to be simple it’s appealing to consider habits or other ‘life hacks’ as a straightforward way of making our life better. But while habits are definitely a part of who we are, theyContinue reading “Need to fix your life, fix your habits (or so they say)!”
Doing more of what’s good for you and less of what’s not
Did you know that 80-92% of our efforts to change behaviour fail? That means that when you say you’re going to eat more heathy food, cut out alcohol, exercise more, be less grumpy with your partner, most of the time most you won’t actually do it. Us psychologists call it the ‘intention-behaviour’ gap. In organizations, where behaviourContinue reading “Doing more of what’s good for you and less of what’s not”
Who are your role models?
Making active use of role models opens up the opportunities to learn from others who you respect and admire, beyond having a more direct mentor relationship. They are an immensely useful addition to your growth. At the heart of role modelling is mirroring. We mirror the people around us all the time, even though mostContinue reading “Who are your role models?”
Oka Life 