Beliefs

Why You Can’t Change People’s Minds With Facts

The UK’s recent referendum on European Union membership seems to have exposed deep fault lines in British society, if the strength of feeling shown in arguments on social media is anything to go by. I’ve certainly seen the normal rules of civilised conversation set aside, people on either side calling each other terrible things, and huge

10 Ways To Help Someone Close To You Loosen Up Their Limiting Beliefs

Even for experienced coaches and therapists, it’s not easy to help a person change when it’s someone close to you, because you’re emotionally involved yourself. If they’re stuck with a belief system that they know is holding them back, but they just can’t let go of by themselves, there are some things you can say just in

How To Use Surprise To Reduce Confirmation Bias

‘Confirmation Bias’ is when our minds filter what we perceive of the world around us, amplifying evidence that fits our existing beliefs and playing down or ignoring altogether any information that challenges them. Confirmation bias is inevitable – there’s so much information coming in all the time that we have to filter it somehow, or

Fixed vs Growth Mindsets – and Why It’s Important to Have a Growth Mindset

Anyone interested in improving performance will have come across the Henry Ford quote “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” This quote is so often repeated because it encapsulates an essential truth – that self-belief is important to performance. But it also overlooks an even more important principle discovered by

Politics and psychology – test your moral foundations

Following on from the last article about the differences in psychology and brain structure between ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives’, here’s a fascinating video of a TED talk by Jonathan Haidt on the five moral values that form the foundation of our political outlook.  Plus, he’s set up a site (www.yourmorals.org) where you can take an assessment to

Scroll to Top