Short Tales of Psychology features stories about fascinating humans, offering a curated collection of articles, insights, and strategies to empower founders.
Watching Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open, one thing stood out: when the pressure rises, he doesn’t play safe—he plays to win. In this Short Tales of Psychology, we explore why pressure often pushes us into a loss-avoidance mindset and how shifting our focus from protecting what we have to expressing our best game can transform performance.
James Dyson failed 5,126 times before changing how the world cleans. His story reminds us that success isn’t about avoiding failure—it’s about learning from it. In this edition of Short Tales of Psychology, we explore why fear of being wrong limits innovation and how awareness of our avoidance behaviours can free us to experiment, grow, and perform at our best.
After years of hiding his Parkinson’s diagnosis, Michael J. Fox made a courageous decision to share his truth -and found freedom on the other side. This piece explores what his story teaches us about fear, authenticity, and the psychological cost of keeping secrets.
Dave Grohl’s agent called and asked if he was sitting down – the universal sign that a bomb is about
Haruki Murakami has a rather unique relationship with time. On the one hand, time is fleeting and it fuels his
Madison Keys has won her first Grand Slam, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to claim the 2025 Australian Open
For some tasks in our work life, urgency comes easy. You know, preparing for a pitch, sending a sales contract
On the day of a Grand Slam night match, most tennis pros try to control every aspect of their preparation—from
In the early ‘90s, Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, had a problem. Well, two problems. The first was growing
Believe it or not, performance anxiety is your friend. And it’s really common, even among world-class performers like Adele, Nadal,
Stephen King was so appalled by his draft outline of Carrie that he scrunched up the pages and threw them
Winnie and Nelson Mandela shared a vision of dismantling apartheid in South Africa but had rather contrasting approaches to achieving
Each fortnight I share a story from a interesting human where there’s a useful psychological concept we can all put into our lives to enhance wellbeing and optimise performance.
