Dot to Dot

In the UK "we look back on the 2012 Olympic Games through gold-tinted glasses, 'Super Saturday' and an inspiring celebration of British athletics uniting the country. For a then 20-year-old Green, the suffocation of 80,000 fans and personal expectations became the starter pistol to understanding and dealing with the mental health struggles he had always known were there.”  "If one thing got past m...

On this episode among other things we explore the importance mentors and role-models and how one small comment at the right or wrong time can send a young person's life off in a completely different direction.  We also discuss Christine's upbringing and how she chose not to go to Oxford or Cambridge despite being destined - not through her upbringing - but her academic capability to go there. She...

We chat about how it’s interesting that now that we have research around psychological theory - whether it's through neuroscience or more applied research studies - we're seeing that many of these ancient approaches work.   But remember that every technique will not work for everybody - so definitely give them a try, practice them with an open mind and see what works for you. There will be somethi...

From Utah to LA, a band member to a Silicon Valley founder, a return to Utah and becoming an extraordinary guide to leaders on public speaking and beyond John has had and continues to have such an interesting journey. This week I make a few bad jokes about my height and being the pinnacle of John's career (if you know me, you also know this is the last thing I'd ever think but it I worry it may ge...

For more from us follow these links:  My book Defining You - How to Build Your Unique Personal Profile and Unlock Your True Potential can be found at via these links and in all good book stores: https://bit.ly/DefiningYou2ndEd https://amzn.to/2lFMwOr If you are curious about who you are, your brain and the influences in your life then please dip into my more recent book  Mirror Thinking – How Role...

We talk about Helen's own squiggly career which you can hear more about in her TEDx which she recorded in In January 2021 with Sarah. Both Helen and Sarah are living proof of the title of their talk ‘Why squiggly careers are better for everyone’ and inspiring in their message. Prior to Amazing If she held leadership roles for Microsoft, Virgin and BP and was awarded the FT & 30% Club’s Women in Le...

Lou uses the example of the physical versus the psychological in sport. When an athlete goes to a physiotherapist who doesn’t help them with a physical problem they move on to see another physiotherapist, but when they meet a psychologist that they doesn’t click with they’re likely to give up on psychology. This is common to how we all approach our physical versus our psychological health, struggl...

Ginny is a neuroscience expert and science communicator. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, but her main passion and expertise is in psychology and neuroscience, so she focuses on helping kids and adults understand our complex minds. Ginny says that “Science is fun and fascinating and ever changing, and I want to help everyone share in the joy of curiosity and exploration.”    ​Some of the th...

We explore the psychological and physiological need for hugs, how hard it has been for many people not being able to hug loved ones during lockdown, the importance of touch from birth to old age and our fundamental need for touch as a means of connection.  To pre-order the second edition of my book Defining You (out on 27th May in UK, Sept rest of world) go to: https://bit.ly/DefiningYou2ndEd Foll...

Grace Lindsay is a computational neuroscientist currently based at University College London. She completed her PhD at the Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience at Columbia University, where her research focused on building mathematical models of how the brain controls its own sensory processing. Before that, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh and receiv...

As Lou says "Some might say 'to do lists' was a boring subject but actually the more you delve into it the more interesting and fascinating it gets because they have so many benefits. Which include increased productivity, increased confidence, greater focus, being more effective because you're writing things down and warming up your brain to actually achieve them, motivation.'   We discuss the way...

Vanessa went from a high octane career as a TV producer to becoming blind and paralyzed overnight. Her journey back to health resulted in her pulling on mental resources she’d learnt previously such as techniques from hypno-birthing. Demonstrating the power of psychology in action - since then she’s been on a mission to understand more about the impact of meditation on the mind. Vanessa has worked...

Russ Harris is a doctor, therapist, father, trainer of health professionals, and author of The Happiness Trap (plus eight other books). He started his career as a doctor back in 1989, and soon discovered that most of his patients were expressing a significant degree of dissatisfaction in life; most of what was wrong was psychologically based. He strongly related to their struggles, because he was...

Sports psychologist Lou Jones and I discuss how fighting with emotions just makes them worse. How it doesn't feel natural to just leave things because we're taught to 'fix things' in the outside world all of the time, but it's not the best way to deal with emotions. We will always have emotions, because it's part of being human and that's how we work so it's a life long journey to learn how we can...

This week Lou and I speak about how imagery and visualisation are used in sport and other areas of performance such as leadership in order to work toward success. How it's not just magic but based on science and how you can do it for yourself in your own life For more on Fiona visit www.fionamurden.com 

We discuss how this has applied to my work in profiling and analysing people, helping me to get clearer and more accurate judgements. And how it applies to Lou’s work in sport. Lou explains that although athletes want to do an analysis immediately after an event, leaving it a) prevents the emotional response to their performance detracting from what they may learn and b) gives the brain time to pr...

This week I talk to Radha about her journey including the importance of family, studying at Cambridge and Imperial, working as a hospital doctor, a GP, teaching medical students AND everything covered below. Radha shares a bit about her own level of self-awareness, learning what she likes and doesn't like and how to continually use that to navigate a healthy and fulfilling life.    Radha has appea...

Even if you think you’re already self-aware it’s still something that need revisiting and refreshing. It’s worth looking at your personal narrative to think through who you are, what your preferences are and what’s happening in your world. This week Lou and I talk about exploring your personal narrative, passions and strengths and making sure that they are part of who you are on a daily basis. We...

We talk about asking for feedback and how to do it in a way that is constructive and doesn’t make you or the person you’re asking feel awkward. That celebrating small successes through giving people feedback is really important to let them know how they’re doing and to keep them motivated. We discuss the timing of giving feedback - when should you give it for optimum impact?  We also discuss other...

Some of the topics we explore this week: How awareness is the basis for everything, followed by attention and motivation. Juna talks about neuroplasticity – that you can change your brain and knowing this immediately brings up your levels of attention of what you can change about yourself. That motivation has a neurochemical component to it which increases your ability to change the neuronal conne...

We discuss the fact that we are thrown so many words of advice on how to think, feel and approach things but in order to really optimise how they help us we need to understand the ‘why’. Lou says "If you’re doing something for some random reason, even if it’s helped you, you may not ever return to it again. But if you see it within the bigger picture it’s another matter entirely." That you don’t n...

We discuss how self-awareness is a business imperative from a financial standpoint. Companies who have a higher number of self-aware people are more financially successful and have better returns. Leaders who are self-aware are more effective and promotable. Leaders who are not self-aware are 600 times more likely to derail. Also how to become more self-aware and the fact that while it does take t...

Some of the things we talk about. Why it’s something that most of us think we have (95% of people according to the research by the fabulous Dr. Tasha Eurich who is next week’s guest) but few of us really do (10-15% of people). Why it’s critical to performance and so many other areas of life making you both healthier and more effective.    Why it isn’t just something you can put on your to do list...

Nudges to make better decisions but who for - whether we are manipulating people to do things that aren’t good for them or that are, there are moral implications behind nudges and behavioural norms. We also discuss interesting things like recycling being more of a problem because people recycle too much of the wrong thing and what to do about it, how social media has influenced movements like me t...

Burnout has three key dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism and a decline in professional efficacy – which in English means having reduced productivity.  Exhaustion – worn out, lost energy, depleted, debilitated and fatigued. Cynicism – negative attitude towards others, becoming irritable and withdrawn. Reduced productivity – low morale, decreased capability and an inability to cope.  “Basically, worke...