Peak Performer

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has gained considerable attention in both academic and popular literature since the 1990s, to the point where it has perhaps become just another tick-box exercise for people. If you want to be successful, you must become more emotionally intelligent, or so they say. In other words, you must work at it. This is a flawed approach, in my view, because, on the one hand, it may send ordinarily good people off course and cause them to question their own integrity. On the other hand, it may give manipulative people the ammunition to manipulate further. For me, emotional intelligence is about waking up to the fact that other people matter just as much as you and more than the goals you pursue.

Originally conceptualised by Salovey and Mayer (1990), and later popularised by Daniel Goleman's book Emotional Intelligence (1995), EI broadly refers to the ability to perceive, regulate, and utilise emotions in oneself and others towards productive and healthy ends. Despite its popularity, the study of emotional intelligence lacks a universally agreed-upon framework.

The Ability Model: Mayer and Salovey

Salovey and Mayer (1990) proposed the first formal model of emotional intelligence (EI) as a form of intelligence encompassing specific emotion-related mental skills or abilities. Their framework identified three key components:

* Appraisal and Expression of Emotion: This component refers to the foundational capacity to identify and effectively communicate emotions, both in oneself and in others. It encompasses both verbal and non-verbal recognition of emotional states and spans two key domains: the self and others.

* Regulation of Emotion: This domain involves the ability to manage and influence emotional states, both intrapersonally and interpersonally. Effective emotional regulation entails being open to emotional experiences, monitoring emotional reactions, and adjusting emotional responses in a way that supports well-being and goal attainment.

* Utilisation of Emotion: The third component refers to the ability to harness emotions to support cognitive processes such as attention, memory, planning, and problem-solving. Emotions are viewed not only as reactions but also as signals that can guide reasoning and behaviour.

In their 1997 revision, Mayer and Salovey restructured EI into four branches:

* Perception, Appraisal, and Expression: This includes recognising emotions in oneself and others.

* Emotional Facilitation of Thinking: Emotions aid in prioritising information and enhancing cognitive processes.

* Understanding and Analysing Emotions: Involves recognising emotional transitions and complex feelings.

* Reflective Regulation: Concerns with managing emotional states to promote well-being and cognitive growth.

This model treats EI as a cognitive-emotional ability, distinct from personality traits, and suitable for assessment via performance-based measures (e.g., MEIS, MSCEIT).

Criticism of the Ability Model

Despite its theoretical precision, the ability model has faced criticism. Notably, the third and fourth branches—facilitation of thinking and understanding emotions—are conceptually vague and difficult to operationalise. Researchers question whether these components reflect intelligence or simply restate existing constructs like motivation and attention. There are also methodological challenges in performance-based measurement: defining “correct” answers in emotional domains is not straightforward. The MSCEIT attempted to resolve this using consensus and expert scoring, but questions remain regarding its construct validity and cultural fairness.

Mixed Models: Bar-On and Goleman

Mixed models, such as those proposed by Bar-On (1997) and Goleman (1995), conceptualise EI as a broad set of competencies and personality traits related to emotional and social functioning. Bar-On's model, in particular, includes five domains:

* Intrapersonal Skills (e.g., self-awareness, self-regard)

* Interpersonal Skills (e.g., empathy, social responsibility)

* Adaptability (e.g., problem solving, flexibility)

* Stress Management (e.g., stress tolerance, impulse control)

* General Mood (e.g., happiness, optimism)

Goleman’s model, particularly as adapted for organisations, comprises four major clusters of competencies, each involving specific emotional and social skills.

Self-Awareness

* The ability to accurately perceive one’s own emotions and recognise their impact.

* Includes emotional self-awareness, accurate self-assessment, and self-confidence.

* This competency is foundational; individuals must be aware of their emotional states before they can regulate them.

Self-Management

* The capacity to regulate one’s emotional reactions and impulses in adaptive ways.

* Includes emotional self-control, transparency, adaptability, achievement orientation, and initiative.

* Enables individuals to stay composed, direct their behaviour constructively, and pursue goals despite obstacles.

Social Awareness

* The ability to sense, understand, and respond to others’ emotions.

* Includes empathy, organisational awareness, and service orientation.

* Empathy here is crucial for effective communication and relationship-building.

Relationship Management

* The ability to manage interactions constructively and build positive relationships.

* Includes inspirational leadership, influence, developing others, conflict management, and teamwork.

* This domain extends EI into leadership and group dynamics.

These constructs are assessed using self-report inventories, notably the EQ-i. While popular in applied settings, these models blur the lines between emotion, intelligence, and personality. As Neubauer and Freudenthaler (2005) argue, their breadth raises concerns over construct validity—if EI includes so many traits, it risks becoming indistinguishable from general personality.

Trait Emotional Intelligence

Petrides and Furnham (2001) addressed the ambiguity in mixed models by proposing the concept of trait EI, defined as a constellation of emotional self-perceptions located within the lower levels of personality. Trait EI is assessed exclusively via self-report and reflects behavioural dispositions and perceived emotional competencies. Neubauer and Freudenthaler (2005) note that this approach distinguishes EI as a personality variable rather than a cognitive ability, aligning it more closely with self-efficacy than with intelligence per se.

Emotional Intelligence remains a developing construct with significant theoretical and practical implications. The ability model offers a structured, psychometrically grounded approach, but it struggles with operational challenges and conceptual clarity, particularly in higher-order branches. Mixed and trait models offer broader, more applied perspectives, though they risk conflating EI with established personality traits.

Mental Skills Basics Course

Suffering stress and anxiety is not a prerequisite for success in self-employment–there's a better way. Mental skills provide you with the means of coping effectively with difficulty and achieving your goals. I created the Mental Skills Basics Course to introduce business leaders, self-employed individuals, freelancers, consultants, and small business owners to the psychological and emotional skills associated with success.

Leadership is not only about leading others, it’s about leading oneself. It is what you do when nobody is watching. It doesn’t require you to be extroverted, though. In fact, you're more likely to be effective with others if you are more inclined towards introversion. Jim Collins pointed this out in his 2001 book, Good to Great. It has a kind of unseen impact on those with whom you associate. You can try, but you can’t hide it. It oozes out of you in everything you do. If you happen to occupy a leadership position on a sports team or within a business organisation, your leadership style helps create and maintain the culture. What is your core belief about people—are they self-motivated, energetic and self-guided, or do they need to be pushed around and made to do what’s necessary?

We’re on Day 11 of 30 Days of Mental Skills, and for the next couple of sessions, we’ll be discussing why people skills are a core psychological skill of peak performers. You don’t exist in a vacuum after all. Almost everything you do in your work requires the interaction of other people, and how you view them matters. Even if you are a sole trader or lone artist, you will engage with others as you sell your work and engage with agents. So, what are their motivations? Are they selfish and lazy or are people good at heart and trying to do their best?

Despite the narcissistic, self-image-oriented leaders that dominate not only business but many other areas of life, some stand out for the right reasons. Perhaps it’s better to say they stand out by not standing out. Fred Luthans and Bruce Avolio (2009) define Authentic Leadership as follows;

Specifically, we define authentic leadership in organisations as a process that draws from both positive psychological capacities and a highly developed organizational context, which results in both greater self-awareness and self-regulated positive behaviours on the part of leaders and associates, fostering positive self-development. The authentic leader is confident, hopeful, optimistic, resilient, transparent, moral/ethical, future-oriented, and gives priority to developing associates to be leaders. The authentic leader is true to him/herself and the exhibited behaviour positively transforms or develops associates into leaders themselves. The authentic leader does not try to coerce or even rationally persuade associates, but rather the leader’s authentic values, beliefs, and behaviours serve to model the development of associates.

So, how do we achieve or develop these positive traits of personality? Some people see others as objects to be manipulated and do a reasonable job pretending to care. Others couldn’t care less about your feelings and would steamroll their grandmother to get what they want. The best of us see other people as essential elements in their success, and consider the success of others equally valid as their own personal success. You can have all the material measures of achievement but if you can’t share it with others, what use is it?

It appears that the conditions necessary for authentic leadership cannot be created at will. Instead, they seem to be the consequence of living a certain life. The self-awareness required for genuine concern for others and oneself comes from a willingness to address our shortcomings, reflect critically on our decisions, and test our own hypotheses of life. The skills required for successful operation in a dramatically changing environment come from learning who we are fundamentally and connecting to our intrinsic core self.

Mental Skills Basics Course

Suffering stress and anxiety is not a prerequisite for success in self-employment–there's a better way. Mental skills provide you with the means of coping effectively with difficulty and achieving your goals. I created the Mental Skills Basics Course to introduce business leaders, self-employed individuals, freelancers, consultants, and small business owners to the psychological and emotional skills associated with success.

We have, over the last few days, examined the reasons why goal-setting the SMART way is a good idea. That said, while goal setting is widely regarded as a powerful motivational tool inside and outside organisations, there are problems when it’s over-prescribed. In other words, too narrow a focus can bring about negative consequences.

Research by Ordóñez et al. (2009) highlighted that when goals are applied without regard for task complexity, ethics, or long-term impacts on people and the environment, negative outcomes are likely to occur. They can distort attention, encourage unethical behaviour, and undermine both individual and organisational well-being. This is why a values-first approach is advisable.

When pursued without caution, goals can narrow focus, promote risk-taking, encourage unethical behaviour, and undermine learning and cooperation. As Ordóñez et al. (2009) argue, goal setting is not a harmless motivational tool—it must be applied selectively and closely monitored to prevent harmful side effects for individuals and organisations. Here’s what the research says.

Narrow Focus

* Overly specific goals can cause us to ignore essential but non-goal areas, leading to tunnel vision (e.g., focusing on building a business at the expense of time with your family).

Increased Risk-Taking

* Narrow goals can overlook and distort risk, encouraging us to engage in unsafe or unsound decision-making strategies. Non-diversified boardrooms where everyone thinks the same can tend towards dramatic business decisions.

Unethical Behaviour

* Pressure to meet goals can lead to cheating, deception, and rationalisation of unethical conduct to achieve outcomes. Consider sales teams that are highly competitive and results-driven - they often make unethical decisions regarding their clients.

Corrosion of Organisational Culture

* A goal-driven culture can lead to an “ends justify the means” mentality, promoting competitive individualism and undermining ethical standards and cooperation across the group as a whole.

Inhibited Learning

* Specific performance goals may hinder experimentation and adaptability in complex tasks, thereby reducing learning opportunities. There’s no time to be creative, it’s simply about getting it done.

Crowding Out Intrinsic Motivation

* Emphasis on extrinsic goals (e.g., rewards or metrics) can reduce engagement driven by interest, curiosity, or enjoyment of the task. People can lose their sense of autonomy and personal influence.

Boredom and Burnout

* Uniform goals may be too difficult for some and too easy for others; overly ambitious goals can lead to demotivation and burnout, while easy ones may promote complacency.

Goal Ceiling Effects

* Once goals are reached, we may stop exerting effort, viewing goals as performance limits rather than starting points. In other words, obtaining objective ends is sufficient.

Misaligned Time Horizons

* A short-term goal focus can lead to underinvestment in long-term development and strategic capabilities (e.g., management cutting R&D to meet quarterly earnings targets).

Reduced Cooperation

* Competitive goal structures may discourage teamwork, reduce helping behaviours, and damage group cohesion. You don’t want to be in the bottom 5% in Meta, for example.

Read The Dark Side of Goal Setting for more

Mental Skills Basics Course

Suffering stress and anxiety is not a prerequisite for success in self-employment–there's a better way. Mental skills provide you with the means of coping effectively with difficulty and achieving your goals. I created the Mental Skills Basics Course to introduce business leaders, self-employed individuals, freelancers, consultants, and small business owners to the psychological and emotional skills associated with success.

SMART goal setting is the gold standard for achievement and success. Michel & Daniels (2002) said that goal-setting is “quite easily the single most dominant theory in the field, with over a thousand articles and reviews published on the topic in a little over 30 years.” In 1990, two researchers published a book that caught the attention of many people in business and management circles. Edwin Locke and Gary Latham developed a theory of goal setting, providing a framework for achieving success. They said that whether we are consciously or unconsciously pursuing our goals, we do so nonetheless, and this goal-directed action shares three common features;

* Self-Generation The actions of living organisms are fuelled by a source integral to the organism.

* Value Significance All goal-directed behaviour has value significance for the organism in terms of its survival.

* Goal Causation Goal attainment is caused by consciousness, the person’s vision, expectation, and imagination for a future state.

Locke and Latham were highly critical of the behaviourist view. Behaviourism stated that your actions are a consequence of environmental contingencies. In other words, your behaviour is a consequence of the promise of reward or the threat of punishment. Instead, Locke and Latham stated that there is causal efficacy of consciousness in goal pursuits. In other words, goal pursuit is caused by consciousness. Goal Setting Theory assumes that human actions are directed by conscious goals and intentions.

The SMART Goal Setting Framework

The SMART framework is derived from Locke & Latham’s work on Goal Setting Theory. Cognitive behavioural therapies, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) (Hayes et al., 2006), take it a step further, suggesting that setting goals guided by our values is of critical importance. Therefore, before setting any goals, it is essential to clarify the underlying value(s) that drive these objectives. There are different versions of this acronym. In Harris' version, taken from the book The Happiness Trap, SMART stands for:

S - Specific: specify the actions you will take, when and where you will do so, and who or what is involved. Example of a vague or non-specific goal: “I will spend more time with my kids.” A specific goal: “I will take the kids to the climbing wall on Saturday.”

M - Meaningful: The goal should be personally meaningful to you if it is genuinely guided by your values, rather than trying to please others or avoid pain. If it lacks a sense of meaning or purpose, check in and see if it is really guided by your values.

A - Adaptive: Does the goal help you to take your life forward in a direction that, as far as you can predict, is likely to improve the quality of your life and that of others? Is it adaptive?

R - Realistic: The goal should be realistically achievable. Take into account your health, competing demands on your time, financial status, and whether you need to develop new skills to achieve it.

T - Time-bound: To increase the specificity of your goal, set a day, date and time for it. If this is not possible, set as accurate a time limit as you can.

Download the worksheets

* Personal Values Worksheet

* SMART(er) Goal Setting

What are the benefits of achieving this goal?

What are the potential pitfalls and what will you do if they arise?

Write a commitment statement.

Follow the Russ Harris worksheets here

Mental Skills Basics Course

Suffering stress and anxiety is not a prerequisite for success in self-employment–there's a better way. Mental skills provide you with the means of coping effectively with difficulty and achieving your goals. I created the Mental Skills Basics Course to introduce business leaders, self-employed individuals, freelancers, consultants, and small business owners to the psychological and emotional skills associated with success.

Establishing and recording personal values is a beneficial practice for several reasons, and psychological research provides valuable insights into the advantages, including greater clarity and awareness, increased intrinsic motivation, and sharper decision-making. Goals that are aligned with those things in life that are important to you are more likely to be achieved. Once you have established your values, you’re set to work on your goals.

Use this FREE Personal Values worksheet to establish your values. Once completed, use this Goal Setting Worksheet to set values-based goals.

Cognitive behavioural therapies, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) (Hayes et al., 2006), suggest that setting goals guided by our values is of critical importance for not only success, but also everyday wellness. Therefore, before setting any goals, it is essential to clarify what value(s) underlie these goals. Recognition of your values helps with;

Clarity and self-awareness

Defining and recording personal values can lead to greater self-awareness. Research by Sheldon and King (2001), published in the Journal of Research in Personality, suggests that self-awareness is linked to greater life satisfaction and overall well-being. By identifying and recording their values, individuals can gain clarity about what truly matters to them, which can guide their decision-making and provide a sense of purpose.

Goal setting and motivation

Personal values can serve as a source of motivation, helping individuals set meaningful goals. According to self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), aligning one's goals with their intrinsic values can enhance motivation and persistence in achieving those goals. This connection between values and motivation can lead to increased goal attainment.

Decision-making and ethics

Establishing and recording personal values can assist in ethical decision-making. A study by Forsyth (1980) in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests that individuals with well-defined values are more likely to make ethical decisions, as their values serve as a moral compass for their actions. This is important for both personal and professional life.

Stress reduction

Understanding and adhering to personal values can reduce stress and promote well-being. Research by Schwartz and Cieciuch (2016) in the journal "Psychological Topics" suggests that living in alignment with one's values is associated with greater life satisfaction and lower psychological distress. This can help individuals better cope with stressors and challenges.

The framework for goal-setting, as outlined in the worksheet, encourages you to set goals that facilitate development.

* An immediate goal

* A short-term goal

* A medium-term goal

* And a long-term goal

Recognising your values, choose a domain of life that is important to you, an area where you wish to establish greater meaning and purpose (e.g. Work). Write down a graduated series of goals, from small, simple goals that can be achieved immediately to long-term goals that may not be achieved for months or years but that you will be working towards. We’ll talk more about the SMART process tomorrow.

Download The Worksheets

* Personal Values Worksheet

* SMART(er) Goal Setting

Mental Skills Basics Course

Suffering stress and anxiety is not a prerequisite for success in self-employment–there's a better way. Mental skills provide you with the means of coping effectively with difficulty and achieving your goals. I created the Mental Skills Basics Course to introduce business leaders, self-employed individuals, freelancers, consultants, and small business owners to the psychological and emotional skills associated with success.

Welcome to 30 Days of Mental Skills, where I’m breaking down the 9 core psychological skills of peak performers. Each day, I’m posting a new video discussing a key aspect, including Mindset, Motivation, Goal Setting, People Skills, Self-Talk, Mental Imagery, Managing Stress, Emotional Agility, and focus and attention. This material is adapted from my lectures on the Performance Psychology module, which I taught to undergraduate students. Be sure to check out Essential Mental Skills to find out more.

The first thing to say is that you can’t. Motivate yourself, that is. You cannot muster sufficient willpower to overcome the challenges that await you. Willpower has limits, it is a finute resource. You know this already, surely. Despite our best and honest intentions, most of us fail in our pursuit of goals. They say, don’t do the weekly shopping when you’re hungry, avoid social gatherings when you’re off the drink, and don’t go on holidays when you’re in the middle of a fitness plan. It’s all because these things are potential banana skins in the pursuit of goals. In moments of weakness, our best intentions let us down. There are other factors, of course, such as maybe we took too big a leap, or we didn’t create the right environment, or we didn’t have sufficient peer support. In other words, motivation is not something you can switch on and off.

Motivation, just like other mental skills, is not a conscious faculty. Instead, you either have it or you don’t, and it’s either intrinsic or extrinsic. It’s something we tap into once our goals are aligned with our values. I’ll discuss this more in the next video, but for now, it’s essential to know that motivation comes more easily when our goals are aligned with our values. Willpower, or self-regulation, comes into it too, but researchers seem to agree that it appears to be a finite resource. You can influence it, however, and you do so by building a support group around you, hiring a coach, and creating a structure that will help you succeed. That's where this material is headed.

Here’s an article on this topic;

Mental Skills Basics Course

Suffering stress and anxiety is not a prerequisite for success in self-employment–there's a better way. Mental skills provide you with the means of coping effectively with difficulty and achieving your goals. I created the Mental Skills Basics Course to introduce business leaders, self-employed individuals, freelancers, consultants, and small business owners to the psychological and emotional skills associated with success.

Despite popular belief, money doesn’t motivate people. I ran a few ad hoc polls on this topic with readers in the past, and generally, most people “believe” that money is a significant motivator of behaviour. According to this idea, if you want to get people to do what you want, pay them. And if you want them to do better or do more, pay them more, like a bonus. When they have financial skin in the game, people are more likely to be more productive.

But alas, it’s not true.

Harvard Business Review, the respected business and management publication, as much as I cringe at their hyperbole and corporate rhetoric, produced a good summary of findings back in 2013. Apparently, though, no one listened.

First up is a study by Timothy Judge and colleagues in 2010. They conducted a meta-analysis of studies examining the relationship between pay and life satisfaction. Results from 92 independent samples suggested that pay level was correlated with job satisfaction at 0.15 and with pay satisfaction at 0.23. For those unfamiliar with statistics, results below 0.4 are considered weak. In gross terms, pay has little or no relation to happiness.

In a later study, the same authors said, “Employees earning salaries in the top half of our data range reported similar levels of job satisfaction to those employees earning salaries in the bottom half of our data range” (p.162). Gallup’s research on engagement at work also reported no significant difference in employee engagement by pay level.

A classic study by Ed Deci, Richard Ryan and Richard Koestner in 1999 found that their meta-analysis of 128 studies examining extrinsic rewards had a negative impact on intrinsic motivation. The authors reported that engagement-contingent, completion-contingent, and performance-contingent rewards significantly undermine free-choice intrinsic motivation. In contrast, positive feedback enhanced both free-choice behaviour and self-reported interest. Remember what I mentioned in yesterday’s video on the effects of a positive environment?

In their concluding remarks, the authors say, “Careful consideration of reward effects reported in 128 experiments leads to the conclusion that tangible rewards tend to have a substantially negative effect on intrinsic motivation, with the limiting conditions we have specified. Even when tangible rewards are offered as indicators of good performance, they typically decrease intrinsic motivation for interesting activities.”

Why is this? I explain in the video. Watch it, let me know your thoughts

Mental Skills Basics Course

Suffering stress and anxiety is not a prerequisite for success in self-employment–there's a better way. Mental skills provide you with the means of coping effectively with difficulty and achieving your goals. I created the Mental Skills Basics Course to introduce business leaders, self-employed individuals, freelancers, consultants, and small business owners to the psychological and emotional skills associated with success.

Let's discuss motivation. Self-Determination Theory says that human beings are active organisms with evolved tendencies toward growth, mastery, and integration of new experiences into a coherent sense of self. These natural tendencies toward growth and development are automatic, however. The social context is an essential factor, and it can either support or thwart our development. And so, there exists a dialectic relationship between the organism and its social context. This is the basis for SDT’s predictions about human behaviour, experience, and development. It is formed aroun d three basic assumptions;

* Autonomy: The human need to self-regulate our experiences and actions

* Competence: Our basic need to feel effective and masterful in a given discipline

* Relatedness: Our feelings of social connection and meaningful relationships

SDT speaks of psychological “nutriments” for healthy human development and functioning, and we realise these through the fulfilment of basic psychological needs for Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness. To the extent that these psychological needs are satisfied on an ongoing basis, people develop and function along healthy lines. However, if these psychological needs are thwarted, people will more likely experience the absence of well-being and sub-optimal functioning.

The darker aspects of human behaviour, such as psychopathology, prejudice, and aggression, are understood as reactions to thwarting of basic psychological needs. In other words, where our basic psychological needs are not supported, we develop compensatory or defensive strategies. We literally have to fight for psychological survival. In overly controlling, rejecting, critical, and negative situations, we are more likely to become self-protecting, self-focused, defensive, aggressive, and antisocial.

Ryan and Deci's theory of self-determination refers to these basic psychological needs as proximal satisfactions and says that they are, in the most profound sense, the essence of human thriving. The research suggests that in all social contexts, be that work or play, where there is support for our satisfactions, we express our curiosity, creativity, productivity, and compassion for others to the highest levels.

Essential Mental Skills Is Launching Soon

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Welcome to Day 4 of 30 Days of Mental Skills. Today I’m discussing Two Thinking Systems, or Dual-process Thinking. Dual Process Thinking is a fundamental concept that explains how our minds process information and make decisions through two distinct yet complimentary systems of mind. Understanding this concept of mind can help us develop the mental skills required for peak performance. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman proposed it in his groundbreaking work “Thinking, Fast and Slow.” This influential theory reveals the intricate workings of human cognition, providing crucial insights into how we handle everything from split-second choices to complex problem-solving in our daily lives.

System One

System 1 represents our fast, intuitive, and automatic thinking processes. This system operates continuously in the background, requiring minimal cognitive effort and energy expenditure. It excels at quick pattern recognition, emotional processing, and handling routine tasks that we've mastered through repeated exposure and practice. When we recognise a friend's face in a crowd, instinctively brake while driving, or respond to immediate dangers, we're engaging System 1.

System Two

System 2 embodies our slower, more deliberate thinking processes. This system handles complex calculations, logical reasoning, and careful decision-making. It's the mental mode we use to solve mathematical problems, analyse complex arguments, or make important life decisions. System 2 thinking requires focused attention and is characterised by methodical analysis rather than quick intuition.

The analytical nature of System 2 allows us to engage in abstract thinking, consider hypothetical scenarios, and plan for the future. This system is particularly crucial for learning new skills, understanding complex concepts, and making decisions that require careful consideration of multiple factors.

These two systems don't operate in isolation but rather in a continuous dance of interaction. System 1 generates quick impressions and intuitions, which System 2 can endorse or question. System 1 encounters uncertainty or complexity beyond its capabilities, so it calls upon System 2 for more detailed analysis. This interplay allows for efficient decision-making while maintaining the ability to engage in deeper analysis when necessary.

Mental Skills Basics Course

Suffering stress and anxiety is not a prerequisite for success in self-employment–there's a better way. Mental skills provide you with the means of coping effectively with difficulty and achieving your goals. I created the Mental Skills Basics Course to introduce business leaders, self-employed individuals, freelancers, consultants, and small business owners to the psychological and emotional skills associated with success.

Within field of psychology, Locus of Control is considered an important aspect of personality and behaviour. Julian Rotter was a behaviourist but he also understood the role of cognition in learning and development and originally developed the concept in the 1950s. Locus of Control refers to a person’s perception about the underlying main causes of events in their life. Or, more simply, it is how you believe that your destiny is determined or controlled by you or by external forces such as fate, God, or powerful others.

Rotter held the view that behaviour was largely guided by environmental "reinforcements," or rewards and punishments, and that through contingencies such as rewards and punishments, individuals come to hold beliefs about what causes their actions. These beliefs, in turn, guide what kinds of attitudes and behaviours people adopt. Rotter stated that where we place that locus will either reinforce or punish our actions. An internal locus of control will lead to a reinforcement of that behaviour, and the behaviour will continue. An external locus of control, on the other hand, will cause the behaviour to extinguish – why would we continue to try if the outcome is outside of our control?

So we can see how locus of control is a factor in the development of growth and fixed mindset.

Mental Skills Basics Course

Suffering stress and anxiety is not a prerequisite for success in self-employment–there's a better way. Mental skills provide you with the means of coping effectively with difficulty and achieving your goals. I created the Mental Skills Basics Course to introduce business leaders, self-employed individuals, freelancers, consultants, and small business owners to the psychological and emotional skills associated with success.