The New You

Finding the motivation to change.

Jonathan Fader Ph.D.

Three Signs You Are Winning at Life

Looking to get a great job, earn more money, or buy a new house or car? You're likely on the wrong track.

What I Learned as a Sport Psychologist at the World Series

Looking to "hit a home run" in your next meeting?

How to Win the Weekend in 3 Steps

Had a long week of work or relationship stress? Take a few minutes to practice these three strategies to make your Saturday and Sunday more enjoyable and satisfying.

Four Ways to Help Your Kid to Be the Best Player on the Team

You are your kid's most important coach. Learn how performance psychologists and mental conditioning coaches help youth athletes and parents to work together to develop talent.

Why Shouldn't We Mourn Prince?

Why do people mourn Prince?

How to Stop Choking Under Pressure

Every athlete in the world, at one time or another, has choked under pressure. Sometimes, athletes are able to bounce back. Other times, a botched play can haunt an athlete for the rest of his or her career.

Play Like Lebron: How Disconnecting Boosts Your Performance

Before a big game, distractions in all shapes and sizes can cloud your thinking. That’s why LeBron James has disconnected from his social media accounts and smartphone for the fourth straight NBA postseason. But is this really necessary?

What Seinfeld Understood About Motivation and Psychology

There aren’t many life lessons that haven’t been covered in Seinfeld. But Jerry Seinfeld, the real person, had another life lesson to offer off the air to one aspiring comic.

3 Signs That Your Relationship is Built to Last

What is the secret to a long lasting, happy relationship? Psychologists and relationship experts are always scrambling to find the answer to all relationship woes. While we don’t quite have the holy grail of health relationships, researchers have found some amazing tell-tales of a thriving relationship, and not all of them are what you’d expect.

The Psychology of Spring Cleaning

For many of us the onset of spring is a reminder to start our annual spring overhauls – decluttering, organizing, and cleaning. While spring cleaning has the obvious benefits of an organized closet, a sparkling counter top, and possibly more open spaces, more importantly, it has been associated with improved mood, decreased stress, and heightened creativity.

How Music Can Help You Get Ahead, The Right Way

Music can often boost, or hurt, performance. So what do professionals and athletes need to know about the benefits and traps of using music to motivate?

How Playing Baseball in Prison Can Help You Face Your Fears

Not many people like to socialize with some of the nation’s most notorious criminals. Even fewer challenge them to a competition.

How Valentine's Day Is Ruining Relationships

Valentine’s Day is the holiday of love – a day to celebrate your significant others. But for some, it’s not all roses and chocolates. Multiple studies have shown that couples are more likely to break up in the weeks before and after Valentine’s Day. So, why does a holiday meant to celebrate relationships result in more break ups?

Why My New Year’s Resolution is to Meditate Every Day

As the science piles on about the benefits of mindfulness meditation, I've decided to practice what I preach. But what benefits can you and I experience from mindfulness meditation?

Stop Giving Gifts: Unlocking Joy this Holiday Season

What does psychology tell us about giving gifts? As it turns out, we might be doing it all wrong. Giving "stuff" isn't what makes us happy, so what kind of giving does?

How Your Favorite Team Is Making You Pack on Pounds

If you’re a Raiders or Jets fan, this NFL season seems like punishment enough. But the vicarious sting of back-to-back losses might not be the only negative consequence of rooting for a losing team. Researchers are now saying fans are setting themselves up for an even bigger loss: binge eating.

The Secret Power of Thanksgiving

We're all told it's the season to give thanks, but not many people realize the incredible psychological power of being grateful.

3 Ways to Talk Yourself Out of a Bad Mood

Getting out of a bad mood is a skill like anything else in life - developing techniques and practicing them are key. So what are some ways to lift yourself up?

Just Stop Thinking

Part of my job as a sport psychologist is helping athletes not think, or as many like to call it, getting them “into the zone.” This is the state when an athlete is relaxed and focused solely on the present moment, and thus better enabled to achieve peak performance. So what can you do to just stop thinking?

Three Ways to Enjoy Your Life More

We all want to be happier: a simple sentence, only six words long. And yet every time it crosses my mind, it’s a powerful reminder of why my job—psychologist—even exists; every patient I work with wants my help in order to enjoy their life more. So, what’s the number one thing you can do to make that happen?

Should We Give Our Kids Participation Trophies?

Last month, I was invited on Fox & Friends to discuss participation trophies. Detested by some, celebrated by others, they’ve become a hot topic again after a recent poll at Reason Magazine showed that 57% of people felt that trophies should only be given to winners. But underneath all that, the question remains: should we give our kids trophies just for showing up?

3 Tips on How to Coach Your College Bound Kid

Students are basically athletes, whether they realize it or not. Their sport is academics, and their arena happens to be the classroom, but they are under the same constant pressure—pressure to perform, whether that’s in academic or social settings. So how can parents make sure their performing their best?

This One Form of Motivation Might Be Sabotaging Your Goals

Recent research sheds more light on what kinds of motivation are best for helping us achieve our goals. When following West Point cadets, a surprising trend emerged among those that excelled and those who did not, and exactly what brought them to the military in the first place.

World Cup Failure

It's a well-known fact that the stress and tension of competing in the World Cup can take a psychological toll on some of the world's greatest athletes. But the fans who eagerly watch the games rooting for their teams are often also in danger. Read on to find out more–and about what measures you can take to protect yourself and your mental well-being!

Diagnosing Game of Thrones: What's Ailing Westeros?

After last week's brutal episode of "Game of Thrones", I found myself coping by thinking about the clear mental health issues of the characters--and reaching for the DSM-V in order to diagnose them. Read on to see my diagnoses for such characters as Joffrey, the Hound, even Daenerys!

How to Think Like a Champion: Three Tips to Winning Ways

The stunning feats of our favorite sports legends will always hold us in awe--but what is it about them that allows them to overcome any obstacle on the path to victory? In his new book, Dr. Jim Afremow explains the four building blocks that champions build upon--and how the mental game is the most important. Read on to find out how you too can develop a "Champion's Mind"

Lessons a Teenager Taught Me About Addiction

When a high-school student interviewed me about addiction, I had no idea how much his questions would make me think. What is addiction, really, a disease or a negative behavior? How can we help addicts to work on their problematic behaviors? Why do celebrities seem to get addicted so frequently? And what's up with the way we talk about addiction? Read on to find out!

Three Ways To Face Your Phobia

Spiders, snakes, planes, dogs, enclosed spaces? What are you afraid of? Phobias are specific fears that interfere with our lives. Find out if your fear is a phobia and if it is, what you can do to overcome it!

Tune Your Guitar to Happiness in Three Steps

The prevailing conception of happiness, as popularized by Abraham Maslow and his famous "hierarchy of needs", is that it's a pyramid which you have to climb one step at a time: first food and shelter, then love, then "Self-Actualization". But maybe that's the wrong metaphor: maybe happiness is a guitar instead. Find out why, and how this can help you truly find happiness.

Colonel Koch (My Grandpa) on the left.

Expect More from Yourself—You’ll Get It!

Self-expectancy is exactly what it sounds like: it's our predictions and expectations of our own future performance in a given task. As studies with soldiers and athletes show us, it can be a powerful tool for self-improvement and change. Here's how you can harness your expectations for yourself to blow past your old limitations.

  • Previous
  • Page 1 (current)
  • Next