Welcome To Curism
Explore 9,000+ free psychology videos, articles, book extracts & podcasts
What's inside the Library
Risk, Caution
Why Risk Matters, Comfort As The Enemy, Expanding Our Reach, Growth Vs Comfort Zone, Embracing Discomfort, Comfort Challenges, Poking The Box, Facing Rejection, The Discomfort ...
Ambition
Aiming High, Avoiding Clearer Paths To Lesser Goals, Stoicism & Success, Having A Dream, What’s Required, Making It Happen, The 10X Rule, Being Unrealistic, Raising ...
Under Pressure
Upside Of Stress, Stoicism & Stress, Mastering Stress, “Choking” Under Pressure, Nerves Vs Excitement, Anxiety Reappraisal, Yerkes-Dodson Law, Beating Overwhelm, Time Anxiety
Dark Night of The Soul
Navigating The Dark Night, Ego Death, Hero’s Journey, Identity Death & Rebirth, Wake Up Call, Doing The Work, Chaos Cycles, Spiritual Crisis
Sugar
Everyday Poison, Why We Crave It, Link With Cancer, Impact Of Fructose, Link With Alzheimer’s, Accelerated Aging, Balancing Glucose, Quitting Sugar, 60 Days Of ...
Patience
The Slow Movement, Slow Productivity, Cultivating Calm, Learning To Breathe, How To Slow Down, Patience In Business, The Delayed Response, Savouring The Moment, Hurry ...
Forgiveness
Rage & Forgiveness, Finding Closure, Letting It Hurt & Heal, Perspective & Acceptance, Forcing Forgiveness, Allowing For Time, Transcending Pain, Forgiveness & Recovery, Inability To ...
Tribe
1,000 True Fans, Smallest Viable Audience, Creating “Superfans”, Networking, Building A Tribe, Contagious Ideas, Starting From Nothing, Finding Your Niche
Structure & Routine
Sticking With Habits, Stoic Routines, Famous Routines, Time Management, “Drunk Tank Pink”, Environment Design, Behavioural Triggers, Working From Home, Morning Routines
Creative Block
Writer’s Block Fallacy, Writing A Book, Action & Momentum, Fear, Structure & Tenacity, Creating A Breakthrough, How To Make It Easier, Morning Pages, Design Thinking, ...
Gratitude
Thanking A Thousand, Happiness From Gratitude, Gratitude & The Brain, Receiving Thanks, Impact On Physiology, Gratitude In Hard Times, Transforming Ourselves, Priming & Gratitude, Why ...
Habits
Atomic Habits, Science Of Habits, Stoicism & Habits, Two-Minute Rule, How Habits Work, Scarcity Loop, Fresh Start Effect, Habit Strategies, Tiny Habits
Fantasy, Reality
The Third Door, Turning Pro, Shipping Our Work, Putting Ideas Out There, Plans Vs Strategies, What It Takes To Write A Book, Building From Scratch, ...
The Difficult Years
Obstacles & Opportunities, Alive Vs Dead Time, The Messy Middle, Navigating “The Dip”, Handling Setbacks, Reframing Problems, “The Long Game”, When To Quit
Failure
Path To Innovation, Failure Resumes, Flipside Of Failure, Constructive Failure, Learning Acceptance, “The Rise”, “Failosophy”, Failure & The Growth Mindset, “The Long Game”
Triggers
Triggers As A Gift, Understanding Triggers, Amygdala Hijack, Resolving Triggers, Responding Vs Reacting, Getting “Hooked”, Escaping Discomfort, The “Pain-Body”, Core Pain
Facing Pain
Embracing Darker Emotions, Taking Responsibility, The Completion Process, Feeling To Heal, Emotional Suppression, Benefits Of Crying, Why We Resist, Healing Physical Pain, Being Present
Problem-Solving
Lateral Thinking, Workshopping Ideas, Elastic Thinking, Design Thinking, Asking Right Questions, Six Thinking Hats, Functional Fixedness, Problems Solving Us, Finding Root Causes
Manifesting
Science Of Manifesting, Manifesting Practicalities, Truth, Visualising & Action, Removing Internal Blocks, Who We Are Vs What We Do, Tricking The Brain, Focused Attention, Working ...
Emotional Literacy
Identifying Emotions, Emotional Agility, Emotional Granularity, Labelling Emotions, Affective Labelling,
Emotional Vocabulary, Name It To Tame It, The Feelings Wheel, Mindfulness Of Current Events (Or ...
Priorities
Essentialism, The One Thing, Prioritisation Strategies, What Matters Most, Big Picture Thinking, Clarifying Values, Top Level Goals, Prioritisation Tricks, Eisenhower Matrix
Toxic Positivity
The Risks Of A “Good Vibes Only” Attitude, Forcing Happiness, The Antidote To Too Much Positivity, Relentless Optimism & Appreciating "Beautiful Terrible Days", When Positivity ...
Journalling
Stoicism & Journalling, Getting A Clear Head, Improving Our Thinking, 30-Day Experiments, Bullet Journal Method, Self-Authoring, Morning Pages, Fostering Positivity, Expressive Writing
The Shadow
Facing Rejected Selves, Letting Go Of Old Stories, Shadow Work Journalling, Revealing Hidden Aspects, Growing Via Shadow Work, Integrating Our Shadow, Carl Jung & The ...
Cracking Up
Rethinking Madness, Madness & Shamanism, The Myth Of Normal, Spiritual Crisis, Spiritual Emergency, Hypersanity, Spiritual Awakening, Transforming After Crisis, Open Dialogue
Aging
Why We Age, The Telomere Effect, “Super Longevity”, Longevity Genes, Extending Lifespans, Sleep & Aging Well, Exercise & Aging, Aging Well, Naturally, Aging & ...
Groupthink
Dangers Of Group Identity, Wired For Conformity, Stanford Prison Experiment, Milgram Experiment, Asch Conformity Test, Echo Chambers, Groups & Creativity, In & Out-Groups, Herd ...
Ego & Pride
Ego Is The Enemy, Ego & Creativity, Success & Humility, Ego Stories, Ego Defense Mechanisms, Authentic Pride, Keeping Ego In Check, Ego Work, Id, Ego ...
Early Years
Attachment & Authenticity, Early Life Stress, Upbringing & DNA, Adverse Experiences, The ACEs Study, Still Face Experiment, Signs Of Early Trauma, Healing Inner Child, ...
Nervous System
Mastering Nervous System, Polyvagal Theory, Disregulation, Vagus Nerve, Fight Or Flight Response, Hypervigilance, Freeze Response, Parasympathetic Response, How To Feel Safe
Rage
Reframing Anger, The Roots Of Anger, Channelling Anger, Need For Assertiveness, The Upside Of Anger, Healing Anger, Anger As Motivation, Getting “Hooked”, Releasing Resentment
Self-Sabotage
What Drives Self-Sabotage, Self-Protection, Self-Sabotaging Habits, Underlying Beliefs, Upper Limit Problems, Self-Handicapping, How We Can Stop, Roots Of Self-Destruction
Rise & Shine
How To Start The Day, Morning Routines, Stoic AM Habits, Two-Minute Mornings, Kickstarting The Brain, The Night Before, The 5AM Club, Morning Pages, Miracle ...
Learning Curve
The First 20 Hours, Accelerated Learning, The Art Of Learning, How To Remember What We Learn, Learning & The Brain, Active Recall, Disfluency, Desirable ...
Attachment
Attachment Styles, Anxious, Avoidant, Disorganised & Secure Attachment, Authenticity Struggles, Trauma Bonds, The Strange Situation, Healing Wounds
If Only…
Power Of Regret, “Bittersweet” Longing, Brooding Alternatives, Accepting The Past, Counterfactual Thinking, “Time Perspectives”, Past Authoring, Constructive Wallowing, Rumination
Growing Pains
Benefits Of Suffering, Antifragility, Post-Traumatic Growth, “Supersurvivors”, Evolving From Pain, Meaning In Adversity, Advesity As a “Gift”, What Doesn’t Kill Us, Happiness & Adversity
Victim Mentality
Interpreting Bad Events, Braving Hard Times, Victim Complex, Radical Responsibility, Spotting Victim Thinking, Drama Triangle, Control Dramas, Power Trips, Learned Helplessness
Mastery
Mastery, Mastering Our Life Task, First Rule Of Mastery, The Real Work, Practice, Energy & Emotion, 10,000 Hour Rule, Deliberate Practice, Building Expertise, Practicing Like ...
Inadequate
Imposter Syndrome, Roots Of Insecurities, Unrealistic Expectations, Self-Doubt, Limiting Beliefs, Not Good Enough, Pillars Of Self-Esteem, Feeling Inferior, Perfectionism
Target
Setting & Achieving Goals, Stretch & SMART Goals, Visualising End Result, Thinking Big, Top Level Goals, Being Realistic, Goals Vs Systems, The WOOP Technique, Rules ...
Acting As If
The Alter Ego Effect, As If Principle, Embodied Cognition, Attitude & Aging, Acting Younger, Posture & Posing, The Batman Effect, Changing How We Feel
Boredom
Creative Breakthroughs, Tedium & Deep Work, Letting Mind Wander, Need For Discovery, Why We Get Bored, Out Of My Skull, Curiosity & Ingenuity
Negativity
Prioritising What’s Wrong, The Power Of Bad, Beating Negativity Bias, Negative Fixations, Gratitude As Antidote, Impact Of TV News, Doom-Scrolling, Premeditatio Malorum, Addiction To ...
Discipline
Stoicism & Discipline, Science Of Discipline, The Ulysses Contract, The Marshmallow Test, Self-Control, The Willpower Instinct, Temptation & Hot States, Temptation Bundling, If-Then Planning
Grit
Passion & Perseverance, The Types of Grit, Formula For Grit, Stoicism & Grit, Mental Toughness, Science Of Endurance, Gritty Traits, Killing Our Excuses, “The Long ...
The Zone
Science Of Flow, Happiness & Creativity, Flow Triggers, Flow Cycles, Objectives & Outcomes, Effortless Action, Peak States, Transcendence, Taoism & Wu Wei
Meaning
The Meaning Crisis, Antidote To Hardship, What Really Matters, Lessons From The Holocaust, Meaning Vs Happiness, Eradicating Meaningless, Finding Our Own Meaning, Ikigai Recipe For ...
Crash & Burn(out)
The Stress Cycle, Productivity & Burnout, Focus & Priorities, Tapping Into Flow States, Spotting Signs Of Burnout, Work Vs Reward, Job Satisfaction, Striving Without Burnout, ...
Fellowship
The Village Effect, Happiness & Longevity, Social Health, Wired To Connect, Emotional Health, Coming Together, Science Of Connection, Power Of Moai
Energy Psychology
Science Of The Biofield, Energy Medicine, Boosting Vitality & Health, Biofield Tuning, Acupuncture Points, Tapping (EFT), Tapping (EFT) Basics, Bioenergy Medicine, The Healer
Hero(ine)’s Journey
The Hero’s Journey, The Key Steps, The Heroine’s Journey, The Artist’s Journey, Treasure in Dark Places, Myth As A Guide, Facing Setbacks, Rites Of Passage, ...
Imagination
Visualising Goals, Learning Via Visualisation, Imagination & The Brain, Vision Boards & The Brain, Imagination & Visualisation In Sport, Expanding What’s Possible, Aphantasia, Blind Man’s ...
Practicality
Being Realistic, The WOOP Technique, Pre-Mortems, Anticipating Misfortune, Practical Pessimism, Embracing Reality, Intense Realism, Realistic Optimism, Power Of Pessimism
Dopamine
Dopamine Nation, Science Of Dopamine, Focus & Motivation, Molecule Of More, Dopamine Fasting, Controlling Dopamine, Apps & Social Media, Chasing Dopamine, The Power Of ...
Savouring
Boosting Happiness, Taking In The Good, Recalling Happy Memories, Priming Ourselves With Positive Emotions, Incorporating Savouring Into Our Lives, Nostalgia & Happiness, Three Good Things ...
Comparison & Envy
Assessing Own Progress, Rivalry & Mimetic Desire, Jealousy As Motivation, Signs To Take Action, Active Vs Passive Envy, “Worthy Rivals”, Self-Evaluation, Roots Of Insecurity, Idol ...
Bias & Filters
Optimism Bias, Negativity Bias, The Halo Effect, Status Quo Bias, Confirmation Bias, The Invisible Gorilla, Emotions & Perception, The Brain’s Filter, Implicit Bias
Aimlessness
Lacking Direction, Liminality, Being In Limbo, Being Lost & Found, Reframing Our Thinking, Feeling Behind In Life, Finding Our North Star, Knowing What We Want, ...
Psychosomatic
T.M.S. & Pain Psychology, When The Body Says No, Unlearning Our Pain, Training The Brain, Thinking Away Our Pain, Processing Emotions, Somatic Experiencing, The Nocebo ...
Contagion
Contagious Emotions, The Facebook Study, Catching Others’ Moods, The Ripple Effect, Highly Sensitive People, Empathy & Boundaries, Mirror Neurons, Why Yawning Spreads
Catastrophic
Hopelessness, Catastrophic Thinking, Tackling "Thinking Traps", Learned Helplessness, How We Interpret Bad Events, Overcoming Despair, Doomer Tendencies, Doom-Scrolling, Complex Trauma
Beliefs
The Art Of Rethinking, Our Hidden Beliefs, Personality Change, Self-Image & Belief, Taking Ownership, “The Work”, The Lefkoe Method, Early Life Influences, Metacognition
Mind & Matter
The Mindful Body, The Placebo Effect, Power Of Expectations, The Nocebo Effect, The Milkshake Experiment, Lessons From The Iceman, All The Rage, Healing By The ...
Broken Pieces
Broken Open, Facing The Inexplicable, Stoicism & Bad News, When Things Fall Apart, Endings & Beginnings, If The Worst Happens, Loss & Betrayal, Healing Heartbreak, ...
Meditation
What Meditation Is, Meditation For Skeptics, Easing Stress, Transformative Power, Impact On The Brain, Agent Of Healing, Reducing Reactivity, Happiness & Resilience, Physical Health
Stories
How We Are Unreliable Narrators, Ego Stories, “The Work”, Narrative Identity, Identity Shifting, Reconstructing Pasts, Reframing Stories, Stories Around Grief, Narrative Psychology
Intrinsic Motivation
What Motivates Us, What’s Our Payoff, The Science Of Motivation, The Power Of Autonomy, Self-Determination, The Goldilocks Rule, The Autotelic Personality, Our Basic Needs
Creativity
The War Of Art, Big Magic, The Practice, Rules For Writing, Unlocking Creativity, Neuroscience Of Creativity,
Creative Confidence, The Artist’s Way, The Creative Process
Startup
Million Dollar Weekend, Starting A Business, Side Hustles, What It Takes, The Unexpected, Value Creation, Intrapreneurs, Quantum Of Utility, Lessons From Reddit
Resistance
The War Of Art, Beating Resistance, Lizard Brain, What Stops Us, Sources Of Resistance, Delays & Restrictions, Creative Fears, The Artist’s Way Tools
Fasting
Science Of Fasting, When We Eat, Weight Loss, Longevity, Anti-Aging Benefits, Water Fasting, Ketosis, Dinner vs Breakfast, One Meal A Day
Procrastination
The “Do Something Principle”, Why We’re Waiting, Solving Procrastination, Role Of The Ego, Delay As Stress Relief, Our Use Of Time, Timing Things Right, Procrastinating ...
The Unconscious
Hypnosis & Healing, If We’re Hypnotisable, Multiple Minds & Desires, Hidden Secrets, Subconscious Limitations, “Drunk Tank Pink”, Early Life Programming, Subconscious & Behaviour, Accessing Hidden ...
I Can Do It
Growth Mindset, Figuring It Out, Expectations, Grit & Growth Mindset, “Can-If” Thinking, Being Open To Possibility, “Get Better” Mindset, Tackling Failure
Sleep
Why We Sleep, Mood, Memory & Diet, The Secret World Of Sleep, Body Clocks, Sleep Chronotypes, Caffeine & Sleep, Alcohol & Sleep, Insomnia, Aging & ...
Depression
Hidden Causes Of Depression, Scaling Back The Dragon, Spotting The Signs, Types Of Depression, Futility, Apathy, Hopelessness, Emotional Suppression, Junk Food
Limerence
Romantic Obsession & Us, Childhood Neglect, Trying To Escape Our Lives, Attachment & Infatuation, Spotting The Signs, Science Of Limerence, Idolatry & Self Acceptance, Emotional ...
Resilience
Stoicism & Resilience, Dealing With Grief, “Supersurviving”, The Stockdale Paradox, Resilient Mindsets, Doing Hard Things, Thinking Traps, Emotional Resilience, Nine Steps To Resilience
Caffeine
Caffeine Addiction, Sleep & Exhaustion, Caffeine Intake, What Too Much Caffeine Does, Caffeine's Impact On Brain, Focus & Productivity, Quitting Effects
Square Eyes
Social Media, “Stolen Focus”, Tech & The Brain, “Irresistable” Tech, Why Tech Is Addictive, Managing Distraction, Digital Minimalism, “The Social Dilemma”, Dopamine & Apps
Purpose
Our Life’s Task, Using Our Time Well, Meaningful Work, Problems We Can Solve, Purpose From Pain, Finding Our “Why”, A Life On Purpose, The Power ...
Trauma
The Signs Of Trauma, Trauma & The Body, The Myth Of Normal, Complex Trauma, Trauma Bonds, Stuck Emotions, The ACE Study, TRE Techniques, The Emotion ...
Boundaries
Putting Our Needs First, Stopping People-Pleasing, Healthy Boundaries, Getting Priorities Straight, How To Say “No”, Giving & Taking, “Obliger” Tendencies, When The Body Says No, ...
Paradise Lost
Navigating Grief, “Good Grief”, Managing Expectations, What Prevents Healing, Resilience & Grief, Anticipatory Grief, Complicated Grief, Ambiguous Loss, 5 Stages Of Grief
Intimacy
Power Of Vulnerability, Connection & Belonging, The Fear Of Intimacy, Attachment & Intimacy, Death Anxiety, Fostering Intimacy, Building Trust, Emotional Safety, Radically Open DBT
Archetypes
The Parts That Live Inside Us, Internal Family Systems, Alter Egos, Trauma & Fragmentation, Archetypes In Our Lives, Symphony Of Selves, Id, Ego & Supergo, ...
Exercise
Exercise Myths, Exercise & Longevity, Exercise & The Brain, Hope & Mental Health, Cardio & Weight Loss, The Hadza Study, Turning Back The Clock, Slowing ...
Scarcity & Lack
Scarcity Brains, The Cult Of “More”, The Gap & The Gain, How Much Is Enough, Money Relationships, What We Actually Need, Relative Deprivation, Our Money ...
Taking Action
"Smarter, Faster, Better", Getting Things Done, Slow Productivity, Productivity Tricks, Stoicism & Productivity, Do Something Principle, Clarity Via Action, Two-Minute Rule, The Zeigarnik Effect
Braving It
Call To Courage, Vulnerability, Creative Fear, Courage Muscles, Facing Rejection, Admitting Desires, Stoicism & Fear, Fear-Setting, What Makes A Hero
Passion
The Passion Paradox, Finding Your Element, Intrinsic Skills, Skills Vs Passion, Strengths & Virtues, Harmonious Passion, Pathways To Bliss, Passion In Practice, The Hero’s ...
Maturation
Emotional Intelligence, The RULER Guide To E.Q., Emotional Agility, Self-Actualisation, Differentiation, Emotional Maturity, Emotional Immaturity, Maslow's Hierachy Of Needs, The Camel, Lion & Child
A Walk In The Park
Happiness & Longevity, Power Of Movement, Evolution & Exercise, Creativity & Insight, “Hope Molecules”, Moving Vs Exercise, Reshaping The Brain, Forest Bathing, Healing Walks
Stoic
Memento Mori, Amor Fati, Reframing Obstacles, Negative Visualisation, Premeditatio Malorum, What We Can Control, Becoming Resilient, Managing Stress, Apatheia & Ataraxia
Easy As…
“Effortless”, Rethinking Hard Work, What If It Was Easy?, Trying Not To Try, Wu Wei & Taoism, “Don’t Try”, The 80/20 Principle, The Backwards ...
Higher Cause
Effective Altruism, Doing The Right Thing, Moral Ambition, Having A Just Cause, Creating A Vision, Committing To Vision, Giving To Others, Pursuing Noble Goals, Social ...
Agency
The Power Of Agency, The Power Paradox, Feeling Empowered, Feeling In Control, Radical Responsibility, What We Can Control, The Locus Of Control, Autonomy & Drive, ...
Me, Myself & I
Self-Compassion, Being There For Ourselves, True Self Acceptance, Affirming Values, Self-Confidence Vs Ego, Feeling Enough, Embracing Disowned Parts, Having Our Own Backs, Healthy Self-Esteem
Work, Life, Balance
Lifestyle Design, A Well Lived Life, The 4 Metrics, Life Vs Work, Time Poor vs Time Rich, Purpose, Work-Life Integration
Latest Blog posts
Is It Procrastination Or Is It This?
It might very well be procrastination. But it might also be that we feel helpless.
Distraction Isn’t Always The Enemy
Yes, it’s important to focus. But those times when we can't matter just as much as well.
When Positive Thinking Is Hard, Try This
Why we need to consider the idea of radically accepting what is missing in our lives.