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Articles by Bobby Hoffman Ph.D
Procrastination Isn't Laziness; It's an Alibi to Be Avoided
Procrastination is a self-protective strategy, not a time-management failure. Delay is an excuse: If you fall short, you blame the strategy instead of your ability. Lasting change requires revising your self-beliefs, not using AI or better planning software. Source: Google Gemini/AI image generator Every October, 20 million procrastinating Americans run up against a self-imposed deadline.
Procrastination Isn't Laziness; It's an Alibi to Be Avoided
What Is Procrastination? Take our Procrastination Test Find a therapist near me Procrastination is a self-protective strategy, not a time-management failure. Delay is an excuse: If you fall short, you blame the strategy instead of your ability. Lasting change requires revising your self-beliefs, not using AI or better planning software. Every October, 20 million procrastinating Americans run up against a self-imposed deadline.
What's More Interesting—Swinging Balls or a Stranger's Face?
Newborn girls averaging 33 hours old looked at faces more than boys who split attention evenly. Measurable staring appeared immediately after birth, suggesting that genetics influences attention. The study replicates a debated 2,000 study supporting the reality of predetermined sex differences. Source: Google Gemini/AI image generator Imagine you are a newborn.
What's More Interesting—Swinging Balls or a Stranger's Face?
Understanding Child Development Take our Authoritative Parenting Test Find a child or adolescent therapist near me Newborn girls averaging 33 hours old looked at faces more than boys who split attention evenly. Measurable staring appeared immediately after birth, suggesting that genetics influences attention. The study replicates a debated 2000 study supporting the reality of predetermined sex differences. Imagine you are a newborn.
Can AI Get You a Better Job? Is It Ethical?
Source: Google Gemini/AI image generator Will AI get you a better job? No, not by itself. Expecting AI to hand you a job is like expecting a calculator to put money in your bank account: It's simply not how the tool works. What AI can do is give you an edge in your job search, improving your odds of landing the job you want, provided you know how to use it and what to emphasize along the way.
Can AI Get You a Better Job? Is It Ethical?
AI doesn't create job opportunities or secure better offers; it improves how you compete for positions. You can use AI to research, rehearse, and negotiate, not just to polish a resume or cover letter. Some AI tools can be used against you, so pair automation with judgment and be aware of how employers use AI. Will AI get you a better job? No, not by itself. Expecting AI to hand you a job is like expecting a calculator to put money in your bank account: It's simply not how the tool works.
So, Your Partner Won't Take a Vacation. Now What?
Idleness aversion means people crave a reason to stay busy, not that they don't value rest. Busyness signals status and self-worth, so arguing for rest fights a social reward. Overwork past 55 hours adds minimal output, so give rest purpose, not just permission. You've probably already tried the obvious approach. You've told that special person "you deserve this," pointed out how tired they look, maybe even booked something and hoped they'd relax once they arrived.
So, Your Partner Won't Take a Vacation. Now What?
Take our Ambition Test Find a career counselor near me Idleness aversion means people crave a reason to stay busy, not that they don't value rest. Busyness signals status and self-worth, so arguing for rest fights a social reward. Overwork past 55 hours adds minimal output, so give rest purpose, not just permission. You've probably already tried the obvious approach.
What Education's 250-Year Problem Is Costing Every One of Us
Source: Google Gemini/AI image generator Imagine it’s 1776, and you are in a one-room schoolhouse. An authoritarian teacher stands in the front of the room. Students sit in rows, memorizing and reciting content. Authority flows in one direction. Learning is measured by the ability to reproduce what the teacher knows. Now update the mental image: add fluorescent lights, a whiteboard, a laptop, and artificial intelligence. What has fundamentally changed? Not much. Banking has been reinvented.
What Education's 250-Year Problem Is Costing Every One of Us
Why Education Is Important Find a Child Therapist Education follows a colonial model built for basic knowledge and information scarcity, not modern learning. Enrollment declines and looming closures signal growing skepticism about the value of higher education. AI should replace content delivery, freeing educators to develop judgment, reasoning, and adaptability skills. Imagine it’s 1776, and you are in a one-room schoolhouse. An authoritarian teacher stands in the front of the room.
Five Psychology Lessons That Will Curtail Your Anxiety
Others' rudeness, arrogance and political rage are rooted in self-esteem threats, not personal attacks on you. Fixed thinking is neurologically normal, which doesn't make it acceptable but does make it predictable. Procrastination isn't about laziness; it's a self-protective strategy that shields people from personal doubt. Source: AI-Generated / Google Gemini We all grapple with the reality that some things about life cannot change.
Five Psychology Lessons That Will Curtail Your Anxiety - Bobby Hoffman Ph.d
Take our Generalized Anxiety Disorder Test Find a therapist to overcome anxiety Others' rudeness, arrogance and political rage are rooted in self-esteem threats, not personal attacks on you. Fixed thinking is neurologically normal, which doesn't make it acceptable but does make it predictable. Procrastination isn't about laziness; it's a self-protective strategy that shields people from personal doubt. We all grapple with the reality that some things about life cannot change.
What Makes You Wealthy? It’s Not Money
Wealth starts with a plan. Research shows intentional people consistently outperform those who wing it. Failure is not the enemy of wealth. Growth-minded individuals treat setbacks as data, not defeat. Successful people seek criticism. Feedback-seeking predicts faster adaptation and higher performance. The author and Cheryl HInes after the interview Source: Bobby Hoffman Are you wealthy?
I Stopped Multi-Tasking and This Is What Happened
Source: Google Gemini/AI image generator Does this describe you? You're responding to emails while on a Zoom call, at the same time you’re checking text messages, and somehow you’re also trying to finish a report due in two hours. For years, I bragged about my ability to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously, like it was some sort of badge of honor.
How Do You Know When It's Time to Quit?
Source: Google Gemini AI image generator Society glamorizes persistence. If you can jump through hoops, walk across coals, or persevere regardless of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, you are a hero. Quit, and you face judgment from others, and even worse, from yourself. We romanticize stories of entrepreneurs who failed multiple times before succeeding, athletes who pushed through injury, and couples who weathered decades of adversity. The message is clear: Quitting is for the meek.
Why You Can’t Chill (Even When You Are Exhausted)
Source: Google Gemini/AI image generator According to the U.S. Travel Association (2020), more than half of Americans don’t use all their vacation days each year. Statistically, 23 percent of U.S. workers took zero vacation days last year, meaning, at least at last count, 768 million paid time-off days were wasted! To make matters worse, even when Americans do take their paid time off, multiple studies report that in many cases, individuals still work up to one hour per day when on vacation.
Binge-Watching to Bad Parking: Your Worst Behavior Explained
The brain evolved to survive, not for modern tasks like parking, password recall, or resisting Netflix binges. Anxiety and dopamine hijack thinking, making simple tasks like math and taking selfies surprisingly difficult. Neuroscience-backed interventions can outsmart the brain's design flaws and reduce daily frustrations. Source: Google Gemini/AI image generator In my previous article, I explored some common brain breakdowns.
Train Your Brain and Avoid These Thinking Liabilities
Source: Google Gemini/AI image generator We've all been there, scanning a parking lot, completely disoriented, wondering where in the world we parked our car. How about attending a meeting or party, confident that you will remember the names of most people you meet; you rehearse the names in your head, but draw a complete blank 30 seconds later. Maybe you are one of those who wrap a gift like a 3-year-old because you suffer from mental rotation issues.
Train Your Brain and Avoid These Thinking Liabilities - Bobby Hoffman Ph.d
We've all been there, scanning a parking lot, completely disoriented, wondering where in the world we parked our car. How about attending a meeting or party, confident that you will remember the names of most people you meet; you rehearse the names in your head, but draw a complete blank 30 seconds later. Maybe you are one of those who wrap a gift like a 3-year-old because you suffer from mental rotation issues.
Dopamine Myths: What Huberman Gets Wrong About Motivation
Dopamine doesn't cause happiness or determine well-being. It responds to how your brain values rewards. Much of the "reward is evil" narrative originates from flawed 1970s studies that have been refuted. Loss of autonomy kills motivation, not rewards. Personalized rewards boost performance and engagement. Source: Google Gemini/AI Image Generator Let me start by saying I genuinely admire Andrew Huberman.
Dopamine Myths: What We Get Wrong About Motivation
Dopamine doesn't cause happiness or determine well-being. It responds to how your brain values rewards. Much of the "reward is evil" narrative originates from flawed 1970s studies that have been refuted. Loss of autonomy kills motivation, not rewards. Personalized rewards boost performance and engagement. Source: Google Gemini/AI Image Generator Let me start by saying I genuinely admire Andrew Huberman.
Stop Obsessing Over Passion: What Your Brain Really Needs
Intrinsic passion isn’t supreme or sustainable; most jobs need external rewards to stay tolerable. Your brain values control and autonomy more than whether motives are “pure.” Motivation shifts—use self-generated rewards judiciously and avoid self-labeling your motivation. Source: Google Gemini/AI image generator Ever since books like Drive crowned intrinsic motivation as the holy grail, we’ve been sold the idea that every other motive in the book is second-rate.
Why You and Your Kids Hate School (and What to Do About It)
Source: Gemini AI image generator / Google You’re in the pick-up line waiting for your little darling, and finally your kid slumps into the car. You ask the obligatory question, “So, how was school today?” It’s only week two, but by now you know the dreaded response. After another soul-searching day at school, they mutter, "When am I ever going to use this junk?" Sound familiar?
How to Change the Mind of the Most Stubborn Person You Know
Source: Image-FX / Google AI We all know that person—the one who clings to outdated ideas despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Maybe it's your partner who insists climate change is a hoax, your friend who believes outlandish conspiracy theories, or your colleague who refuses to consider new approaches at work. You've probably tried reasoning with them, presenting facts, or even arguing passionately about why they're wrong.
How to Change the Mind of the Most Stubborn Person You Know
3 Tiny Behaviors That Make You the Calmest Person in the Room A few small actions, grounded in the biology of behavior, can shift not only how you feel in stressful situations, but how others respond to you. In high-stakes meetings or chaotic team moments, the person who stays grounded often becomes the one others follow. And this outcome isn’t about status or …
How to Change the Mind of the Most Stubborn Person You Know - Bobby Hoffman Ph.d
We all know that person—the one who clings to outdated ideas despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Maybe it's your partner who insists climate change is a hoax, your friend who believes outlandish conspiracy theories, or your colleague who refuses to consider new approaches at work. You've probably tried reasoning with them, presenting facts, or even arguing passionately about why they're wrong.
Liar With a Smile: Are You Being Gaslighted by AI?
Source: Google AI/Image-FX Imagine you're having a rough day and you turn to ChatGPT to help manage your stress. “Chat” responds with flawless empathy, acknowledging your emotions, offering you tailored strategies, and even striking the exact tone that makes you feel safe and validated. For a moment, it feels like someone who truly understands you. But here’s the reality: AI doesn’t care about you at all. It’s not listening—it’s predicting.
Your Brain Works Backwards-and Not the Way You Think
Belief perceptions, not the probability of outcomes, determine the release of motivating neurotransmitters. The brain radically distinguishes between rewards you earned versus those attained via random luck. Work with your brain, not against it, to sustain optimal motivation and superior performance outcomes. Source: ChatGPT / Open AI Imagine you’re at your favorite coffee shop. Sadly, the barista only gets your order right about 75% of the time.
Your Brain Works Backwards—and Not the Way You Think | Flipboard
1 hour ago ATLANTA (AP) — The baby of a woman in Georgia who was declared brain dead and has been on life support since February was delivered early Friday morning, her mother said. April Newkirk told WXIA-TV that 31-year-old Adriana Smith’s baby was born prematurely by an emergency cesarean section early …
The Dopamine Deficit: Why Success May Feel Empty
The dopamine system clashes with today's world—creating a mismatch between what our brains expect and reality. Technology and social media hijack reward pathways diminishing sensitivity to easily obtained natural rewards. Convenience alters the nature of the effort-reward relationship that accompanies accomplishment.
I'm Putting My Passport Away: Maybe You Should Too
Celebrating achievement through personalized reward boosts future motivation and long-term goal attainment. Negative experiences are more powerful motivators than positive ones. Cross-cultural resentment contributes to psychological distress impacting future travel motivation. Picture this: You've just landed your dream job, crushed a major fitness goal, or finally finished that degree you've been working toward for years. What's next?
Don’t Fall for the Hype: You’re Not a Motivational Type
Motivation frequently changes, so relying on labels can be as inaccurate as trusting stereotypes. Neuroscience evidence suggests that the intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation dichotomy is oversimplified. When a person feels in control of their choices, their brain's reward response intensifies. Source: Microsoft Image Creator/OpenAI So, what’s your motivation type? Are you a “rewarder,” a “connector,” or an “accomplisher”?
What if Everything You Believe About Yourself Is Wrong?
Self-beliefs are subjective interpretations that determine motives and behaviors. Inaccurate self-representations may lead to physical and psychological apathy and motivational stagnation. The consequences of miscalibrated beliefs can be overcome with awareness and strategy knowledge. Belief accuracy involves specific steps in addition to embracing a growth mindset about personal capabilities. Have you ever thought to yourself, “Wow, I’m so inspirational!”?
The Misleading Myth of Motivation
There are no magic solutions to modifying motivational patterns. The majority of motivated action is heritable but environmentally influenced. Leveraging the brain’s reward system helps change negative perceptions of behavior. Source: Oliver Sjöström/Pexels One of the most disturbing feelings for many people is the perception of lack of control. When we feel helpless, or believe we have the inability to change things, we surrender our will to outside forces.
Feel Like Doing Nothing? It May Be a Dopamine Deficit
The pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain is one popular explanation of what motivates a person to act. What we consider pleasure or pain is highly subjective and varies dramatically among individuals. Pleasure can take many forms including eating delicious food, engaging in sexual activity, or receiving social praise. We can also gain pleasure from seemingly effortful activities such as learning new things or the feeling we get after completing a vigorous workout.
The Benefits of Accepting Negative Thoughts and Emotions
We can either accept negative feelings as a typical part of life or we can ruminate and self-judge. Better psychological health can result from emotional acceptance. We can learn emotional regulation strategies that allow us to use negative experiences for long-term benefit. Source: Designecologist/Pexels Imagine that you have just experienced an involuntary break-up with a long-term companion.
The Intelligence Trap: Being Smart Can Be a Liability
Individuals with higher IQs are less likely to thrive in a highly structured company environment. Smarter people may view socializing as tedious, awkward, and anxiety provoking. Perceptions of vast personal intelligence are positively related to counterproductive work habits. Irrational perfectionism can derail the efficiency of gifted individuals. Source: Belinda Fewings/Unsplash Across cultures, high intelligence is a desirable quality.
6 Ways to Eliminate Disengagement at Work or School
Cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement boosts performance, learning, and subjective well-being. Promoting engagement requires knowledge of how self-beliefs develop and perpetuate. Fostering autonomy in others is a foundational engagement strategy that propels task interest. Giving explanations and having patience are critical to create an emotional connection. Source: Bruce Matsunaga/Creative Commons If you are like most people, your success rests in part on the performance of others.
Why We Kill, According to Motivational Science
Source: kindel media/pexels Some people slice throats as easily as you or I butter a warm slice of toast. In 2014, knife-wielding assailants hacked 29 people to death and injured 130 more at a train station in China. Others prefer more expeditious means of murderous mayhem. One indiscriminately opened fire on concert attendees at a Las Vegas music festival, leaving 58 innocent people dead and 546 injured.
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