Gena Gorlin
Writing & Research
How do some people muster the courage, self-honesty, and independent initiative to overcome tremendous psychological obstacles on the path to building the extraordinary lives of their choosing? And how can we empower and inspire more people to do so, with or without the help of a therapist?
My research incorporates theories and methods from across psychology, philosophy, and other disciplines concerned with human agency and flourishing, together with findings from my own psychotherapy and founder coaching practice.
Where to find my writing
- I’m active on Twitter at @Gena_I_Gorlin; following me on Twitter is the way to follow all of my content
- My Substack, Building the Builders
- My writing at Every.to
- My research publications are all here on ResearchGate
- Not writing but close enough: I co-host Entrepeneur First’s podcast The Founder’s Mindset, on which I’ve interviewed many founders
- I have two defunct blogs: one is on Psychology Today, the Art and Science of Self-Creation, and the other is my old personal blog
Select essays
- A different and better way to live
- In defense of radical self-betterment
- Raising humanity’s psychological ceiling
- Vision or delusion?
Why ambitious founders need self-trust
Part 1, Part 2 - Your flaws matter less than you think
- “Intellectual humility” is a copout
- Death is the default
- Worrying on schedule
What founders and people with generalized anxiety disorder have in common - It both is and isn’t about the chocolate chocolate muffin
- All for Adam
- All for Alice
Select research publications
- Agency via awareness
A unifying meta-process in psychotherapy - Nurturing our better nature
A proposal for cognitive integrity as a foundation for autonomous living - Living for real, not counterfeit
“Self-honesty” as a foundation for philosophical health - The “how” and the “why” of restoring goal-pursuit after a failure
- When does it hurt to try?
Effort as a mediator of the links between anxiety symptoms and the frequency and duration of unwanted thought recurrence - Exploring the (mal)adaptive consequences of self-deceptive enhancement
A narrative review - Supporting healthcare workers involved in medical errors
From “second victims” to “resilient warriors” - Working memory moderates the predictive influence of distress intolerance on health-related goal attainment
- A topographical map approach to representing treatment efficacy:
a focus on positive psychology interventions
Speaking and talking
Some podcast appearances
- The Hannah Frankman Show
- The Yaron Brook Show
- Thoughts in Between with Matt Clifford
- The Human Progress Podcast with Chelsea Follett
Some conversations I’ve hosted
- Steven Pinker, on whence rationality?
- Emily Oster, on the art and science of science-based decision-making
- Blake Scholl, founder of Boom Supersonic
- Ray and Rebecca Girn, founders of Guidepost Montessori
- Keith Schacht, founder of Mystery Science and the Explanation Company
