This week’s must-reads: Are We Really Having Fun at Bars or Just Escaping Reality?

In my work as a behavioral designer, I come across important stories on how psychology influences our behavior. Every week, I share my round-up of the most important stories at the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. I hope you enjoy them!

Are We Really Having Fun at Bars or Just Escaping Reality? (NirAndFar) Taking a hard look at how we socialize helps us spend time the way we truly want.

Why You’re Never Going to Be Satisfied With Life [AUDIO] (Podcast) The surprising psychology of why dissatisfaction is hardwired … is a good thing!

New project: 20-person product psychology workshop I’m running a small week-long mastermind for founders and product thinkers. We’ll meet a few times throughout the week discuss behavioral design and apply it to real-world products and businesses. Still a couple of spots left.

Running and the Science of Mental Toughness (The MIT Press Reader) There is more to running than just training your muscles and improving your stamina. It is also a mental sport, and maybe even more so than previously believed.

How to take things less personally (PSYCHE) There are ways to break the self-critical habits of always blaming yourself and assuming others think ill of you.

Why pessimism sounds smart (Roots of Progress) If you stick to the known and the proven, you will necessarily be pessimistic.