Moving Into 2026: How Play, Failure, and Curiosity Accelerate Growth

Moving Into 2026: How Play, Failure, and Curiosity Accelerate Growth

Author: Armando Dominguez PhD Health Psychology, Educator, Martial Artist, Researcher December 30, 2025 Duration: 30:54
Ep 132. Play is not the opposite of discipline — it is the fastest path to mastery. From early childhood to elite performance, play is one of the most powerful learning mechanisms available to the human nervous system. When we play, explore, and experiment, we engage curiosity, creativity, and our brain’s natural learning architecture. Failure, in this context, is not a verdict on identity — it is data. It provides feedback, information, and direction, showing us what doesn’t work so we ...

Ever feel like your brain's ancient wiring is at odds with the demands of modern life? That's the core territory explored in Running Man Self Regulation Skills Project. Hosted by Armando Dominguez, who brings a unique perspective as a PhD in Health Psychology, an educator, a martial artist, and a researcher, this podcast digs into the primal roots of our reactions. It’s about understanding how stress, anxiety, and even physical pain directly hijack our capacity to think clearly and make good decisions, often leading to behavior we might later regret. Each episode unpacks the survival programming we all carry-our inner paleo-caveperson-and how it manifests in today's world. You’ll hear practical discussions that bridge science and daily experience, focusing on why we freeze, lash out, or struggle to choose wisely under pressure. This isn't just theory; it's about gaining tangible insights for recognizing these patterns and developing stronger self-regulation skills. For anyone interested in the intersection of mental resilience, physical fitness, and social behavior, this podcast offers a thoughtful, grounded conversation. Tune in to reframe your understanding of your own instincts and learn to navigate tension with more awareness and control.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Running Man Self Regulation Skills Project
Podcast Episodes
The Illusion of Certainty: Why You’re More Wrong Under Stress [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:29
Ep 143. Certainty is one of the most appealing ideas in human psychology. It promises clarity, predictability, control, and confidence in outcomes. We are drawn to certainty because it feels safe—it reduces ambiguity and…
Why Time Slows Down Under Stress And How to Control It [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:18
Ep 142. Under stress, the perception of time can shift dramatically. In moments of excitement or positive stress, time can feel fast, fluid, and fleeting. But in moments of fear, uncertainty, or shock, time can appear to…
Is It Your Personality… or Just Stress? The Truth About Who You Are [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:59
Ep 141. Personality is often treated as something fixed—an identity we carry and a label others use to define us in social life. In psychology, personality is commonly understood as the product of environment, upbringing…
Confidence Under Pressure: The Skill Most People Never Train [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:24
Ep 140. In a stressful life, confidence can feel like a fragile commodity. When stress, fear, and anxiety become frequent visitors in our personal world, our sense of certainty and control can disappear quickly. The huma…
Time Poverty vs Flow State: Mastering Your Experience of Time [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:54
Ep 139. Time is one of the most powerful forces shaping human experience. Yet most people feel as though they never have enough of it. Deadlines, responsibilities, emergencies, and perceived threats create a psychologica…
The Truth About Reinventing Yourself: How Dreams Transform Identity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:18
Ep 138. Achieving a dream is never a single moment—it is the culmination of sustained effort, sacrifice, discipline, and unwavering direction. It represents the gradual construction of a new level of skill, capability, c…