Dr Linda Papadopoulos at Inspire 2024: “I think we have a special spirit as Cypriots. We are entrepreneurs; we give it a go”

World-renowned psychologist, author and broadcaster Dr Linda Papadopoulos sat down for a very interesting fireside chat with Natasa Pilides, former Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, on the second and final day of Inspire 2024: Entrepreneurial Festival, where she revealed that it is her family and her Cypriot spirit that made her the successful person and entrepreneur that she is today.

Asked by Pilides whether she had any influences that shaped her personality and work, Dr Papadopoulos said conversations over the family table; “and being a Cypriot as well. We live in a divided country that’s been through so much”. And yet, she added, “I’m blown away by what the young and amazing people are accomplishing. I think we have a special spirit as Cypriots. We are entrepreneurs; we give it a go. We try our best. I think most of us come from these families that try and lift us up, and I think that’s something to be proud of.”

It was the late 1990s to early 2000s when Dr Papadopoulos realised that she was writing for scientific journals, which were being read by other psychologists and academics, and not the people that actually needed to read them. As she pondered how to bring this knowledge to the masses, producers approached her with a brand new idea at the time: “Reality television; and it was actually the first ever Big Brother UK.” And thus she found a way to bring behavioural psychology to the masses.

Dr Papadopoulos also referred to the importance of positive self-talk. “Nobody speaks to themselves more than themselves, right? We tend to think the same thought because we’ve always thought that thought. And sometimes those thoughts can be negative and they can hold us back. For me, what was really profound working clinically, was how do we change the meanings of what we tell ourselves?”

For the world-renowned psychologist, it all boils down to one important thing: “Be careful what you say to yourself.”