What do you want to be when you grow up? This question has been a staple of conversation starters since dreams were invented. An open-ended question which positions the person asking as wise and authoritative; I’m asking because I may have an answer for you. How would you respond to this question? As positive-thinking individuals,…
Our lives are paved with disappointments and misgivings over decisions we made and actions we took. The shame and regret over them persist long after the event occurred, and we are often the only ones remembering it. Emotions such as frustration, anger, and disappointment keep holding us down and diminish our ability to make new…
The time has finally come. After over a year of isolation, fears, and confusion, life is beginning to return to normal. As of this writing, more than half the nation’s adults are fully vaccinated against covid-19, while younger ages are being included in that campaign as well. Public places and businesses are reopening, restaurants are…
Many pride themselves on living or working in an “equal partnership”, where each person contributes equally and gains as much from that association. But is bringing equal shares possible? Is maintaining a détente necessary for the success of a relationship? As we all know well, no two people are alike. Every person possesses a unique…
Each of us is born with various abilities, ambitions, and hopes. We use them to advance through life by making plans, setting goals, and acting to reach them. Kids dream up their world as they would live it as adults. Teenagers plot educational paths that will lead them toward a chosen career. Adults progress through…
Stories chronicling the progression of man-made disasters appear frequently in the news. Many of these calamities are human error generated: neglect, poor concentration, lack of adherence to rules, and countless others. The proliferation of phone cameras and CCTV systems brings these events to public view almost as soon as they take place in sharp images…
In a recent conversation, a client revealed to me that they felt jealous of a close friend of theirs. They described the problem as their inability to sidestep these feelings even though there was no real reason for them to feel that way toward their friend. What could they possibly do to fix that, they…
Confidence is the muscle surrounding the skeleton of knowledge that enables you to perform all the tasks you are challenged to do. From physical feats to mental achievement, confidence is the one ingredient that bridges understanding and action. It is the difference between knowing how to act and successfully taking action, between theoretical and practical,…
Our culture holds perfection in very high regard. Perfection is often expected, even demanded, in professional performance, as well as in personal conduct. Any path to success must bear no marks of errors in judgment, unreasonable slipups, and general faux pas. Professional mistakes are regularly the primary reason for demotion and dismissal. In the age…
“I’ve done everything I could. I don’t know what else to do. I need help.” This is the opening line I hear from most of my clients. Often the person uses it to describe a personal relationship situation, but it has been used to describe work situations by several others. When the conversation progresses, I…