Granted – it can feel reassuring to come determine a reason why we or other people behave in certain ways. However, just having insight and knowing (or thinking that we know) the reason underlying people’s motivations does not always lead to taking effective action regarding the situation. While, to quote Socrates, “The unexamined life is […]

How do you cope when you’re rejected by that college you’d pinned your hopes on attending? How do you pick yourself up off the floor when your marriage of 15 years falls apart? And how do you manage when you’re facing a grim medical diagnosis? Life can be challenging enough when we’re just dealing with […]

Maybe you’ve been thinking about moving on from your current job. Or going back to school. Or getting up an hour earlier, so you can actually eat a real breakfast and enjoy your coffee before the kids are up. And maybe you’ve been contemplating these changes for a month, or a year, and yet you […]

Why is it that some people bounce back from tragedy or even seem to thrive in the face of persistent hardship, while others collapse and stay down for the count? Are some people just born with this resilience, defined as “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)? Are […]

What if there were a fun, low-pressure way to reduce your anxiety, build resilience, improve your connection with other people, and strengthen your ability to adapt to life on life’s terms? Welcome to the world of improvisation (AKA improv). Improv, or the art of making something up on the spot, without a script, score, or any […]

“Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. There never was a moment, and never will be, when we are without the power to alter our destiny. This second we can turn the tables on Resistance. This second we can sit down and do our work.” (Steven Pressfield) Whether or not we recognize […]

“Why can’t we talk it over? Always seems to me that sorry seems to be the hardest word.”  Elton John It takes courage to apologize. Saying we’re sorry puts us in a position of vulnerability. We aren’t in control of other people’s responses. They might reject us. They might yell at us. They might not […]

The majority of our emotional responses result from how we interpret a situation. People go to amusement parks to be intentionally scared out of their wits on roller coasters. We term the heart-pounding and adrenalin rush experienced in such situations “excitement”, but if we endure the same sensations due to an unplanned event, such as […]

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face… You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”  Eleanor Roosevelt Stress has been getting a bad name. Almost daily, we read about another research study demonstrating the destructive effects of stress on our […]

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” (Mark Twain) Often fear can be like quicksand. The more we struggle and fight our fear, the more obsessed and anxious we can become, and then we just become more mired in the problem. Intense psychological stress can shut down the innovative and […]