One of the most overused words in our language is the word, Awesome. It is used as a motivational tool, compliment, and as a means of evaluating a novice’s efforts at learning a new skill. Even mediocre accomplishments are often described as being awesome. Paradoxically, however, people often have a difficult time regarding themselves or…
Conventional wisdom teaches us that, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” Goal-Achieving Psychotherapy disagrees with that statement on more than just grammatical grounds. Every day we see examples of individuals fixing or improving upon something about themselves that is already functioning pretty well. Talented musicians and artists continue to take classes. College professors who…
One of the questions that I typically ask new patients is, “What do you like the most about yourself?” It is not designed to be a trick question. It helps me to get an idea of the person’s self-image at the starting point of our working together. You may be surprised to hear that a…
I’m certain that many of our American readers and members of The Mental Health Gym are caught up in “March Madness” – the end of the collegiate basketball season that winds up with the NCAA tournament that is currently taking place. Aside from being an enjoyable series of sporting events that seems to always feature…
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word, Entrepreneur, as someone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risk of a business or enterprise. Successful entrepreneurs bring commitment, passion, and a single-mindedness to their work that enables them put up with challenges and to delay gratifications because their vision of what success will look and feel like. In…
This is March – the month that brings Spring to the northern hemisphere. Wherever you are, the seasons are changing in one direction or the other – assuming that you have seasons. The change of seasons is one of those milestones that enable us to pause, reassess, and set new goals. It wasn’t too long…
Have you ever had a complaint about a product or service that got you so riled up that you just couldn’t deal with it passively? You just had to unload your feelings to the store or salesperson or the professional who disrespected you. You just needed a good argument to get it off your chest.…
Dictionaries define brainwashing as a technique of using force, propaganda, or extreme forms of salesmanship to give up basic beliefs and accept an alternative belief system. It is commonly thought of as being something that goes along with the territory in totalitarian countries, but you may find it closer to home. YOU MAY BE DOING…
As most of you know, I recommend that the first question that you ask when you are faced with a challenge is, “What can go right?” It enables you to attack problems with a positive mindset, and it fights the tendency to get so focused upon possible negative outcomes that you stop thinking about solutions.…
This year’s Super Bowl will soon be upon us. Although I don’t have a rooting interest in either team in this year’s game, I look forward to watching it – and I suspect most of you will be doing so as well. There have been some very exciting Super Bowl games recently, but over the…
The great golfer, Arnold Palmer, is the source of some terrific quotes. Two of my favorites are: “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting it is;” and “I never quit trying. I never felt that I didn’t have a chance to win.” Think about the message in those quotes. Indeed, winning isn’t everything. In most endeavors there…