Thomas Edison was a real quote machine in his time. Among his more memorable quotes are: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” “Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best…
There is something crazy about taking a time of joy and turning it into a time of stress. Yet, that’s what many people do. Holiday stress can stem from financial, physical, social, and family overload. There is an important principle to keep in mind at a time like this; the more that you are in…
By definition, depression is not a fun emotion to be experiencing. There are different levels of depression ranging from a baseline level of unhappiness to a temporary reactive depression when something lousy happens to major depression marked by despondency, hopelessness, and possibly suicidal thinking. Depression may involve biochemical and/or environmental factors. It would be an…
One of the questions that I routinely ask new therapy patients is, “What do you do for fun?” Some are able to answer in a positive manner without hesitation. Others, however, treat it like a trick question – and an uncomfortable trick question at that. I get all kinds of uncomfortable responses from various patients:…
If you are at all into popular or academic psychology, you may be well aware of the fact that the concept of “mindfulness” is one of the hottest topics in the entire field today. Dr. Jan Chozen Bays, who is both a physician and Zen master, has defined mindfulness as “deliberately paying attention to what…
We are living during some difficult times. It is easy to become cynical. On a near-daily basis, the news contains reports of terrorism, gun violence, political polarization, and an uncertain economy. Under these circumstances it is easy to say, “What’s the use of trying? How can I make a difference?” It is precisely at times…
When facing challenges or tasks that are not inherently enjoyable, I try to approach each one with the question of, “How can I make it be fun?” It doesn’t always work! Sometimes it’s because of me and the way I’m feeling and the way that it detracts from some things that I’d rather do. Sometimes…
It would be nice to go through life without having to deal with disappointments. Nice – but not realistic. The issue is not whether we will have to deal with disappointments in our family lives, careers, and relationships. We will. The issue is how will we cope when those things occur. In this area, like…
Whether it is by choice or circumstances or a combination of both, many of us are very, very busy. Everything – from demanding jobs to carpools to social activities to the sports events and recitals of children and grandchildren to caring for the health needs of family members – seems to conspire to fill every…
One of the known keys to success lies in our ability to control our impulses and delay gratifications. The students who handle difficult courses and the successful dieters and people who successfully advance up the ranks of a company share the ability to delay gratifications. While it’s always nice to get immediate rewards, it becomes…
The setting and achieving of goals is obviously a central part of Goal-Achieving Psychotherapy. Many of our blogs and podcasts and newsletter ideas are designed to help you do so. Your chances of persisting and achieving goals are most likely to take place when the goals are both realistic and a reflective of a high…