There is a consistent body of research demonstrating that being involved with others is associated with emotional health, and the impact upon personal mental health is even greater when that involvement includes helping others. Involvement in helping others is not only a form of increased socialization, but there are reciprocal benefits. When you do good…
Woody Allen has been quoted as saying the 80% of success is just showing up. Although there is obvious humor in that quote, there is also a good deal of truth to it – in both directions. If you show up and participate, you have a lot better chance of having your talents noticed and…
Most of us have more good ideas, intentions, and plans than we ever achieve. We increase the chances of achieving them if we turn them into goals. Certain behaviors are important in order to transform our thoughts into goals. We move from having thoughts to having behaviors when we establish goals that are concrete, realistic,…
Thomas Edison said it best: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Anybody who has achieved anything has made mistakes along the way. The only way to avoid mistakes is to take the safest course, aim below our potential, and not try anything new. Making a mistake should not be…
When I drive down the road and I see a sign that reads, STOP, I stop. I generally don’t try to figure out why the sign was placed there. I assume that most stop signs are there for a purpose. They are not the result of some random process but rather are placed where they…
It’s not a trick question. What do you like about yourself? When I ask that question of my therapy patients, as I inevitably do, the number who struggle to find an answer never fails to amaze me. Happily some are able to answer the question quickly and forthrightly. Too many others, however, are eager to try…
There is a lot of research verifying the fact that positive people tend to accomplish more and have better health. The research is all well and good, but observation is also important. And there is one thing that I have yet to observe. I’ve never observed a positive-oriented person suggest that s/he would somehow be…
The late Albert Ellis, one of the pioneers in the field of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, introduced the word, catastrophizing, into the psychology practice literature. Catastrophizing refers to the cognitive processing of information in such a way that things that are objectively annoying, inconvenient or unpleasant are treated as if they are awful, horrendous, or tragic. There is…
One of the real joys of working with people is the opportunity to be involved in their growth and change. One of the real challenges, however, occurs when I observe someone changing up to a point – and the s/he stops and either goes no further or even reverts to old behaviors. It’s almost…
One of the good things about setting goals is that it forms the basis for initiating a chain of behaviors directed at goal-achieving. As long as you stay with your plan, you will stay active in pursuit of your goals. It’s a really simple concept but an important one. If you have something to do,…
It finally happened. My hard drive crashed. Thanks to being pretty good about having my stuff backed up, I didn’t lose too much data. But it was an inconvenience to take the computer for diagnosis and repair, wait a day for the new drive to be installed, reinstall some programs that aren’t on the new…