It seems silly, or at least unnecessary, to post a blog reminding people to drink water – something that we’ve been doing all of our lives. Yet, almost every day people wind up in hospital emergency rooms with cases of dizziness, fainting, muscle fatigue, confusion and other symptoms of reduced cognitive functioning because of dehydration. …
Some people say that they hate to exercise, and then they go out and prove it by leading a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle. But I’m always intrigued by others who claim to hate exercising, but comfortably spend hours doing housework, yard maintenance and gardening, taking walks to shop or spend time with friends in the…
Many decades ago, I wrote my doctoral dissertation on decision-making. I even developed a decision-making test and had it copyrighted, although I never did much with it afterward. In fact, some of the knowledge that I gained from the process didn’t stick with me too long either, because I still find myself being indecisive more…
Oftentimes, the hardest thing about a task is the process of getting yourself started. Many great potential achievements and opportunities have been left on the drawing boards and in the minds of people who didn’t have the drive to get started. They may have been too self-critical or perfectionistic or passive, or they may have…
Summer has unofficially begun in the Northern Hemisphere. It is typically a time for many people to go away on vacation. After several years of Covid-related lockdowns, it is an especially appealing idea this year. Although it’s a terrific idea and should definitely be encouraged, I would like to also make a pitch for exploring…
I consider myself to be a pretty motivated and productive guy. Although I’m in control of much of my schedule, a typical day consists of work, physical activity such as walking and exercising, and spending quality time with my wife and often with family, neighbors, and other friends. I know that I’m not too unique…
We all have bad days – and some of them are of our own making. Of course, sometimes things don’t work out because we are treated unfairly, and sometimes we are treated fairly but we don’t get the job or the relationship or the discount or the tax break that we want. Even on the…
Some very compassionate people have a difficult time expressing self-compassion. According to Dr. Kristin Neff, self-compassion expert at the University of Texas, the practice of self-compassion involves giving ourselves the same kindness and care that we’d give to a friend. Why do some people find that concept so difficult? In some cases, the problem is…
On many occasions, I’ve discussed the importance of social connectedness. Being socially connected provides you with more opportunities to have fun and to have a support system. Furthermore, during the aging process, there is a strong association between loneliness and poor health and a shorter lifespan. Something that can get lost in the process when…
No matter how positively we approach life and how satisfied we are with our situations, nothing ever turns out right all the time. We all wind up being disappointed at times, feeling regretful at times, and feeling that we are being treated unfairly at times. During those times, it is pretty normal to try to…
Many years ago, when I was in school, we would occasionally get a test where you lost more points if you got the wrong answer than if you left the item blank. In essence, there was a penalty for guessing. I could never understand why. Perhaps my thinking in that regard may have been one…