Positive Psychology

In the northern hemisphere, we are entering the depression season as the days get shorter and the opportunity to do activities that are naturally rewarding are more limited or non-existent.  Gardens don’t grow, and for many of us it’s too cold to hike and enjoy nature or play golf or outdoor tennis.  While some people…

Many of us have learned tricks and techniques that we can put in place to ensure the likelihood of us meeting our goals.  We might set out our next day’s clothing the night before – when we’re not too groggy to notice whether clothing matches and doesn’t have embarrassing holes or spots.  If we absolutely…

The political systems in the United States and elsewhere appear to be more polarized than at any time in our memories.  If one political party proposes something, the other party seems to have the knee-jerk reaction of opposing it – regardless of the content of the proposal.  This polarization is maintained by the proliferation of…

You have probably heard the story of the tourist who visits New York City for sightseeing and asks an elderly New Yorker, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?”  The New Yorker advises him with one word, “Practice!” While the advice to practice may not be necessary for a sightseer, it is actually pretty good…

Mark Twain once advised that you should eat a live frog every morning, and you will then know that everything else that you do during the day will be more pleasant.  Author Brian Tracy has used that concept as a metaphor for overcoming procrastination.  In his book, “Eat That Frog,” Tracy advises us to think…

Last Thursday I planned to get to work on time.  Unfortunately we had tremendous rain and flooding in the Philadelphia area.   All three train lines that stop at our local station were unable to function.  I figured out an alternative and drove to a more distant station that was a stop for a different train. …

Versions of that quote have been ascribed to various famous individuals, and large numbers of not-so-famous people have had a chance to test it out over time.  Many members of The Mental Health Gym live within the area that was hit by Hurricane Irene in recent days (and some of us had that added benefit…

It’s a common strategy employed by teams in all of the various sports.  When performance breaks down in some way and the top players are not producing or are lethargic or even trying too hard but not getting results, the coach will typically go to the bench and bring in another player.  A football coach…

We’ve all heard those motivational sayings like, “Problems are opportunities in disguise,” and “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity while the optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty”.  They represent examples of “relabeling” – which is simply the process of labeling something differently.  In psychology, the term has come to refer to the process of…

There is a known principle of behavior change – particularly if you are trying to change a bad habit.  You have to break the association between the habit and the situation in which it occurs.  Thus, smokers have to learn to get up from the table when they finish a meal rather than lingering and…

Not long ago, the former governor of my state of Pennsylvania and his wife, who is a federal judge, announced that they were getting a divorce.  Their announcement was unique in that it emphasized that the divorce was amicable, they were comfortable in being in each other’s company, and people who know them both and…