During my graduate school training in psychology, religion was a topic that was almost never discussed. Some students were more religious than others, and some were not religious at all. As budding psychologists, we tended to be respectful of each others’ practices or lack thereof, but the subject of religion was almost never discussed professionally.…
Lottery winners are few and far between . The same holds true for heirs and heiresses. Years ago, when Pennsylvania started having a lottery, I decided that the key to resolving my financial problems as well as virtually every other problem would be to win the lottery. I pretty much assumed that if I dutifully…
The Blame Game is one of those games that you can lose by winning. You play the blame game by looking at those things that you’ve fallen short of accomplishing or those goals that you haven’t achieved – and then you find somewhat outside yourself to blame for it. There often is no shortage of…
There is a time for relaxing and a time for “hanging out” and a time for play. There is also a time to plan for success. Success doesn’t just happen. It takes belief and it takes preparation. What many people don’t realize is that one of the best ways to prepare for success is to…
Many job applications never get filed by qualified individuals who think about applying but never get around to doing so. Many books don’t get written but remain great ideas in their would-be authors minds. Many potential great relationships never develop because some individuals become too timid to pursue them. Inertia is a great leveler. It…
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…