Over the past half-century, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has emerged as the most widely used approach to psychotherapy. There are a few variations of it – with each tracing its lineage to a practitioner who was likely influenced by Albert Ellis or Aaron Beck – or both. The big reasons for its popularity include the…
As I write this blog, terrible wars are going on in Ukraine and the Middle East, virtually every country has enemies that with whom they have no diplomatic relations, politics are more polarized than ever, and even the party that has the majority in the House of Representatives hasn’t been able to agree on a…
We all have experienced it. There comes a time when there is a break of several days in our schedule – either because of vacation, illness, a family emergency, a conference, or an intense project at work. Whatever it is, it has the effect of derailing us from our normal routine. During that time, even…
There was a time when I used to pride myself in how little sleep I needed. I would brag that: (1) I didn’t need as much sleep as other people because I knew how to sleep fast; (2) Not needing much sleep enabled me to not miss as much of life as someone who required…
You’ve undoubtedly heard the expression that “the one constant in this world is change”. In his theory of the survival of the fittest, Charles Darwin stated that it’s not the strongest or most intelligent of the species that survives, it is the one that is most adaptable to change. For example, we don’t see dinosaurs…
One of the best ways to be productive is to have structure in your life. Productive people generally have schedules with non-negotiable times to accomplish certain tasks. They may attack their most undesirable tasks early so that they are out of the way; they have certain times for checking emails rather than being distracted by…
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. …
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…
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…
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…