In the 1930’s, a mother was concerned about her son’s addiction to sugar. She brought her son to the Indian sage, Mahatma Ghandi. “My son consumes far too much sugar,” the mother said to Ghandi. “Will you tell him it’s bad for his health?” Ghandi told the woman to come back in two weeks. Two […]
Making Bad Behavior Work for You
You do certain things you feel good about, things you don’t mind the whole world knowing. You eat broccoli every day, for example. Strictly for the sake of communication, let’s call these “good deeds.” And you do certain things you don’t feel so great about, things you’d rather not publicize. You eat a dozen donuts every […]
Is There an Upside to Anger?
If you could wave a magic wand and remove all your anger, would you? In my clinical experience, I hear a lot of people say they would like to be less angry. At the same time, many of these people resist concrete steps that would actually reduce their anger. How do you benefit from your anger? Do […]
Are You Playing Whack-a-Mole with Your Life?
Most people are waiting on something. Better job, financial freedom, better relationship, improved health, completion of a stressful project. Maybe the thing you’re waiting on will happen, maybe not. But even when you do finally complete that stressful project, for instance, what then? Then something else comes up. It’s like the whack-a-mole game: smack down […]
Is Your Belief System Working For You?
You have your own ideas about religion and politics. You have your own definition of honor, fairness, courage, authenticity. You have your personal philosophy regarding relationships, career and family. You have your own belief system. But how do you know if this belief system is really working? After all, a belief system is only as effective as the thoughts, feelings and behaviors […]