I was recently interviewed by Andrew Patterson, the host of the IronmanHacks, on the topic of swim anxiety/panic. On the podcast, I explain possible causes of these strong physiological and psychological reactions during an open-water swim and offer practical information and tools that you can use to overcome it. To listen or watch the podcast, [...]
Many of us devote enormous amounts of time, energy, and money to becoming the best versions of ourselves. These efforts are reflected in a self-help industry that generates more than $13 billion a year. We strive to let go of past baggage, change the way we think, transform our emotional lives, behave differently, or alter [...]
Let’s begin with an exercise: I don’t want you to think about a pink elephant. What did you do? Well, you thought of a pink elephant, of course. But don’t think about a pink elephant, don’t think about a pink elephant, don’t think about a pink elephant! Does that help you not think about a [...]
It sure is difficult knowing what’s real these days. We have virtual reality, fake news, ChatGPT, deep fakes, the list goes on. What was once obvious and unambiguous to all is now unclear and up for debate by all. This challenge of which apparent reality is actually the reality that we should let guide our [...]
We humans are very good at protecting ourselves from perceived threats. This reaction is the manifestation of our most powerful instinct—survival—which has developed over billions of years of evolution. This protective reaction has served us well for most of our existence (which began on the Serengeti about 250,000 years ago) when confronted with threats to [...]
Our survival instinct developed to protect ourselves from harm and to ensure our survival. This fundamental drive has been wired into our DNA through evolution since we climbed out of the primordial muck more than 530 billion years ago. And it has worked pretty darned well for most of human existence. Unfortunately, times have changed [...]
Given my subtitle, you might be thinking that I’m a Luddite or some crackpot Chicken Little (“The Skype is falling!!”). But I’m not some anti-tech kook (really, I’m not). But over the years, I have assumed the role of a modern-day Paul Revere (“The techies are coming!”), wanting to alert people to the real harm [...]
In my last article, I explored the powerful influence of your emotional baggage on your life; it’s harmful effects on your happiness, relationships, and the pursuit of your life goals. Your response might be: “Okay, I now understand where my emotional baggage came from and how it affects me. But how do I unpack my [...]
The term “emotional baggage” has become an entrenched part of the personal-development culture. Emotional baggage is typically described as unresolved emotional issues from our childhood, including acute trauma, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, ongoing stressors, family dysfunction, and other negative experiences, that shape our attitudes, emotions, and behavior, and detrimentally influence our current lives. Moreover, [...]
Over my decades-long history as both a blogger, author, and public speaker (as well as being a Ph.D. in Psychology who sees clients), I have come to appreciate the power of words. I often hear someone say that “it’s just a semantic difference” when discussing the use of different words that are seen as having [...]
