8 Steps to Making Peace with Your Past Self
At one level, I’m always amazed at how so many of us allow their past selves to have such a big impact on who they are now and how they think, feel, and engage with their world in adulthood. At another level, I’m not the least bit surprised because our childhood experiences that shape our […]
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5 Steps to a Meaningful, Satisfying, and Joyful Life
To what do you aspire? Who do you want to be and what kind of life do you want to lead? To be happy, successful, impactful, rich, famous, loved? We all want to find and experience that elusive “Holy Grail” that we believe will fulfill our aspirations. However, as is commonly expressed in both ancient […]
Read More7 Forces that Make Positive Life Change So Difficult
Changing your life is difficult, very difficult, despite what all of those self-help gurus say. If it wasn’t so hard, most everyone would be the people they want to be and live the lives they want to live. Too often, people blame themselves for their inability to change their lives for the better, seeing weakness […]
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Do You Protect or Express Yourself in Life?
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 […]
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What are Your Emotional Hot Buttons That “Light You Up?”
Have you ever had your hot buttons pushed? If you’re a human being and experience emotions at all, you have with almost absolute certainty. Your heart starts pounding, your breathing shortens, adrenaline courses through your veins, you begin to sweat, you feel very strong emotions (usually fear or anger), you feel a strong compulsion to […]
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Has Your Psychological Castle Become an Emotional Prison?
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 […]
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Unpack Your Emotional Baggage
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 […]
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How Emotional Baggage Starts Out Functional, Then Becomes Dysfunctional
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, […]
Read MoreFive Levels of Happiness: In Search of the “Real” Thing
Is there anything more decidedly American than the pursuit of happiness? It is woven into the very fabric of the American ethos as “inalienable rights” bestowed upon us in the Declaration of Independence (“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”). Is there anything that we devote more time, effort, and money to than attempting to […]
Read MorePsychology: What Me Worry?: Why Worrying Does More Harm Than Good
Worry is a natural part of the human condition. It has historically played a vital role in our survival and it helps us cope with many of the challenges we face today. At the same time, worry that is too intense, too frequent, and too unrelenting can definitely cut down on your happiness and enjoyment […]
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