“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven.” —John Milton Have you ever noticed that people often expect things to go badly? Without any conscious prompting, our minds automatically jump to and fixate on the worst possible scenarios. Consider the following two examples and […]
Category: Relationships
Getting Real with Your Friends in 2013
In my last two blog posts, I have written about being authentic with yourself and with your spouse. For the last post in my “Getting Real” series, I’m going to talk about what you can do to cultivate authentic friendships. I think that it’s very easy to go through life surrounded by less-than-authentic friendships. For […]
Getting Real with Your Spouse in 2013
In my last blog post, I offered some suggestions on how to get more real with yourself. To review, I believe that living a life of true authenticity is one of the keys to happiness; after all, if outside influences are determining who you are, what you do, and how you develop, you’ll feel confined, […]
Getting Real with Yourself in 2013
In our society, “authentic” is a positive buzzword. If you’re authentic, you’re honoring your own values, desires, and goals. You’re honest with yourself and with others, and you aren’t being deceptive or fake. Most notably, you are comfortable in your own skin. Yes, this definition of authenticity sounds nice. But here’s the problem: I don’t […]
The Year of the Quitter: Twelve Habits to Drop in 2013
The Times Square ball has dropped, champagne has been sipped, and 2013 has begun. Are you feeling energized and excited to embark on a new year…or (more likely) are you just plain exhausted? If you barely have the energy to think up a list of resolutions that you know you won’t end up keeping, you’re […]
Going Deeper: Why We Shouldn’t Stop at Small Talk
Recently, a friend forwarded me a New York Times article titled “Talk Deeply, Be Happy?” As this person had suspected, it was right up my alley. It reported the results of a study on conversation. Turns out, the more meaningful conversations you have, the happier you tend to be. (And on the other hand, people […]
Portrait of a Great Coach
Everyone who knows me personally is aware that I am a huge sports fan. I love to support all of my local Boston professional teams. But without a doubt, my favorite sports events of all are those in which my son, Josh, is a player. (This may be a father’s pride talking, but he is […]
Men, Let’s Talk about Depression.
For men especially, depression is something that’s uncomfortable to talk about. Unfortunately, our society tends to believe that “real” men shouldn’t get depressed. Men are supposed to be tough, the thinking goes, and not let their emotions “get the better of them.” Please understand: If that’s how you tend to think about depression, you’re making […]
Let the Sunshine In
Summer is a time of warm temperatures, sunny skies, green leaves, neighborhood cookouts, family vacations, ice cream cones, and more. You’d think that summer and all it entails would boost the happiness that most of us feel. But instead, I’ve noticed that a lot of people drift through these warm weeks in the same hum-drum […]
It’s Time for Summer Camp…and Separation Anxiety
For generations, sending kids to summer camp has been an American tradition. For a lot of youngsters, camp is what their parents hope it will be: namely, a blast! But for other children, camp is something to be unsure of…or downright terrified by. The fact is, many children experience some degree of separation anxiety when […]