Avoiding problems is a band-aid approach to handling life’s challenges that makes things worse. According to Christina Smith, LMHC, “Avoidance is a maladaptive coping skill that offers the mind an escape from uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and/or experiences. It may seem like avoiding discomfort could be helpful, however, it results in never addressing the actual issue….

Some people know what they want and are determined to make it happen no matter what.  They’re ambitious; driven. And will work nights and weekends – even holidays – to achieve their goals, while others are okay with dreaming and drifting, accepting whatever life hands them, and hoping for the best along the way.  Why…

The only way to make progress in life is to make decisions. But that’s harder than it sounds unless you’re making little decisions.  When making big decisions, sometimes you think you have everything figured out and know what to do. Easy.  But there are times when knowing what to do can be a real struggle…

Ghandi said, “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”  Although exercise is proven to change our body, mind, attitude, and mood, how many people get physical activity regularly?  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 46.9 percent of adults aged 18 years and over meet the…

William James said, “The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.”  Let’s resolve to be wiser in 2023 by letting go of everything we can that doesn’t add meaning to our lives.  Let our motto be, simplify, simplify, simplify! Trying to keep up with everything is exhausting and wastes time….

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”  Everyone makes mistakes. But only a fool keeps repeating the same ones.  It’s not that we make mistakes that matters but what we do about them. Mistakes can either break us or build us; block our…

Some places on earth are known for their long, cold winters. Denmark is one of those places with cool summers and notoriously long, dark winters.  Hygge-Living After a while, living in icy darkness wears on a person. Maybe that’s why the Danish people are known for a concept called Hygge living (pronounced Hue-gah). Hygge is…

When was the last time someone was kind to you?  There’s an old saying that says, “Kindness is contagious.” Being kind and doing kind things light up the brain’s pleasure centers for the person being kind and the recipient.  Kindness triggers the brain to release serotonin and oxytocin. Serotonin makes you feel happier, and oxytocin…

John Bunyan wrote, “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”  The holiday season is here, and along with it, gift-giving. As lovely as it is to receive a gift, most people say they gain more pleasure from giving gifts than getting them. What better time…

C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, describes his grief and sadness after the passing of his wife in his book, A Grief Observed, “Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything.”  Loss, sadness, and grief affect every part of life and can leave you feeling hollow and empty.  The holiday season…

We hear the words “gratitude” and “thanksgiving” so much that I wonder if they’ve become little more than self-help platitudes and warm-sounding seasonal cliches. Have we lost a meaningful appreciation for the true spirit of thankfulness and gratitude? And what do they really mean anyway, aren’t they the same thing? Emotion And Attitude Gratitude comes…

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “To lose patience is to lose the battle.” Dictionary.com defines patience as “the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.” That’s a tall order.  Doesn’t it seem like a tidal wave of frustration, irritability, and impatience is…