Mental Fitness: Outwitting the Inner Critic

Have you ever wondered why you can be so determined to do something and then fail so miserably?  We’ve all experienced it.  Perhaps you’ve been trying to lose 20 pounds for the last five years (unsuccessfully) or you have been wanting to change a particular habit.  So you sincerely make up your mind to do it. Yet, every time, you self-sabotage and wind up quitting far short of success.  Well, there are certainly a lot of reasons that contribute to …

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Lost: Ode to All Veterans

As part of my clinical internship, I worked with veterans.  I was overwhelmed at the intensity of pain and suffering that these men and women endured as part of their service to our country, both during their tours of duty and for month, years, and for some, during their entire lifetimes following discharge.  I was so moved and touched by their struggles that the following piece …

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How Do I Find Happiness: Avoiding the Human “Race”

How do I find happiness?  Good question.  I think a lot of folks would like a solid answer to this question.  There are so many different aspects to happiness that I think we can more easily define unhappiness than happiness.  But for today, let’s think more about contentment, which is just one aspect of what I think of as a happy state of existence.  So, if…

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Quotes of Note: Why a Challenge is Not Just a Challenge

To joy in the dance, even when the dance has forever changed… Do you suffer with low frustration tolerance, meaning that things “get under your skin” easily and quickly?  Then you may benefit from this thought from American historian and musician, Bernice Johnson Reagon (1942): “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” So, if you find yourself frustrated to the point of breaking, remember that every life challenge presented to …

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How Do I Change Me: Developing an Open Heart

She won't notice if I just take this one… I meet a lot of unhappy people.  People who are frustrated with their own behavior and keep asking the question, “How do I change me?”  It is one thing to recognize you need to change something, but another thing entirely to make it through the process of change.  Although there are many keys involved in the change process, I want to focus…

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