Recently I had a social gathering where one friend left early without explanation. My brain concluded she left because she wasn’t having a good time without considering other possibilities. Eventually, I learned her departure was about unexpected personal news she wasn’t able to talk about at the time so my
Of those who seek help for anxiety 70-80% of cases are due to suppressed thoughts and feelings about current life circumstances, according to David Burns, MD. He says we suppress these feelings out of a desire to be nice or protective of others. As a result, these feelings show up
Do you repeatedly give up in defeat and self-blame when a plan to change a habit falls apart? When something doesn’t go as planned, do you devolve into defeat and negativity? If so, resiliency may be a skill worth building. Here are some common obstacles to resiliency and how to
Decision-Making Tip #1: Open Your OptionsWe often overlook many viable options in favor of only a couple that are easy to see when trying to make a decision. Even if they aren’t ones you want to pursue, allow yourself to consider all possible options before narrowing them down. Start by asking yourself,
Do you have a difficult time making decisions? If so, you probably also believe in right and wrong decisions. But what if there’s no such thing? How do you know when a decision is right or wrong? The brain loves to put things in black and white, to see things
Motivation Entitlement: We think we’re entitled to motivation before we take action but it doesn’t work this way. More often than we realize, we have to take action first before motivation kicks in. If we wait until we’re in the mood before we do something, we reinforce procrastination. Not feeling like
Begin by rating how bad you feel on a scale of 0 – 10 (0 = not bad at all and 10 = the worst I could ever imagine feeling). Once you have this number, move on to the first step. Write down or record all your thoughts. I call this
How often do you say, “I don’t know”? If you’re like most people, it’s a lot. These three words sabotage your relationship with yourself and get in the way of your dreams. Saying “I don’t know,” undermines your capability and keeps you in indecision. It can feel safe to rely on not knowing
We all do it; saying no to the reality that life presents. It’s part of how we try to protect ourselves, express our values, and fine-tune our moral compass. Yet despite our best intentions, the inclination to push against what we don’t want to accept comes with a price. Think about
“It’s…common, especially in the modern world, to never fully relax. We’ll spend our days half-asleep and nights half-awake, lolling in a gray zone of half-anxiety.”James Nestor, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art The breath is the bridge between the mind and the body and most of us pay little
