When I was growing up, I was one of six kids and my father owned a toy store in Hackensack, New Jersey. What I learned as a teenager, was that his leftover inventory became our Christmas presents. While I slept, the delivery truck from his store would back up the driveway late Christmas Eve. What...Read More
One Person’s Experience with Integrity Comfortable shoes and the freedom to leave are the two most important things in life. –Shell Silverstein A colleague of mine accepted a senior clinical position at a large research hospital She quickly saw that the culture was focused on conducting research, with attention to patients as a secondary priority....Read More
As countries get richer, they do not get happier. The Easterlin Paradox The 2018 World Happiness Report is out and while America’s income per capita has increased markedly during the past 50 years, well-being...Read More
“We don’t absorb the energy of others, we match it. Wayne Dyer I’ve written about emotional vampires before: those people around us that are victims, know-it-alls, or complainers. Lately, my thinking on how to best deal with these people has evolved. If we feel drained after interacting with one of these types, it’s...Read More
The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short. ~ Abraham Maslow, American Psychologist, 1908-1970 It is estimated that we are exposed to 5,000 ads a day. Our economy is built on us consuming things, food, clothes, shelter improvements…. Businesses tend to create things that cluster at the...Read More
A nail is driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit. Desiderius Erasmus We all bought into the myth that a habit takes 3 weeks to reach “automaticity” (the ability to do things without occupying the mind). This was based on junk science that has not been reproducible. A study...Read More
Our habits of mind can play incredible tricks on us. One of the first things I learned to do as a nurse was to accurately name things… once we have the accurate assessment, then the right remedy can follow. This simple principle can help us self-regulate, get unstuck and acknowledge and remedy unspecified stress or...Read More
I’ve been devouring the writings of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 120-180), a practitioner of a practical philosophy called Stoicism. Ancient Stoics sought to accept the things that were given to them in life and to not be controlled by destructive emotions and difficult people. I’ve culled some astonishing wisdom from his diary, and even...Read More
Whatever you are, be a good one. Abraham Lincoln Are you stuck in a self-defeating pattern? When what you want and what you are doing are in conflict, you may be in Civil War with yourself. When a person is divided on itself, the harm is coming from within. A Harvard...Read More
