Personal Growth

The power of intention or coincidence…again?

I wondered whether to let you see my convoluted thinking, but what the heck, here it is.
This summer we’ve had a lot of daddy-long-legs (a type of spider) in the bathroom. Who knows why; maybe there was a nest in the laundry conduits.
I used to have major spider phobia and though I’m no longer as [...]

Complaining as a misguided creative act

We’ve been going through a heat wave, and of course some people have been complaining, even though we waited a long time this year for summer weather.
Most of us know that complaining is not the most evolved behavior we could have.
Yet it’s quite tempting to do because it provides some kind of emotional relief; it’s [...]

What brings on a great day?

Today I had a great day where things got magically solved. Don’t you love those?
It’s not that I was masterful in my actions; it was my attitude. I wasn’t worrying about small things, I was noticing and appreciating the gifts of the day, and didn’t feel the usual time pressure.
What brings on those kinds of [...]

How to keep fear at bay; lesson learned today in the locker room

This morning, I was reminded of how contagious fear is.
I was at the gym and a few of us were in the locker room getting ready to leave after our aerobics class. One woman was saying how they normally travel to Europe every year but won’t go this year because she didn’t think it was [...]

None of us fully understand our value

That statement applies to us most of the time, not just when we are in a low self-worth phase.
I was reflecting on it after reading Noah St John’s fantastic book, “The Secret Code of Success”. It’s full of ideas that are really consistent with my philosophy.
Here’s a direct quote from his book:”…you can’t fully perceive [...]

“If you have a dream, go after it”

“Don’t ever let anybody tell you you can’t do it.”
Those are the words of DJ Boonie, who’s overcome challenges beyond what I’ve had to face.
“If I fall, I fall. It’s just another challenge. I’m gonna fall, that’s just the way it is. You get back up and you learn from your mistakes and you don’t [...]

Why do we do things that we know are bad for us?

Like overeating, or smoking, or too much TV, overspending, etc. etc.
Now some of those are real addictions and my intention in this post is not to talk about the causes and remedies for addictions. For one thing, I couldn’t even graze the surface of the subject.
Let’s talk about things we do that we [...]

Did you break your New Year’s resolution yet?

A lot of people have by now; many didn’t even wait a day. And I know that’s not a great surprise, after all, we all chuckle knowingly over the New Year’s resolution jokes.
So why can’t you, like most people, keep your promise to yourself?
You don’t believe you can do it
After all, you have lots of [...]

Personal growth: is it an indulgence in difficult times?

After all, we have to first tend to the basics: earning a living or keeping the business afloat.
Doesn’t Maslow’s hierarchy of needs tell us that survival has to be met first, personal growth being only the icing on the cake when everything else is looked after?
Let’s say for the sake of this argument, that we [...]