by Marcia | Dec 15, 2015 | Setting and Achieving Goals
The end-of-year holidays form a kind of time tunnel linking the present with the past and the future. When they roll around, we take stock. What do they mean this year? How are things different from last year? We may nostalgically remember times past, before Mom died...
by Marcia | Jul 24, 2015 | Love & Marriage
Most people think getting married is procedurally pretty simple. You connect with someone you like and find attractive. You date for a while. You meet the folks and the friends. You compare notes: living and working where? how many kids? You affirm your love....
by Marcia | May 15, 2015 | Learning, Living Well
We all want to succeed, right? Sure! At least theoretically. But have you ever had the experience of hoping for something good and big, having it suddenly handed to you, and then finding yourself freaking out, overwhelmed? Therapists often say that there’s positive...
by Marcia | May 12, 2015 | Healthy Living, Learning
Losses accumulate over a lifetime. It is said that people worry about finances and finding the right relationship more than anything else. This article presupposes that you have a goal, a plan, and steps to reach it, but you shy away from the work to be done like a...
by Marcia | Apr 28, 2015 | Living Well
Some people argue that you shape your own reality, that your mind determines what you get in life. Evidence for this proposition has been put forth by various writers approaching the question from differing perspectives. Pam Grout writes experiments that let you prove...
by Marcia | Apr 17, 2015 | Living Well, Setting and Achieving Goals
Too often as we pursue our daily lives we have no sense of overarching purpose. We assume that what we want will somehow magically come if we keep putting one foot in front of the other. We will recognize the mysterious thing we desire when we see it. Not only is...
by Marcia | Jan 9, 2015 | Childrearing
In the process of childrearing it’s easy to get sidetracked by day-to-day concerns involving school and home, but it’s important to step back and look at the big picture from time to time. What should your primary goals be as a parent? Try this mission statement on...
by Marcia | Jan 2, 2015 | Living Well, Setting and Achieving Goals
New Year’s resolutions? Ugh. We’ve all been there, done that. It can be fun to read them years after the fact—all the good intentions most of which never got off the drawing board. To make changes that stick, of course, you need to do more than make a list in...
by Marcia | Dec 12, 2014 | Living Well, Setting and Achieving Goals
Habits have lots of virtues. They add comforting structure to our lives and help us counteract chaos. They give us a safety net by letting us go on automatic pilot in times of crisis. In novel situations we rely on habits just because we gravitate wherever possible...
by Marcia | Nov 4, 2014 | Setting and Achieving Goals, Workplace and Career
We all have work we just hate doing. For me the worst thing is income tax preparation, and it happens every year. I hate adding up income and expenses. I hate wading through invoices and receipts. I hate paperwork anyway. And the whole thing takes up too much time. So...
by Marcia | Oct 17, 2014 | Living Well
It can feel hard or easy to make a decision. Deciding that you want swordfish for dinner may be easy. Deciding whether to buy a new car or a used one may seem harder. It may be harder still to choose between going back to school and finding a full-time job. Whatever...
