How often do you reflect on the things you do right? I don’t mean something like recycling, I’m talking about tricks or habits you instinctively do when faced with an obstacle. Have you ever wondered why your tactics work? What about when, or where, you learned them? It’s okay if you don’t know. We rarely question when things go well and tend to pay more attention to what’s not working.

But I was recently reminded of a fear I had as a child, and being the introspective person I am, I found myself curious about how I overcame it. That’s…

The last couple of years has been a whirlwind. Living 2020 in quarantine helped a lot of us slow down a little and take a heavy collective breath. But while adjusting to our new reality, we started seeing the existence of everything we were too distracted to notice, or do anything about, before.

It seems as though one massive event after another has taken place. Right about the time things begin to settle down, we have a new disaster or social awareness to be concerned about. …

School shootings are such a normalized part of our society that most of them don’t even make it to major news outlets. Children are dying on a regular basis and we’re becoming numb to it. It’s just one more monstrous event defining our future, and to be honest, it’s terrifying.

Society shouts in outrage, but little has been done to solve the problem. Granted, we’ve experimented a bit. Active shooter drills, arming teachers, and integrating transcendental meditation into school curriculums have all been tried. So, what are the results?

Stats Showing Where We’re At

It’s true, the United States of America is the most influential…

Sometimes a person will point out or teach you something so obvious, the knowledge jumps out and slaps you on the forehead. Once you see it, ignorance is no longer a choice. It's as if a problem you didn’t know you had is suddenly solved.

After realizing this new-to-you information, you may even wonder how you never realized it before. As if it’s common sense you were somehow blind to until this very moment. The person who told you might even find your naivety amusing, or possibly, depending on the circumstances, offensive.

Sales

If you’ve ever worked in sales, you’ve probably…

With his cancer in remission for five years, no one knew anything was wrong with my dad until twelve hours before he passed away. Halfway between his regular checkups, a tumor grew, puncturing an artery that caused him to internally bleed to death. As horrible as it sounds, I’m fortunate.

Twelve hours is an eternity while you’re waiting in the unknown, but it was enough time for my family to say our goodbyes and allowed my mom to hold his hand until the very end. His pain lasted hours, not days, months, or heaven forbid, years.

I’ve learned being thankful…

For some people, the concept of mindfulness is filed as “hippy-dippy nonsense” in their minds. As in, a ridiculous waste of time that serves no real purpose in everyday life. They may assume self-awareness is a natural part of being human, and therefore, there's no need to give it any thought. At least, that’s how I used to think.

Tips like, “focus on your breathing,” and, “find a quiet place to sit and observe your thoughts,” sounded like a bunch of baloney to me. At least until I actually learned what it means to be mindful. …

You probably think you know yourself pretty well. Why wouldn’t you? You’ve spent your whole life as you. You know when you like something and when you don’t. You’re aware when someone rubs you the wrong way. You notice when someone else’s presence fills you with warmth and joy. Perhaps you’ll even insist you know what will make you happy.

But do you know why you like something or not? What about why you become annoyed or elated by specific people? Are the things you claim will make you happy what you want, or what you’ve been influenced to want…

I had a thought while watching New Girl on Netflix. If you haven’t seen it, New Girl is about an awkward, quirky, but lovable Millennial named Jess, played by Zooey Deschanel, who moves into an apartment with three guy roommates.

I find it hilarious and enjoy how light and easy it is to watch, I never feel depressed or sad at the end of an episode. Each character is very much their own person, with their own unique interests, triggers, and boundaries yet they’re like a family. …