On Birthdays

Birthdays can evoke emotions, which vary widely over the lifespan. In my Psychology Today article today, I describe them as well as offer ideas on how to spend your birthday as you deem wise, not necessarily as conventional wisdom dictates.

Home in the Time of COVID: Appreciating and easily improving your home

Previous installments in this series offered thoughts on how to make the most of pleasures that remain allowable amid the COVID lockdown: walking, reading, music, and eating. In my Psychology Today article today, we turn to home.

Many of us are staying at home more amid the COVID lockdown. While that may cause cabin fever, it also may afford us the  opportunity to appreciate and improve our home without undue cost, which in the economic shutdown may be more important than ever.

Eating in the Time of COVID

Previous installments in this series on making the most of pleasures allowable in the COVID lockdown addressed walking, reading, and music. Today we turn to eating.

No matter the restrictions, we will be allowed to eat. That’s fortunate not just because food is required for life but it's a universal pleasures, enjoyed by people of every stripe, not just now but since Eve ate The Apple.

Perhaps one or more of the thoughts I share in my Psychology Today article today might enhance your enjoyment of this most robust of human pleasures.

A More Pleasurable Approach to Listening or Playing Music?

Previous installments in this series offered thoughts on how to make the most of two COVID-okay recreations: walking and reading. In my Psychology Today article today, I turn to music.

Reading Efficiently: Making the most of this COVID-lockdown-acceptable activity

Recently, I wrote about making the most of a COVID-acceptable activity: walking. Today I turn to another: reading.

Whether for pleasure, work, health, or figuring out how to fix your running toilet, amid the COVID lockdown, you may be reading more than ever. My Psychology Today article today offers thoughts on making the most of your reading.

Upsides of Aging

Of course, aging has downsides, notably the decline in physical and mental health as we proceed on life’s conveyor belt. Those have been much discussed, so it may be helpful to describe some of aging’s upsides. I do so in my Psychology Today article today.

Job Hunting Amid the Pandemic

Of course, it's tougher to find a good job amid the COVID economic shutdown, but there are pluses. I describe them in my Psychology Today article today.

“I’m Normally Quite Responsible But...”: Stemming COVID's toll on motivation

Recently, I posted a composite letter from a “person” who had always lacked motivation. 

Today, my Psychology Today article  offers a composite letter describes a person who had always been reasonably motivated but the COVID restrictions have taken a toll.

Better and More Enjoyable Networking

With more than 40 million Americans out of work amid the pandemic, it’s more important than ever to use that key tool to finding good work: networking. I describe what's working best for my clients in my Psychology Today article today.

Walk Therapy

COVID has reduced our recreational activities. One is walking. Writers from Hazlitt to Consumer Reports laud walking, for health and the chance to reflect, stimulated by what you see and hear.

My Psychology Today article today offers some activities you might do while walking that facilitate personal growth and certainly help pass the time if you’re walking merely for exercise.

“I’m Having a Hard Time Being Honest:” Three rationales for the more honest life

A few of my clients have admitted that the pressure caused by the COVID economic shutdown has made them less honest at work—They’re cutting corners to help preserve their job or keep their company or non-profit alive.

My Psychology Today article today offers a composite letter that describes such clients. Then I offer a response.

“I Can’t Seem to Motivate Myself:” A buffet of possible fixes

My clients often complain that they lack motivation. My Psychology Today article today offers a composite letter that describes a typical situation, and my response.

“I Know I Should Be Thrifty But…” Belt-tightening in the time of COVID

The loss of jobs and precariousness of remaining jobs caused by the COVID economic shutdown is forcing people to spend less. That can be hard. My Psychology Today article today offers a composite question and my response

“I Can’t Make Myself Assertive Enough at Work Speaking up, saying no, networking

A number of my clients have a hard time being assertive at work. My Psychology Today article today offers composite questions and my responses.

"I’m Not Brave Enough:" Leaving a lover, quitting a job, questioning conventional wisdom, seeing a doc

Have you ever felt that you should do something but can’t muster the courage? Perhaps my Psychology Today article today, which offers composite letters from the fearful and my responses, might be helpful.

Countering Two Problems in Working from Home:Micromanagement and social isolation

A client today said she had lost motivation to work because of a double-whammy: "My boss has been micromanaging me more than ever. Plus, I don’t like working from home. I’m very social."

My Psychology Today article today addresses both issues. 

Write a Just-Because Letter?

Time was when many people took the time to write letters for no particular reason, just-because. Such letters took more time than an email because they were handwritten, perhaps even with the envelope sealed with sealing wax.

Even today, imagine how you’d feel if you received such a letter from someone near and dear—or perhaps even more enticing—from someone far and long-lost.

For some people, the art of letter-writing is so lost that perhaps a couple samples might be helpful in getting your ball rolling. I offer them as my Psychology Today article today.

“I’m Afraid I’m Not Good Enough” Why good often IS good enough

The pursuit of excellence is widely lauded. Of course, “best and brightest” people and the organizations they work for may be wise to demand excellence. But we mere mortals, rather than insisting on excellence, may be wiser to pursue just good. That can be true both in career and in relationships. I make the case in my Psychology Today article today.

Toward Critical Thinking: Always central, now more than ever

In our ever more complex workplace, employers lament many employees' inability to think critically. Of course, that’s true not just in the workplace but in our personal life.

My Psychology Today article today suggests three things to do before coming to a conclusion about something significant.

The Zen of Working; Key to career satisfaction

It all comes down to: Working at 90% and letting go of the outcome. 

My Psychology Today article today unpacks that.

Self-Employment Ideas in the Time of COVID

With 42 million Americans having lost their job because of the COVID pandemic, the competition for the small number of good job openings is fierce. 
So, many people are deciding to try their hand at self-employment. 

The self-employment ideas I offer in my Psychology Today article today cost little to start and run, and so entail less risk of running out of money before you succeed. Also, these self-employment ideas are COVID-compatible, that is, they can be done remotely. Plus, many of these ideas serve people who will be under COVID restrictions, which may tighten again if the predicted second wave occurs this fall.

Giving as Healing: A tool for enhancing your mental health

After a talk by famed psychiatrist Karl Menninger, an audience member asked what to do about a patient who felt a nervous breakdown coming on. Everyone expected Menninger to recommend in-depth therapy or drugs. Instead, he suggested, "Leave your house, find someone in need, and do something to help that person.”

Indeed my clients and I have found that giving can be healing. That may be especially important today. The double-whammy of the COVID lockdown and racial roiling is making many people sadder and more anxious. For example, a Statista analysis of government statistics finds anxiety and depression spiking.

Of course, everyone chooses to give differently, but my Psychology Today article today offer some ideas to spur your thinking