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Do you consider yourself a risk-taker? For a great many of us, the answer would be, "No!" However, let's take a deeper look at this question.
 
In one of his books, Leo Buscaglia wrote that, "To laugh is to risk appearing a fool, to weep is to risk appearing too sentimental, to reach out for another is to risk involvement, and to expose feelings is to risk exposing one's true self.
 
"To place your ideas and dreams before the crowd is to risk their loss, to love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is… >>>

When you are presented with a thorny problem, how do you respond? When you have been dealt a serious blow by life, what do you tell yourself?
 
Thorny issues have been around since the beginnings of human history, and the power to overcome them has been celebrated in song and story almost from the beginning. Take the nearly 2700 year old story of Homer's "Odyssey" as we talk today about the power of optimism.
 
Odysseus' son is worried that his father will never come home from the wars. But Pallas Athene, the heroine of the story, gently reassures… >>>

When was the last time you really spent quality time . . . with yourself? (Hopefully, it has been the last couple of nights as you made out your lists of shortcomings and strengths. But if it wasn't...)
 
A word you don't hear much these days is "solitude."  Maybe that is because it isn't experienced much. You know, if you put prisoners in solitary confinement, they go a little crazy, or they use the time to grow.  Most of them go a little crazy because we are just not used to being alone. Humans are social beings. Too much… >>>

What do the words "personal power" make you think of? Do you see yourself as a powerful person?
 
What you think about personal power will influence your ability to claim it and exercise it in your life. If you believe that power means either control or loss of control, without knowing why, you will hesitate to claim it.
 
If you think, even subconsciously, that power is bad, , negative, angry, manipulative, abusive or intimidating, you won't be motivated to empower yourself or others. Too many people have been conditioned to believe that "power" means "having power over," but… >>>

Do you have plans for what you want from life? Today, let's talk about why plans never seem to work as you thought they would, and why you need them anyway.
 
Perhaps you have noticed in the past that making plans very seldom works. You have a goal. You break it down into action steps, and you estimate how long each step will take.
 
But when you get to your goal, you look back and see that very little actually went exactly as you had planned. Some things took longer, some things took less time; some things you… >>>

The search for happiness seems to have been around as long as there have been sentient beings on the planet. Now, the definition of happiness has a tendency to be different from person to person, culture to culture. The ancient Greeks went so far as to put "happiness" into four distinct levels. But do you realize that, ultimately, you are in control of your own happiness?
 
Philosophers and poets have brought forth their ideas on happiness and fulfillment. Brain scientists have researched and tested how the brain processes subjective and objective feelings of happiness and the effects on brain… >>>

Have you ever looked back on something that you achieved and wondered why you were so successful? When you look back at your successes and the things you've achieved in your life and you look for the reasons why you succeeded, you'll find that most often it wasn't just luck. Some, if not all, of the following were involved:
 
Knowledge, Skill, Commitment, Motivation, Energy, Confidence, Resilience, and a belief in yourself and what you were doing
 
It's not hard to see why we succeed. What is hard is explaining why we don't succeed all the time. Quite often… >>>

How do you start your morning? Does it have an effect on how the rest of your day goes?
 
Everyone knows how important it is that kids get off to a good start in life. How a horse comes out of the starting gate can often make its career, and a sprinter's ability to come out of the blocks often determines who wins a foot race. Your first experience with something will often color what comes afterward. The way you start your morning is no exception.
 
Do you leap out of bed before your eyes are really open,… >>>

Yesterday, we looked at some problems associated with the compulsion to do too much. Today, let's look at some solutions.
 
Feeling driven to achieve can lead us to become high performance people. But when that is taken to extremes, it can result in compulsive behavior that can have disastrous effects on our families, stress levels and health.
 
If you sometimes feel that you are a candidate for the "Most Overworked Person Award," what can you do about it?
 
Psychologist Christian Komer, of Grand Rapids, suggested that you try doing nothing for short periods every day. Designate a… >>>

What is the difference between a pleasantly active life and one that is compulsively busy?  Sometimes, it is a heart attack.
 
There is no doubt about it - we are a "can do" society. Sometimes though, "can do" becomes "must do," and "must do" can have some unpleasant consequences. For one thing, people who "must do" things, as opposed to "wanting" to do them, often find ways to subconsciously sabotage themselves, just to take the pressure off. For another, they short-change their families and themselves.
 
When you are compulsive about how much you have to accomplish every day,… >>>