Lou Tice

Is it hard for you to deal with criticism? Does it make you feel worthless or angry?

How you respond to other people's criticism depends to a great extent on how critical you are of yourself. If you were raised by critical parents, who caused you to believe that making mistakes was shameful, you probably have a hard time when other people criticize you, now that you are grown.  

That's because you have internalized your parents' critical voices and have developed a harsh critical voice of your own. When your self-esteem is low, it's especially painful to be criticized by… >>>

How many things are there in your life that you really should be doing? If you made a list of them, how long would it be? Let's talk about the "shoulds" in your life.

If you made a list of all the things you think you should be doing, how long would your list be? It could look like, "I should lose weight. I should be nicer to my sister. I should find myself a better job. I should read a lot more. I should pull weeds." 

Why don't you try making such a list? And when you're done, for… >>>

What is the one thing that determines, more than anything else, the quality of your life?  

Some people say, "You are what you eat," but I say, "You are what you think." Now, this is not really "new" news. This is one of the great universal truths, handed down over the centuries by poets and philosophers and by almost every great religious leader the world has ever known.  

We move toward and become like what we think about, and our present thoughts, more than anything else, determine our future. So it is important to learn to control your thoughts because… >>>

We talk a lot about positive thinking on the Winner's Circle daily e-mail. Seeking to be positive and optimistic are valuable allies in keeping depression away. But is it possible to be too positive? Let's look at the idea of overdoing optimism. 

Positive thinking is definitely a good thing, but when it comes to being positive, can you overdo it? Can you have too much of this particular good thing? Of course you can. I know plenty of people whose reckless optimism got them into trouble, and I'll bet you do, too.  

These are the folks who borrow too heavily,… >>>

Are you an option thinker? Can you adapt to setbacks and see alternative solutions to problems? Let's talk about the importance of option thinking today.

One of the marks of successful individuals is the ability to move on to another option when the one they are trying doesn't work out. They are successful not only because they see themselves as problem solvers, but also because their minds hold an array of alternatives. 

When you watch a skillful running back moving down the field in a football game, you are actually seeing a lesson in the exercise of option thinking. The… >>>

Everybody knows that it's not what you say, it's the way that you say it. I think the same thing goes for what you see.

It used to be fair to say that objective reality was measurable and quantifiable. This meant that the true nature of material things could be absolutely and clearly determined. These days however, quantum physics has pretty well proved that there is really no such thing as objective reality.  

Matter, when reduced to its smallest particles, can behave as either particles or waves and can't be classified as clearly one or the other. Things that appear… >>>

How do you like being criticized? Does it make you feel like changing to accommodate your critic?  

Negative criticism is almost always a mistake. I don't know anyone who likes it, do you? It brings you down, makes you feel angry and resentful, and it hardly ever makes you want to change, does it?  

Constructive feedback is a horse of a different color. There's no sting in it, because it is not about your deficient character and it doesn't come at you like an attack. It is designed to give you valuable information and it assumes you care about doing… >>>

If you see something violent in a movie or on TV and you imitate it - who is responsible? This is an interesting question, and one that bears some serious thought.

If a kidnapper imitates something she saw in a movie, are the moviemakers responsible for her actions? Not as far as I'm concerned. If a murderer says he was inspired by something he saw on a TV show, is the TV show responsible? I sure don't think so.  

Now, don't get me wrong. I believe our entertainment media should aim for high-quality productions that improve character and inspire us… >>>

Creativity is a highly valued character trait and I want to give you some advice on how to help children grow into creative adults.  

Creative adults don't just happen. Creative people are usually raised in ways that encourage them to use their imagination while they are still children. But what can parents or grandparents - or any adult vital to a child's life - do if they want to encourage their children's creativity? Well, one way is to help them develop a rich fantasy life.  

Of course, kids need to be able to tell the difference between fact and fantasy.… >>>

Just about everyone agrees that it's a good thing to be responsible, but not everyone agrees about what "responsibility" means. Are you a responsible person? What does it mean to you to be responsible? Does it mean doing what is expected of you? Keeping your promises? Being a good provider?  

Well, all these things are important, but being responsible means more than that. In fact, I believe that we are responsible for absolutely everything in our lives - all the successes, and all the failures, too.  

If you don't accept responsibility for your life, you are likely to just shrug… >>>