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GIVING ANNOYANCE-FREE ADVICE   #1:  Try Not to Be a Fixer One of the trickiest parts of being a friend or family member to fellow adults is knowing how best to offer constructive help in the form of advice. The first and perhaps biggest pitfall in this endeavor is the assumption that we know what’s…

  THE CRAFT OF COMMUNICATION   #1:  Bad Communication is Like Bad Breath Each of us has a mouth, and within our mouths lives bacteria. When that bacteria is allowed to multiply uncontrollably, the result is bad breath. For several reasons, it’s difficult for us to smell our own bad breath. However, it’s very easy…

  THE INTRICACIES OF INSECURITY   #1: Insecurities Will Not Secure Themselves Governing a human mind inevitably produces the experience of our mind sometimes having… a mind of its own. That is to say that human minds love to play the role of commentator and critic. From a practical perspective, this inner commentator can be…

COMPETING SIDES OF COMPETITION   #1:  The Light Side of Competition Either through playing or simply spectating, it’s estimated that somewhere north of 3 billion people worldwide engage in competitive sports. From football to fencing to Formula 1, countless people are invigorated and inspired by epic matches of skill and grit. Like most animal species,…

ATTAINING ABUNDANCE #1:  Avoid Common Money Pitfalls First, let’s get one thing straight: There’s nothing wrong with being rich. Living a comfortable lifestyle surrounded by beautiful things is not inherently a liability. However, having a great deal of abundance does come with a few inherent pitfalls. The most common of these is an attachment to…

  THE PROBLEM WITH PROBLEMS   #1:  Problems Loom Larger with Large Labels It’s no secret that headlines generate clicks. And the more dramatic, shocking, or terrifying the headline, the more clicks it generates. Why is that? It’s partly because many people – beyond just staying informed of current events – want to feel alive…

THE INEVITABILITY OF INTENTION   #1:  It’s Not What You Choose, It’s How You Choose It In most criminal justice systems, there’s a vast difference between the crime of murder and the crime of involuntary manslaughter. Murder, of course, is committed with intent, while manslaughter lacks intention. Being convicted of one and not the other…

THE ENGINE OF BELIEF   #1:  Our Belief Inventory Of all the self-help clichés, the ones that espouse the benefits of “believing in yourself” are perhaps the most tiresome and overused. Despite that, it’s hard to discount what science tells us about the concept of belief. The Placebo Effect is a phenomenon in medicine when…

THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF HOSTILITY #1:  See the Hostile Connection In the interest of focus for this particular episode, we’re addressing hostility in the context of interpersonal relationships… not literal warfare. We’ll engage a spiritual philosophy perspective on war in a later episode. But for now, let’s talk about interpersonal hostility in its 4 basic…

THE GIFT OF PAIN #1: What Pain Has to Offer Pain is not an experience commonly associated with the word, “gift.” But many people would agree that life itself is a gift. And because some pain is an unavoidable part of life, they come as a package deal. Beyond its basic survival function which makes…