Naturally, we can only hold ourselves accountable for the decisions we make. Far too often, however, others want to make decisions for us. The intent is well-placed. People genuinely care. But if we are not part of the decision-making process; if we do not see the value in a plan; if we do not own

So many of us try to take life by the throat and throttle it to fit our vision of what it all should be. We force life and do not let it come to us. Oddly, when there is a mountain for us to climb or an avalanche coming down, we become paralyzed or unable/unwilling

Typically the New Year is when many of us take inventory of ourselves and imagine all the things that we want to change. We make our annual “resolutions” being careful not to be overly vociferous about them or to shout them from the roof tops. After all, we don’t want to be exposed as a

Several weeks into the new year and many have already broken the resolutions we said we would not set in the first place. The problem with resolutions is that, for the most part, they are very much “surface oriented.” But, the introspection and analysis is as much a part of the resolution as is the

In as much as things can never be as bad as the worst, the expectations we may have to be better than the best are counter intuitive. The same cognitive exercises we use to examine the negative perceptions of how things impact us can and should be applied to our achievements or our work on

There are so many reasons to avoid taking time for ourselves and do the things that we truly enjoy. Every living being needs play in their lives no matter what that means to each person individually. I recently stood and watched a rabbit and a squirrel chasing each other around a tree. This was no

Logically, anything we encounter can only be as bad as the worst. On some level it may be of comfort to know that there may be something even more awful out there. But, as individuals, it is against our nature to think or feel this way. Rather, we put ourselves in a spinning cycle of

We have an amazing ability to allow ourselves to assume burdens and carry the weight that others have assigned to us. Many of us exist for years attempting to sate the needs of others while disregarding the little voices in our heads that are reaching out for attention or for care. Consider the importance of

So often we let our circumstances define who we are. Our family, our job, our economics and our demographics are part of us. They are not us. We must be positive and consider our potential to realize our dreams and our visions of ourselves. Alternatively we become mired down in what we “should” do, what

Be careful to look all around you. If you are struggling to maintain discipline in any aspect of your life, check your blind spots. Before you veer off path, look at what is creeping up beside you and waiting in the shadows to ambush you. Get tough and stay the course you have set. There