Break Out of the Control & Avoidance Cycle
“No creature is fully itself till it is, like the dandelion, opened in the bloom of pure relationship to the sun, the entire living cosmos.” – D.H. Lawrence It is understandable to fall into the pattern of trying to control things around us when life feels chaotic or frightening, just as it is understandable to…
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Build Effective Patterns of Action
“Well done is better than well said.” – Benjamin Franklin We create a great deal of our own suffering in life through problems with self-control. We are often very good at saying all sorts of wonderful things that we would like to do differently, but often we don’t back up those words with action. This comes…
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Get Committed to Your Goals
“Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda in “The Empire Strikes Back” We have all had the experience of setting a new goal with optimism and excitement about what the future might hold. If goal-setting were an easy or trivial matter, there would not be so many motivational books written…
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6 Common Perfectionism Traps
“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dali Perfectionists tend to hold very high standards for themselves and their loved ones. They tend to visualize an ultimate successful outcome and excel at mobilizing all of their resources to move towards their chosen goal(s). While this can be a wonderful and…
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When Things Don’t Go Your Way
”Seek not to have that everything should happen as you wish, but wish for everything to happen as it actually does happen, and you will be serene.” – Epictetus We often find ourselves in situations that we would prefer not to be in. Perhaps we “planned” on having a fun time and it turned out…
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4 Noble Truths of Life
“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.” – Thich Nhat Hanh When life is difficult and we wonder why unwanted pain seems to befall us, it is easy to question, “Why me?” Most people do not truly want to…
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Mindfulness & Shopping
“But it is a cold, lifeless business when you go to the shops to buy something, which does not represent your life and talent, but a goldsmith’s.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Many people go into a state of mindless autopilot when shopping. This is characterized by a sense of being numb, going through the motions,…
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Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention
“What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.” – Abraham Maslow Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) is treatment approach developed at the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington to assist individuals interested in maintaing their recovery from substance abuse or dependence. Through the practice of mindfulness, you are…
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3 Reasons People Choose to Depress
“Depressed people think they know themselves, but maybe they only know depression.” – Mark Epstein Most of us agree that we don’t “enjoy” feeling miserable. For people dealing with depression, the mere implication that they are choosing their own suffering can be very upsetting. Rather than get caught up in feeling misunderstood, invalidated, or just…
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Control Impulses & Resist Temptation through “Brain Training”
“Do not bite at the bait of pleasure until you know there is no hook beneath it.” – Thomas Jefferson Almost everyone experiences lapses in self-control. These lapses can include things like eating junk food when on a diet, overreacting to a minor upset, smoking marijuana more often than you would like, or drinking more…
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