Author: Dan Pouliot

If you haven’t yet read yesterday’s entry, read it first. If you found yourself agreeing with this headline after reading that post, read on. Noticing and updating unproductive habits of mind is a skill, like karate or skating, that requires starting simply, practicing often (faltering too) and always finding room for improvement. Our ego authored… Continue reading My Example Was Bull

The best thing we can do to improve our circumstances is to observe our patterns of mind and choose which ones we want to keep and replace the others. Mental patterns are always at work; seemingly inconsequential behaviors can be indicative of a mental habit worth considering. My rural jogging route has me on a… Continue reading Small Gestures and Large Habits of Mind

Questions can be used to disguise unpleasant ideas: accusation, judgment, fishing for praise, sympathy or generally seeking attention come to mind. Here are some examples: “Is that what you’re going to wear?” “Do I look [insert insult: old, fat, tired, haggard, etc.]?” “How long do you think it will take me to vacuum, wash and… Continue reading When a Question is Not a Question

I’ve had an unhealthy relationship with anger for a long time… safe to say decades. I remember as a child admiring Spock and wanting to be just like him… seemingly free from the trouble of negative emotions. I judged anyone who “got angry”. Feeling superior to “angry people” while denying my own anger created its… Continue reading Suppressing Anger is Not a Spiritual Value

Seth Godin writes Why ask why? and calls “Why?”  “the most important question”. I think Seth Godin is an insightful marketer and I love reading anything by him, but on this I disagree. “Why?” is quicksand. The word has inertia built-in to it; it lacks its own forward momentum. It focuses attention on the problem; focus… Continue reading Avoid "Why?"