In Suppressing Anger is Not a Spiritual Value I touched on my own personal history with anger. As children, we make up our minds about certain things, we internalize our assessments and carry them in to adulthood. You wouldn’t take advice from a 5 year old about much, but that is essentially what we do. In our… Continue reading It Sounds Like You're Angry
Category: Positive Thinking
Because We've Always Done it This Way
There was a great story on the radio: A woman had been taught by her mom that the best way to cook a pot roast is to cut the end off before putting it in the pot. She was curious as to why, so she asked her mom. Her mom didn’t really know the answer,… Continue reading Because We've Always Done it This Way
The Law of Reciprocal Postures
The tone of any communication will eventually be met with a reciprocal tone. It is difficult to provide anything other than a reciprocal posture. Often people reciprocate immediately. Sometimes they reciprocate after a prolonged, persistent tone. When you go on the offense with someone, it makes it difficult for them to respond any other way… Continue reading The Law of Reciprocal Postures
Quit on a High Point
From Stanford Research Institute – International, p. 173: Traditionally, learning of a new skill concentrates on rote repetition, reiterating the skill a large number of times until it is consistently performed correctly. But recent developments in learning theory, which have been applied with particular success in sports-training methodology, indicate that the rote repetition concept tends… Continue reading Quit on a High Point
People Live In to Your Expectations of Them
A long time ago I worked in a photo lab. One of the secretaries used to remark to me about a particular customer: “I don’t like her, she’s dour, she never smiles, she’s antisocial”. Sure enough, this person didn’t smile, didn’t chat, was very perfunctory. So I said, “I’m gonna do an experiment. Every time… Continue reading People Live In to Your Expectations of Them
Motives Matter
Recently a friend was discussing the topic of timeouts for children and she described them as “abandonment”. Are timeouts really abandonment? Our lives are filled with things that can be used “for good or evil”. Are knives violent? Are cars murderous? Clearly, the answer in both cases is no— intent separates a useful knife from… Continue reading Motives Matter