When a relationship is difficult, especially one in which you have a large business or familial stake, it can color your whole outlook on life. I’ve certainly found myself with a black cloud hanging over my head, thinking, “What can I do to make this better?” I’d like to explore some aspects of making difficultContinue reading “When a relationship is difficult: Making the full committment”
Category Archives: Toward Growth
Those who escort us where we’re supposed to be
I’ve always been a little confused by the concepts of fate and destiny, yet I do have some sense of the distinction between them and, more importantly, how they apply to our lives. To me, fate is the circumstance into which we’re born and perhaps where we end up if we don’t make conscious choicesContinue reading “Those who escort us where we’re supposed to be”
Some things I’ve learned
For almost all of the first part of my life, up to my early 40s, I resisted anything the smacked remotely of self-help or personal development. I suspect this had to do with the possibility of discovering weaknesses (couldn’t afford to do that!) or maybe infringing on my idea of orthodoxy. I won’tContinue reading “Some things I’ve learned”
How do you spend your precious life?
My task here is to convince you of the great value of your life. Because I think your time is precious, I will try to be brief. I visited my soon-to-be 26-year-old daughter last week in her home in Austin, TX. We did many things but the time I liked best was when we campedContinue reading “How do you spend your precious life?”
Pity the poor extravert
Maybe it’s selective perception, but it seems like I’ve seen many references lately celebrating the introvert. I get the feeling that perhaps introverts are tired of being misunderstood as shy or socially awkward, neither of which is necessarily true. Indeed, introverts are often successful in jobs that we normally associate with those who are moreContinue reading “Pity the poor extravert”
Avoiding grievances
Some suggestions for “How to avoid grievances” by John Wooden 1. Get all the facts. What went wrong — not who is to blame. 2. Stay calm. Find the solution together. Do not permit emotions to take over. 3. Criticize in private. 4. Commend before and perhaps after you criticize. Help save face. 5. KeepContinue reading “Avoiding grievances”
My brief life as a vagabond
There was a time in my early 20s when I found myself to be homeless. My father had died and I hadn’t much wanted to go home before that anyway, as he was in the last throes of his life of alcoholism. When the college dormitory was open, it was entirely sufficient but between semestersContinue reading “My brief life as a vagabond”
How do you approach important conversations?
Do you sometimes send an e-mail to avoid a difficult conversation? Have you left voicemail as a hit-and-run technique? Have you made yourself scarce from someone’s presence so that you could stay safely away from a topic of conversation? I recently came across the book Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High byContinue reading “How do you approach important conversations?”
