Fueled by Identity.
The author Brad Stulberg recently wrote that “The Arrival Fallacy was first coined by the behavioral scientist Tal Ben-Shahar. It describes the commonly held illusion that once we make it, once we attain our goal or reach our destination, whatever it may be, we will achieve lasting happiness and fulfillment. But this simply is not true. We […]
4 Quitting Questions.
School is getting out next week in my neck of the woods and my teenage clients, for the most part, are thrilled! About a fourth of my client-base are teenagers and almost every one of them is most looking forward to not having to do math over the summer. Perhaps you know a teenage […]
Girls State – and cutting those apron strings.
My Mom – and Dad, if he were here – would tell you that out of all their children, I was the one most tightly ‘holding on to my Mom’s apron strings’ when I was little. To say I didn’t like to be away from them is a bit of an understatement. In those pre-cell […]
Sally’s Favorites – and reinvention.
I love to eat great food. Love it. And because of this, people in my life would often ask me during my single years for recommendations on where to go out to eat. They also asked about movies and TV shows and donuts and a few other things. Not because I have particularly great style […]
Following arrows – and Clyde Tombaugh.
In my research this week, I serendipitously came across the story of a man named Clyde Tombaugh. I hope you know who he is, but I have a feeling that, like me before a few days ago, you don’t. I will tell you what he’s known for, I promise. But first I want to […]
The story of Darren and “Dan”.
When Darren was growing up as the youngest of 4 fairly competitive siblings, he decided to pour a lot of his effort and teenage energy into practicing racquet sports. If a sport used a racquet, he would play, and he particularly loved tennis and racquetball. Through some connections of his dad’s he gained access […]
A large ladybug and having a say.
When my dad was being recruited to the University of Utah from the University of Minnesota, I was 7½ years old. There are a plethora of reasons why he decided to accept the offer, not the least of which was the closer proximity to both his and mom’s families in California. At that time I […]
57 degrees and Sunshine.
I live west of the Wasatch Mountains (a range on the western border of the Rockies) in a ski resort-filled area of the Western United States. We usually see an average of 4.0 months of ‘snow’ – typically from November 12 through March 12 – and in those 4 months about half the days are […]
Someone who sincerely praises.
Sometimes, when a client is so frustrated with someone in their life that they practically want to poke their own eyes out, I ask them to pause and do something that, at first, sounds really, really hard. I ask them to give that person a little sincere, authentic praise. They don’t want to. […]
Comfort, Ability, and a bit of Happiness.
I’m writing this from a desk in a room on the 40th floor of a 5-star hotel. It is one of my favorite places to work and write. I have been here so many times now that it feels like home away from home. My home away from home. I’ve been thinking a lot about […]
