“‘I was an aspiring astrophysicist and that’s how I defined myself, not by my skin color…’” — Neil deGrasse Tyson in Parade Magazine today. It’s so freeing to stop viewing yourself through other-people’s-eyes. Too often, we allow ourselves to be defined by other people’s opinions — by what they think about our behavior, our performance, […]
There are times when it doesn’t feel as if I have control of my thoughts– it’s more like my thoughts are the inmates running the asylum. That’s when I remind myself that the only thing that imprisons us is our own thinking. And when I remember that I control what matters most — my own […]
Even though I know better, it’s easy to forget that where I put my attention is a choice. My choice. Sometimes I get caught in the trap of feeling stressed and I keep thinking about the stressful thing… I may even talk about it, which keeps it front and center…. and it’s like a whirlpool, […]
You may have heard people say, “you’re only as happy as your unhappiest child…” I try to remind myself: that’s only true when I choose to let it be. I try to remember this when my child is going through a tough time. It can feel more painful to see her suffer than to […]
A “significant majority” of the 5000 self-made British millionaires struggled in school, says a BBC study. Think about that for a moment. One of the myths we tell about education is that kids who struggle in school are not smart, have learning disabilities, or are just plain lazy. Yet, I imagine these terms don’t normally […]
Imagine you were asked to help improve the future prospects of Jill, a high school junior with a GPA of 2.0 who daydreams in English, History, and Spanish. What would you advise Jill to do? a) Get screened for a learning disability and, if needed, take medication to focus. b) Visualize a report card with […]