Emotional Wellness
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Redefining Success: the Role of Expectation Management
At its core, managing expectations is about aligning hopes with reality. We’re taught to manage customers’ or employees’ expectations so they don’t become unwieldy, but the goal isn’t to settle for mediocrity; instead, it’s about being mutually transparent about what is realistically achievable. Managing expectations is a vital skill that can make the difference between…
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Are you biased and making assumptions?
These are trick questions. Of course, you are. We all make assumptions, mostly subconsciously and automatically. They are mental shortcuts for our brains to help us learn and navigate the endless complexities of social interaction and decision-making in life. Assumptions are based on our past experiences or cultural influences, and Because they are different, we…
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People Danger is Real
The rat race starts young now! And it’s easy to get caught up in it. As a parent of college-bound teens, I live the frenzy that often results from students (and parents) thinking that the rest of their lives are dictated by their college acceptance letters. High-achieving teens aim, at the very minimum, to maintain…
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2024 Can Be A Year For Healing
My 2024 started with morning cycling and an afternoon 5-mile hike with family. My dad is the one in the picture below. This is what 80 can look like. My father has traveled every continent and still adventures. My kids nicknamed my dad “cheetah grandpa”👴 for obvious reasons. He is now semi-retired but still goes…
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4 Steps to Creating Success
At a recent holiday gathering, a family member said his son “must go to one of the top 10 schools” to do well and have options in life. Like many well-meaning parents, this dad arranged a robust early reading and math instruction regimen, enrichment activities, and daily homework to build discipline. I was asked to…
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Does your economic output = your value? (The Source of Loneliness)
When I was little, my family moved every two or three years for my dad’s businesses, and each move killed my friendships and social life. Have you tried comforting your kids when they’re bullied or excluded? (Or maybe you know, from personal experience, how horrible it feels that you even take matters into your own…
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Are you enough for you?
Did you miss out on Black Friday deals? Every click of the buy button is an endorphin pump–but STOP scrolling and looking. You probably don’t really need whatever you’re looking for, and if you’re shopping for gifts, remember that anyone who deserves a great gift from you would value and desire your attention and time…
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Who’s Side Are You On
Many fall in love with my colorful parrot and request to visit or take pictures with him. I have been trying to teach him to sing to make my bird even more of a star. I would take him into the shower, singing the same nursery rhymes to him every day to help him learn.…
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World Mental Health Day – The Right to Mental Health Care
The first time I heard the word “depression” was in my late teens, however, I had experienced it for most of my life. I grew up in an environment where nobody really talked about mental health except when trying to describe schizophrenia (they say that the person is mental). Studies have shown that people of…
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4 Reasons for the Mental Healthcare “Workforce Shortage”
I am really tired of articles about “workforce shortages” in mental health. The questions these articles pose, such as:“How do we increase the workforce?”And “Where are the mental health professionals?”imply that:1. This problem just happened randomly.2. It would be solved if mental health professionals showed up. Those are the wrong questions and the wrong conclusions.My…
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Who Will Help?
As the founder of a nonprofit organization in the process of getting off the ground, I think it’s important to show vulnerability, but finding the line can be challenging. If you’re too vulnerable, people will be put off; lacking vulnerability is inauthentic. Maybe this is too raw. Maybe it isn’t. We are all fighting invisible…
