Pain: Navigating One of the Bigger Fire Swamp’s of Life Arguably the greatest movie of the 80s, The Princess Bride is packed full of amazing quotes. “Have fun storming the castle!” ...
Invasion of the Weeds I don’t like weeds. But they evidently like being all around me because they keep visiting my yard and they do their best to never leave. My typical strategy with these...
The Lies of a Powerful Villain Great movies have great tension. Nothing delivers that tension like a great villain. Darth Vader, The Joker, and Biff Tannen (Back to the Future anyone?), it doesn’t get...
Regretting the Mistakes of the Past Let me tell you a story about a friend of mine. We will call him “Andy”. When Andy went to college, he got caught up in the party scene and didn’t take his classes...
A Devastating Blow When our third child died after living for only forty days, I felt devastated, overwhelmed, and lost. Even as a professional counselor, I felt inadequately prepared to care for...
Does your mind love to pummel you when you make a mistake? Mine does, too. My mind loves to beat me to a pulp at every opportunity. Many of the clients I work with want to get rid of their negative...
No one would argue that it’s important to be able to live in the moment. The sentiment is great, but how do you learn to do that? Is there a tangible skill that can help you be more present in the...
I’ve participated in a couple of escape room adventures with friends. I honestly find the concept a little weird. I am paying someone to lock me in a room. For fun. Or at least it’s fun if we can...
As I am writing this, the stock market is going up today. But my newsfeed has multiple banks predicting a recession soon. Inflation is eating up our income. And Ray Dalio is predicting something...
Do you feel trapped in a tough situation? You may have more options than you realize. Pain has a way of causing us all to get tunnel vision. No matter what area of life you are struggling, pain will...
I try to drill into my clients that strong mental health takes training like your physical health. There’s nothing wrong with a quick win, though. During a difficult day when you are feeling anxious...
I hate how numb I feel right now. Not towards the tragic massacres in Uvalde or Buffalo. Those sicken me to the core. I’m numb to having a shred of hope that meaningful change will occur as a result...
What Keeps You From Getting Started? I love the Lord of the Rings movies. In my opinion, it is the greatest movie trilogy of all time. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo and Sam start their journey...
A Moment of Decision On Monday I was in my home office, working on the idea for this post. I heard my three-month-old son, Luke, crying downstairs. With skills that would make Sherlock Holmes proud, I...
I’ll never be mistaken for a financial adviser. But I’ve learned a few things about money through the years. The best lesson I’ve learned is to invest your money and not touch it for...
I don’t do well without sleep. In college, I stayed out once all night my freshman year. I ended hanging out with several people I didn’t know well in a frat house thinking the whole time how I’d...
Like many Ohioans, I’ve been pumped for the arrival of warmer weather. Besides the typical reasons, I had one extra: it would be time to set up our basketball hoop. I bought an in-ground basketball...
The war going on in Ukraine is heartbreaking. I cannot fathom the anguish and stress that the people of Ukraine are facing amid the violence. How do you cope with such a horrific situation? I...
The fallout of a loved one battling substance use dependency will affect every area of your life. How do you cope with the situation and all the painful emotions it evokes? How do you begin to move...