Keep Your Head Up
How did we get here? Only a few years ago, you had to read a magazine in the waiting room of the doctor’s office or commiserate with fellow patients over your ailments. At the airport, you talked with other travelers about where they had been or were going or daydreamed while watching the planes take […]
Use It or Lose It
While I typically invite you to think rather than tell you what to do, it would be a dereliction of duty to deprive you of my favorite decluttering principle. Rather than agonize over emotional, space, and financial considerations, I recommend a simple use standard. If I have not used it in a year, I free […]
Out with the Unused
Now that you are a faithful sentinel guarding your homestead against an invasion by anything you will not effectively use and removing an existing item for each new one you bring in, you can turn your attention to repurposing the unused objects trespassing in your home. I do not write “dispose of” as that implies […]
Katie Bar the Door
You do not need to be a television show-worthy hoarder to have far more than you use. A cursory review of our closets, kitchen drawers, and garages provides ample evidence for all but the most fastidious. I am not approaching this subject from a moral or value standpoint, criticizing extravagant spending. No, my approach is […]
It’s Not Your Fault, but It Is Your Responsibility
Each of us can point to circumstances not of our own doing to justify a lack of accomplishment (economically poor family, “bad” parents, fat genes, surname ends in a vowel, etc.). All of them may be an impairment, but do not consign us to defeat. By taking responsibility for our response, we may prevail against […]
When the Phone Rings…
You need to answer it. And sometimes it rings when we are unprepared or wish they called someone else. We need to respond even when the timing is terrible, we do not want to, or we do not feel suited for the task. It Rings We would immediately jump to the aid of a heart […]
Fear
Better Left Undone? We fancy ourselves facing the world like a swashbuckler standing on the ship’s bow with our saber upraised. In reality, the fear of failure too often confines us in our safe harbor and stops us from pursuing what we want. Missteps confirm our present inability, create feelings of shame and disappointment, and […]
Failure
It is a dirty word, and we seek to avoid it. JFK famously said, “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” However, failure is often better than the alternative, inevitable, hastily decided, and the fertilizer of success. The Alternative? An evil man died and found himself in a splendid casino with an […]
Draw the Line
Hold Your Horses We all have a nemesis: a sister who insists you watch her newborn every Saturday night, a boss who calls you on the weekend, or a friend who is always an hour late for dinner. We reach a breaking point and threaten the end of the relationship if they ever do “that” […]
Made for More
Why Do You Aspire? Our moms were right; we possess and must use our unique talent. A fulfilling life requires accomplishment – the ambition to do something meaningful supported by the activity leading to its fruition. It goes beyond the biblically-inspired obligation declared in graduation speeches, “to whom much is given, much will be required.” […]