To be human means to desire to be free. We all desire to have choice and agency over our lives. A common challenge for many people is when we feel we are being restricted or hindered from expressing that freedom to determine the trajectory over our own lives. This may happen by working a job […]
Where Neuroscience and Philosophy Meet
If you’ve ever been on a weight loss diet then you know the internal struggle at times between what you know you should do and what you want to do. You know that in order to achieve your desired goal of losing a certain amount of weight or hitting targeted health markers you need to […]
3 Types of Empathy
There has been a great deal of ink and conversation around the topic of empathy recently. Famed authors like Brene Brown have reintroduced the concept and showed its relevance to everyday life. What is so fascinating about empathy is the power it has to help us walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I remember […]
Attention: One of our most important skills
The ability to pay attention to something: an idea, a task at hand, or another person is essential to engaging in life well. Being able to control what and for how long one focuses on something is directly related to our ability to be present. Researchers have in fact found that being more present is […]
Action Follows Being
Agere sequitur esse is a Latin phrase from the Middle Ages discussed primarily by philosophers which means, “action follows being”. I believe this concept has a great deal of influence on us today whether you are a philosopher or not. The basic meaning of the phrase is that who we are our identity and what […]
Coping: Adaptation and Compensation
I don’t know if you have ever seen someone at the gym using a piece of equipment in a way you know it isn’t supposed to be used. There are a whole series of online videos of “gym fails” people trying exercises in the gym that go terribly wrong. I’m not here to encourage watching […]
Sunlight and starting your day well
As we move into the colder darker months of Winter it can be easier to stay inside, cozy up with a blanket by the fireplace and stay out of the dreary weather. While this is often more comfortable, I want to encourage you to still find time to get outside on a regular basis both […]
Finding Meaning in Life
A universal human impulse is to live a life of meaning. This desire has spurred some of the biggest and complex questions we as humans can ask, including “what is the meaning of life?” While not specifically answering that questions, for most of human history in the West, it was assumed that meaning in life […]
The ABC’s of CBT
In a recent post I discussed the the P’s that can make it harder for someone to be resilient. Today I want to briefly share a helpful framework you can use in order to work through a challenging event. It comes from the school of psychology known as CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The model is […]
The Biopsychosocial Model
The biopsychosocial model is one framework that I’ve found helpful in how to consider the person holistically. This model looks at the interconnected aspects of the person’s biological, social, and psychological factors. Rather than looking at the person merely as as comprised of biological functions, or solely the produce of one’s social environment for instance, […]