#295 – Is your mind a true democracy?I don't know of anyone, personally, who doesn't believe democracy is the most beneficial form of governance.But I know many people (myself included, if I'm not vigilant) who allow their minds to be governed like a...
#294 – What has fear cost you so far?My first paid job (after babysitting) was writing for a music magazine. Yet, I didn't go to journalism school.I also loved film and storytelling; I dreamed of making films (writing and directing them). Yet, I...
#293 – What's the key to emotional resilience?This morning I was feeling lonely and sad, as I wrote in my morning pages. Of course, seeing my current situation (son, ankle, underemployment), anyone would understand.Yeah, but. What about the "joy...
#292 – When do high standards turn into "sticklerism?"Caring for quality is one thing; putting others down because we think our work is better is another. That's what I've recognized in myself lately.In my AI project's iterative revision system, I no...
#291 – How does "emotional re-ticketing" put you back in charge?Your emotions are created by your body. They feel like they're imposed on you and there's nothing you can do about it. Feeling afraid? Well, what you're gonna do, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, that'...
#290 – When did fear make you wiser, wealthier, healthier, or happier?If you ask me, the answer is never.Why, then, do I cling to "fear" as though it were the most reliable compass?Because I'm wired like that––and so are you.Our brain is a prediction...
#289 – Can you be powerful, if you're not free?Or, as I read in this Dear Democracy (by Katy Dalgleish) post, "Do you need freedom to be powerful?"Yes, and no. It depends on how we define power and freedom.POWERIf power is the ability to in...
#288 – Who benefits when Egos raise up in arms everywhere?If personal boundaries that protect our emotional comfort are a growth blocker, physical boundaries that protect us from potential future threats are a community destroyer.In both cases, the E...
#287 – What are your boundaries trying to guard?When we take the view that "Hell is other people," as one of the characters in Jean-Paul Sartre's play No Exit puts it, we are creating our own hell.By determining that other people's behaviors or...
#286 – Can your attachment to being 'strong' keep you from accepting reality?Yesterday I had surgery. A sore that'd been on my ankle for four years turned out to be a basal cell skin cancer and needed to be removed.Today, I'm seeing how much the Ghos...