When we find ourselves in a sensitive situation unsure of proper words for the occasion, often we get tongue tied by the very uncertainty of what to say. A part of us longs to express empathy or solidarity, or we might feel obliged to say something, anything, in acknowledgement, yet we find ourselves paralyzed for fear of whether we'll say the right words. The thing… read more
I used to half-jokingly blame my impatience on the fact that I was an unplanned child, alleging that my parents had bestowed upon my older siblings [planned] all the patience at their disposal, leaving none for me, an unexpected child. It turns out that my impatience of old wasn't actually impatience. It was the misconception that I could force a desired outcome to manifest by… read more
As mere mortals, we all have natural limits to what we can accomplish within a certain amount of time even when we give it our all, yet still we commonly set ourselves up with Herculean expectations which, if unmet, then give us license to beat ourselves up. What's up with this nonsensical cycle of self-imposed disappointment? Why is it so hard to know when to… read more
