Anxiety isn’t enjoyable. You can do breathing exercises and try to focus elsewhere, but there’s nothing that will make it enjoyable. So we should give up and be anxious, right? Wrong. We can embrace it and be anxious. The italics are for a reason. I’ll get to it. I promise. It’s what Odd Life Coaches […]
Stereotypes: Acknowledgement doesn’t mean acquiescence
We all have stereotypes ingrained in us. Some were learned from our parents while growing up. Some were developed based upon our experiences with others. Merriam-Webster defines a stereotype as “standardized mental picture” that people have, which derives from one’s “oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment.” Before you zero […]
Stoicism 101: Hot tubs are indifferents
I’ve recently been reading about stoicism. One concept that particularly piques my interest is that our virtues versus our vices. Virtues are good, and vices are bad. Virtues are in line with balance, and vices bring us unbalance. Simply put, it’s a good versus bad, but for stoics, there is […]
Staying on the Path
Why are you trying so hard? Wouldn’t it be easier to turn around? Isn’t it safer to stick with what you know? These are but a few of the questions we hear from naysayers. It’s especially true when we’re talking about doing something religious, spiritual, or whatever term you want […]
Evaluating & Enhancing Your Stuff
This is an easy one. We all have stuff. Some have more than others. It could be determined by how much or how little stuff you had as a kid. It could depend on your other household members’ person to stuff ratio. At some point, though, we all have too […]
Avoiding the Social Media Flood
Firstly, let’s get the irony out of the way first. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you arrived via social media link. Secondly, let me be clear that I think there is benefit to be derived from using social media. Now that these points are out of the […]
The Importance of Making Fun of Yourself
For years, I’ve jokingly referred to myself as a Conejo Feo. For the non Spanish speakers, it translates to Ugly Rabbit. There’s no specific cause for it to come out of my mouth. It’s purely random, and truth be told, my lovely wife thinks it’s just self-deprecation. I beg to […]
Winning at Losing
We’re told that we should do our best to win. We’re told that losing can be okay if we did our best, in trying to win. I’ve learned, though, that sometimes even the person or team that wins also comes out as a loser. Time and again, we hear about […]
On Focusing….or Defocusing
We hear it at work. Focus. We tell our kids. Focus. We tell ourselves. Focus. The assertion is that if we focus, things will get easier, better, or go away. What if that’s not always the case though? What if the best thing we can do in some situations is […]
On Human Decency
I’m decent. In writing this, I’m making what I consider a simple statement. In reading it, an imaginably, mildly jaded person from the 21st Century might consider this an admission of averageness. If that’s the case, I’m fine with the interpretation. Admittedly, I’m not a super hero. I don’t even […]