Marty Nemko's Blog, page 166

How to Become Special

Few people want to be like everyone else. Everyone wants to be at least a little special. My Psychology Today article today offers five ways to do so.

7 Escapes from Stress

Sometimes it's wise to escape feelings of anxiety, but other times it's not. But it's unquestionably wise to consciously decide whether, how, and how much to escape.

To that end, my Psychology Today article today asks if you want to maintain, increase, decrease, or not use 7 escapes?

Lies We Tell Ourselves

Sometimes it’s healthy to delude ourselves. Facing all our fears head-on could yield more unhappiness than benefit. And sometimes, a little excess optimism fuels us to bigger accomplishment than clear-eyed rationality would allow.

But certainly, it can help to be aware of whether you want to curb, indulge, or even increase your “irrational exuberance."1

To that end,  my Psychology Today article today offers a necessarily incomplete list of possible lies we tell ourselves.

Honoring the Serious Person

Most people prefer upbeat types. But we'd be wise to spend time with those with a serious demeanor. My Psychology Today article today makes the case as well as offers suggestions for how to make the most of interacting with serious types.

Honoring a Playful Nature

People vary from the serious to the playful. With playful friends, customers, coworkers, etc., it helps to adapt to their style My Psychology Today article today describes, (ahem) play-by-play, what happened in a client session today.

Living While Ugly

"Ugly" Duckling
Veneer matters more than it should. My Psychology Today article today offers ideas for improving one's looks, self-acceptance, and even the under-considered advantages of being conventionally unattractive.

Communicating with a Prospect: with implications for communicating in general

My Psychology Today article today offers samples of how to communicate with a prospective client or customer. It has implications for communication in general.

Ideas for a Quiet but Not Boring New Year's Celebration

Particularly this year, many people are planning to forgo the traditional New Year's Eve blow-out bash in favor of something quieter. My Psychology Today article today offers ideas for a quiet yet nor boring New Year's Eve and Day.

Mind Games We Play on Ourselves

We play mind games with ourselves. Some are helpful, others not. I describe seven in my Psychology Today article today.

30 Smart Self-Soothers

Self-soothers have gotten a bad rap, associated with substance abuse, overspending, overeating, and even self-injury, which releases a small amount of opioids.

But in our stressful times, and the holidays can be particularly so for some people, self-soothing is important, especially if you’re subject to getting overwhelmed.

Fortunately, there are myriad self-soothers that have no negative side effects. Of course, one person’s self-soother is another’s ho-hum. So, my Psychology Today article today offers 30 possibilities. You could do most of them by yourself, right now.