Marty Nemko's Blog, page 219

“I Can’t Seem to Motivate Myself:” A buffet of possible fixes

My clients often complain that they lack motivation. My Psychology Today article today offers a composite letter that describes a typical situation, and my response.

“I Know I Should Be Thrifty But…” Belt-tightening in the time of COVID

The loss of jobs and precariousness of remaining jobs caused by the COVID economic shutdown is forcing people to spend less. That can be hard. My Psychology Today article today offers a composite question and my response

“I Can’t Make Myself Assertive Enough at Work Speaking up, saying no, networking

A number of my clients have a hard time being assertive at work. My Psychology Today article today offers composite questions and my responses.

"I’m Not Brave Enough:" Leaving a lover, quitting a job, questioning conventional wisdom, seeing a doc

Have you ever felt that you should do something but can’t muster the courage? Perhaps my Psychology Today article today, which offers composite letters from the fearful and my responses, might be helpful.

Countering Two Problems in Working from Home:Micromanagement and social isolation

A client today said she had lost motivation to work because of a double-whammy: "My boss has been micromanaging me more than ever. Plus, I don’t like working from home. I’m very social."

My Psychology Today article today addresses both issues. 

Write a Just-Because Letter?

Time was when many people took the time to write letters for no particular reason, just-because. Such letters took more time than an email because they were handwritten, perhaps even with the envelope sealed with sealing wax.

Even today, imagine how you’d feel if you received such a letter from someone near and dear—or perhaps even more enticing—from someone far and long-lost.

For some people, the art of letter-writing is so lost that perhaps a couple samples might be helpful in getting your ball rolling. I offer them as my Psychology Today article today.

“I’m Afraid I’m Not Good Enough” Why good often IS good enough

The pursuit of excellence is widely lauded. Of course, “best and brightest” people and the organizations they work for may be wise to demand excellence. But we mere mortals, rather than insisting on excellence, may be wiser to pursue just good. That can be true both in career and in relationships. I make the case in my Psychology Today article today.

Toward Critical Thinking: Always central, now more than ever

In our ever more complex workplace, employers lament many employees' inability to think critically. Of course, that’s true not just in the workplace but in our personal life.

My Psychology Today article today suggests three things to do before coming to a conclusion about something significant.

The Zen of Working; Key to career satisfaction

It all comes down to: Working at 90% and letting go of the outcome. 

My Psychology Today article today unpacks that.

Self-Employment Ideas in the Time of COVID

With 42 million Americans having lost their job because of the COVID pandemic, the competition for the small number of good job openings is fierce. 
So, many people are deciding to try their hand at self-employment. 

The self-employment ideas I offer in my Psychology Today article today cost little to start and run, and so entail less risk of running out of money before you succeed. Also, these self-employment ideas are COVID-compatible, that is, they can be done remotely. Plus, many of these ideas serve people who will be under COVID restrictions, which may tighten again if the predicted second wave occurs this fall.