Marty Nemko's Blog, page 289

Potent NonProfits and How to Convert a Volunteer Gig into a Paying Job

Many people volunteer, whether as a launchpad to paying work or simply to contribute to a non-profit cause. But what volunteer efforts are likely to make a real difference and where you’re not just one of zillions clamoring to volunteer, for example, for the environment, fight poverty, or dump Trump? And what are the best tactics for converting a volunteer gig into a paying job? I address all that in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

A Self-Appraisal Leading to a New Year's Resolution

Year-end is a good time to inventory your life. So, my PsychologyToday.com article today asks you to look at seven aspects of lifeto see if there's something you'd like to change.

Ugly: A Short-Short Story about Looks

There’s no honest way to get around it: Josh was an ugly child. He was born with deformed, asymmetrical forehead and cheekbones. My PsychologyToday.com article today is a short-short story about him.

Marry? Is the Institution of Marriage Still Viable?

Few decisions have greater import than whether to marry.  

A previous article focuses on the decision of whether to marry a particular person.  This article addresses the institution of marriage itself amid today’s norms, which indeed are achangin'.

Indeed, in an interview, comedian Sarah Silverman,inot joking, called marriage “barbaric.. gross and f–king crazy,”  That’s something that not long ago couldn’t have been said even in jest.

So given today’s realities, how does the institution of marriage compare with a relationship that isn’t legally and perhaps religiously encumbered? I explore that in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Reducing Holiday Stress

In theory, the holiday season should be less stressful than the rest of the year. During work time, deadlines may be replaced by festivities. After work, get-togethers with family and friends, accompanied by comforting Christmas music, TV specials, and football games, should calm things further.  Alas, the words “holidays” and "stress" often adjoin.  Perhaps the tips I offer in my PsychologyToday.com article today can take the edge off.

Stern: A short-short story about people's veneer

People often judge us merely on appearance. After all, after age 30 or certainly 40,  our face reflects our emotional lifetime. But so much resides beneath our veneer. My PsychologyToday.com contribution today offers a short-short story on this.

Hype

We've become inured to hype and it hurts us more than we may realize. I explore in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Seven Pleasures They've Wrested From Us

Life is not easy. More may be expected from us at work. In relationships, we may be expected to do it all, as the jingle went, “Bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan....”  We’re told we’re not saving the zillion dollars we’ll need for the ever more absurd cost of college, let alone for retirement.

We’re hamsters on an ever faster-spinning wheel, like when the faster Lucy boxed the chocolates, the faster the conveyer belt went until she just couldn't do it all.

Indeed that’s what’s happening. Many people are breaking. Some drop out and become homeless while others anesthetize with alcohol or drugs. I believe that’s part of the national impetus to legalize marijuana despite it being more dangerous, physically and mentally than the Big Tobacco-driven messaging would have us believe.

Not surprisingly, the U.S. suicide rate is at a 30-year high  And it’s epidemic among middle-aged white men: NBC News cites the Centers for Disease Control findings: “Victims of death by suicide are overwhelmingly white (7 out of 10), male, and between the ages of 45 and 65. “

At the same time, many of life’s soothers have been wrested from us. My PsychologyToday.com article today offers seven examples. It argues that their loss is an underdiscussed cause of modern-day stress.

'I'd Rather Retire But.... Advice for Older Job Seekers

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers advice to older job seekers. 

Saving the Best for Last?

At some point, people’s awareness of their mortality grows, maybe even dominates one’s thoughts.

For the hedonistic, that triggers more desire to travel and otherwise have fun. Doable.

For the relational, it means wanting to spend more time with friends, grandkids, and other relatives. Doable.

For the work-centric, it’s more difficult. As we get older, we’re increasingly passed over for the opportunity to do significant work. It’s often believed that our experience is outweighed by lack of currency, our decreased physical vigor as proxy for decreased intellectual vigor.

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers some relatively accessible ways for the work-centric to have a last hurrah or three.