Category Archives: Choosing Perspective

Reality Check: When we don’t like our advice

Posted on March 7, 2020 by RealityCheck

Advice is plentiful, whether we look for it or not. What to eat, where to live, how to act; you can find someone, somewhere, ready to offer their opinion. How do you respond to advice that you don’t like? When … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged "should", choosing influences, criticism, offering information | Comments Off

Reality Check: Courage and Discouragement

Posted on February 29, 2020 by RealityCheck

If you’ve ever felt the thud of discouragement, you may have also felt that you have no control over how you respond. It’s a powerless feeling, isn’t it? What brings on those discouraged feelings? Here are a few of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged anxiety, choosing thoughts, discouragement, filters, perception | Comments Off

Reality Check: The Gift of a Deadline

Posted on February 8, 2020 by RealityCheck

Many of us have had to work to deadlines, even if we don’t always think of them as deadlines. Whether it’s called a due date at school, a vacation date at work, or even a gathering of friends for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged "should", anxiety, motivation, perception, self-evaluation | Comments Off

Reality Check: The Dull of Winter

Posted on February 2, 2020 by RealityCheck

Winter. The dull days, grey clouds, rain, drizzle, fog, and yes, even snow, can be a hard time of year. It’s as if the sun takes a vacation (probably gone south.) For some folks, those dull days stir up dull, … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged choosing thoughts, perception, unhappiness | Comments Off

Reality Check: Take It to Heart? Or Not?

Posted on January 18, 2020 by RealityCheck

Whenever people need to interact with each other, there are opportunities for conflict. Conflict shows up among friends, within families, in community discussions and at workplaces. That’s no surprise. After all, one reason for conflict is because people don’t agree … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged choosing actions, conflict, discouragement, examining options | Comments Off

Reality Check: Reassessing Wants

Posted on January 12, 2020 by RealityCheck

Dr. Robert Wubbolding suggests a deceptively simple four-part structure derived from the practice of Reality Therapy. He calls it WDEP: Want, Do, (self)Evaluate, and Plan. The practice starts with, “What do you want?” Wants can be surprisingly confusing and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged confidence, conflict, examining options, improving relationships, need satisfaction | Comments Off

Reality Check: Prepare, Then Forge On With Optimism

Posted on December 30, 2019 by RealityCheck

Back in my childhood, roughly a thousand years ago, there were a few popular doomsday scenarios that described how awful the world would be when I grew up. If I managed to make it to adulthood, that is. For example, … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged anxiety, choosing actions, choosing influences, examining options, responsibility, worry | Comments Off

Reality Check: Recognizing Our Gifts

Posted on December 7, 2019 by RealityCheck

We are free to give gifts at any time of the year. However, whether because of social convention, family expectations, or faith-based convictions, gift-giving is more extensive at this time of year. Some folks find the whole gift-giving process stressful. … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged choosing thoughts, gratitude, happiness, perception | Comments Off

Reality Check: The Urge to Justify

Posted on December 1, 2019 by RealityCheck

Most of us have been on the receiving end of criticism at some point. If that’s you, then you may also be familiar with the urge to respond by justifying your actions. Criticism sometimes comes from the people closest to … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged blame, criticism, discouragement, improving relationships, perception | Comments Off

Reality Check: Choosing Hope

Posted on November 25, 2019 by RealityCheck

When you consider the future, do you see better days ahead? Or are you more likely to think, “Things are going downhill fast”? Attitude matters. There’s almost a sense of virtue that’s associated with choosing to adopt a positive attitude … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged choosing actions, choosing thoughts, encouragement, perception, self-evaluation | Comments Off