Tag Archives: choosing influences

Reality Check: Does It Matter Who Is Watching?

Posted on March 27, 2025 by RealityCheck

The choices that we make, both big and small, affect our lives. They contribute to whether we are reasonably satisfied or rather miserable. How do we make our choices? If our behaviour is internally motivated as Dr. Glasser suggests, then … Continue reading →

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Reality Check: That Fresh New Year Fragrance

Posted on January 5, 2025 by RealityCheck

Have you ever bought one of those air fresheners called “new car smell”? For a few bucks, you can bask in the scent of rich leather. Or maybe it’s rich vinyl. Either way, you can experience a luxurious new car … Continue reading →

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Reality Check: Stocking the Toolkit

Posted on November 24, 2024 by RealityCheck

If you wanted to equip a young person with the tools they need to have a satisfying life, what would you choose? My long-standing answer contains only three items: we need to be able to read, to write, and to … Continue reading →

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Reality Check: That First Impulse

Posted on September 9, 2024 by RealityCheck

“Follow your heart.” This phrase is on T-shirts, plaques, coffee mugs. People quote it and presumably rely on it as a guiding principle. Let’s take a look at what that might mean.

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Reality Check: The Benefit of Small Inspirations

Posted on August 26, 2024 by RealityCheck

While cleaning my desk, I happened to bump the mouse, causing a video to begin playing on my computer. This video is not a professional production. It’s a little wobbly; the product of somebody who happened to have their phone … Continue reading →

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Reality Check: Does Optimism Make a Difference?

Posted on May 29, 2024 by RealityCheck

Does optimism make a difference? That is, a positive difference? Or is optimism only for the naive and easily-led, those folks who aren’t wise enough to understand how really bad and awful and disastrous everything is? If you’ve been reading … Continue reading →

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Reality Check: The Blue Zones

Posted on May 27, 2024 by RealityCheck

If you were making a list of what you want most of all, you might include “a long, healthy life” on that list. You wouldn’t be alone. Considering that attempts to find the “fountain of youth” date back centuries, we … Continue reading →

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Reality Check: The Many Ways to Serve

Posted on April 9, 2024 by RealityCheck

Knowing that one has found their purpose in life is important for many people, including, or perhaps especially, for young people. Many of those who wish to live a life of purpose focus on service. If you look at service … Continue reading →

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Reality Check: What Comes In; What Goes Out

Posted on February 11, 2024 by RealityCheck

“Garbage in; garbage out” is a phrase I first heard during my early computer programming days. It’s a common-sense idea; if you put poor information into a system, poor results come out. Intuitively, we know it’s true. This doesn’t just … Continue reading →

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Reality Check: Choosing Your Surroundings

Posted on January 28, 2024 by RealityCheck

It’s the dead of winter. Snow is falling, cold winds are blowing; there is ice wherever you want to walk. In the midst of this dull and often non-productive time, an amaryllis bulb that I’ve had for years is starting … Continue reading →

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