Tag Archives: “should”

Reality Check: Own It!

Have you heard any white lies lately? Maybe even told one or two of your own? We sometimes tell tiny falsehoods to avoid hurt feelings; fibs intended to be virtuous, not evil. However, just because we have positive intent with … Continue reading

Posted in Choosing Behaviour | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: Own It!

Reality Check: Lessons from First Aid

Whenever I have the good fortune to participate in training, I try to figure out whether the skills I’m learning can be more broadly applied. In first aid, for example, there’s the principle of protecting your own safety. Don’t put … Continue reading

Posted in Helping Others | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: Lessons from First Aid

Reality Check: I Regret that I Cannot…

Last post, I suggested that one way to reduce stress is to create habits for on-going chores. Assigning a specific time to mundane activities can reduce the perception of never being caught up. Chores don’t take over your life! How … Continue reading

Posted in Choosing Behaviour | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: I Regret that I Cannot…

Reality Check: Manufacturing Outrage

We could choose to deliberately shield ourselves from the world. However, most of us don’t. Thus, we are exposed to news items, study results, and opinions that you’d almost suspect were designed to provoke outrage in any “reasonable person.” One … Continue reading

Posted in Personal Freedom | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: Manufacturing Outrage

Reality Check: Esteem Essentials

Can you raise someone’s self-esteem? Perhaps more to the point, can you (or anyone) lower someone’s self-esteem? The choice theory view is that we can’t make anyone (other than ourselves) happy, sad, angry, or anything else; each of us does … Continue reading

Posted in Perception & Reality | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: Esteem Essentials

Reality Check: Young People Today…

How would you finish the phrase, “Young people today…”? A frequent theme is, “Young people today don’t want to work,” or “Young people today can’t handle money,” or “Young people today expect to be taken care of.” That criticism often … Continue reading

Posted in Helping Others | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: Young People Today…

Reality Check: Working with different people

Workplaces usually focus more on their business—producing products or delivering services—than worrying about how their willing workers are getting along. However, “getting along” at work isn’t just a feel-good concept; it can have a significant impact on productivity. At work, … Continue reading

Posted in Workplace | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: Working with different people

Reality Check: Apologies, Demands, and Power

An apology is often an effective response when someone has been wronged. Yet, there are also unsatisfying apology scenarios where someone—the victim, the offender, or both—walk away feeling, well…unsatisfied. You know something is still not OK, even if you can’t … Continue reading

Posted in Relationships | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: Apologies, Demands, and Power

Reality Check: One Small Kind Act

Reality Therapy emphasizes our need for relationships. That’s not radical; it makes sense that being able to get along with others generally leads to a more satisfying life. So what if you need to deal with someone who dislikes you? … Continue reading

Posted in Relationships | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: One Small Kind Act

Reality Check: They “should” know…

Alice is fuming, but you’d never know it. She’s choosing to keep her frustrations hidden, and having chosen this “internal fuming” behaviour throughout her life, she’s mastered the skill. No one would know. We choose certain behaviours because they seem … Continue reading

Posted in How it is sometimes | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: They “should” know…