Karen, introduced last column, has bones to pick with society and its emphasis on materialism.
At the drop of a hat (or shopping bag) Karen can launch into a tirade. Her theme: “We are bombarded with high pressure sales; credit is pushed on us; we buy things we don’t need; we throw away too much.”
She would like to think that she is teaching her children that relationships and personal achievements are more valuable in life than money and things. What the children see, however, Continue reading
Time and again, I hear folks say, “We are too materialistic; we buy too much; we throw too much away. We have too much debt, we have too much stress; we should stop living like this.”
Does that sound familiar to you?
Implied in those sentiments is the idea that we are forced to want what we don’t have and to buy things that we don’t need. Life becomes a nonstop run on a hamster wheel, where we are continuously chasing more and more consumer goods that are always slightly out of reach. Continue reading
Lauren has a dream, and she’s talked about this dream for years. When she’s asked what she does, Lauren replies without hesitation: “My dream is to open a home for challenged youth.”
People who know and love Lauren encourage her and admire her good intentions. It’s a noble dream, and Lauren would be so well suited for it.
Having a dream and concentrating on possibilities and potential can inspire hope and optimism. Dreams can help you come up with a plan for the future. Continue reading
Self-evaluation, in the choice theory perspective, is that important step when we look at what we do and make a judgment about it. The word “judgment” often carries a negative connotation; however, judgment is helpful when you use it to assess your own behaviour.
It’s when you self-evaluate that you decide, for yourself, whether your behaviour is working for you. Is what you are doing moving you closer to the life you want? Continue reading
Elise has the unfortunate habit of misplacing her keys. Over the years, she has been late for important meetings, she’s held up family outings, and she’s wasted countless hours searching.
Her key-losing behaviour even contributed to missing a chance for her dream job; she showed up late for her interview because she couldn’t find her car keys. It has become a family joke—if Elise is not where she’s supposed to be, then she’s probably looking for her keys.
Losing your keys may seem like a trivial behaviour to be concerned about. Continue reading
When discouragement hits, it can be hard to imagine that you have any choice at all about how you feel. The total behaviour aspect of choice theory states that taking action of some sort is the most direct approach to changing a feeling. However, it’s not always easy to figure out what action to take. Continue reading
