Inside Out

Being perfectionistic or hyper-competitive can motivate you to produce, accomplish and outperform others, but it won’t help satisfy the underlying yearning that drives this behavior: the need for approval. No matter how much admiration you get from the outside...

Give Yourself a Break

Every single experience and bit of biology in your makeup has contributed in some way to who you are in this moment. Some things were under your control. Most weren’t. Even conscious decisions you made flowed from your past. Using the information and...

Regret Is a Waste

Regret is useful only for considering how you might better handle the same situation, were it to arise again in the future. Regret uses the past to energize negativity into the present and extend the suffering long after the event is over. You could not have acted...

Validate Yourself

No matter how wonderful you really are, no amount of effort will help you gain acknowledgment from someone who doesn’t want to or isn’t capable of recognizing you. They may have problems appreciating others because of jealousy, self-judgment, their own...

A Useful Reflection

Our attitudes about others tell us a lot about our feelings toward ourselves. The more negatively we interpret others’ behavior, the more likely we are to view ourselves harshly. That’s because we’re seeing through the lens of our programming. But...