I’ve long been interested in understanding happiness and, consequently, have stayed abreast of this body of research over the last several years. Now I want to share what I’ve learned from the  science of happiness (as well as share a number of tips to be happy). According to science, our happiness can be attributed to […]

In my last blog post, I talked about how we are responsible for our own happiness in marriage. This is not something we can sluff off on our spouses. That doesn’t mean I always walk my talk. In this article, I want to share a story about playing the victim in my marriage. Hopefully, it […]

A belief of mine is that you have to take good care of yourself to have a healthy and happy relationship. Taking good care of yourself is your job and not something you can sluff onto your partner. Of course, the beginning of a relationship feels so different. I was just scanning face book yesterday […]

I remember walking home from school one afternoon aware of a looming confrontation between the United States and Soviet Union over the placement of nuclear missiles on the Island of Cuba. President John Kennedy and inner circle had pondered America’s response to the Soviet’s intent and decided to meet the challenge with a military blockade […]

I recently read an analogy about love written by Don Luis Miguel called the magical kitchen. I want to share and also expand on his analogy in my post today. It’s about opening your heart to the love inside. The Magical Kitchen Imagine that you have a magical kitchen. You have any food you want […]

I’ve been thinking about my parents lately. They were part of what we commonly refer to today as the “greatest generation,” those souls born between 1901 to the late 1920s. We call them the “greatest generation” because they lived through a number of defining moments including World War I, the Spanish Flu epidemic, the great […]

If I’m really honest with myself I feel pretty dismayed by the political debate in the country (USA) today. We have become so polarized and tribal, even in our local communities, that we can’t carry on a sincere conversation without people being offended and either shutting down or attacking those with differing opinions. How unfortunate […]

We don’t like conflict and we’re often not good at handling it. As I’ve shared in recent blog posts, some people impose their will on others. Some withdraw and give in. And others avoid it altogether. The consequence is that sensitive issues go unresolved and our relationships suffer. In my last article, I talked about […]

My purpose is to make it easier for you to resolve conflict by teaching you a structure and process for initiating and navigating sensitive conversations successfully. I’m going to teach you a four-phase process for resolving conflict, which I’ve gleaned from my years of professional experience.

I recently read a short essay by Emily Perl Kingsley about her experience of raising a child with Down syndrome. Although the essay is widely shared among parents of special needs children, the message is for all of us.  It’s about having your expectations turned upside down. Welcome to Holland When you’re going to have […]