Personal Growth

Empowering people to make strengthening choices

Resilience-A Tribute to My Father

Resilience-A Tribute to My Father

In my last post, I talked about the correlation between optimism and physical health. For me, there is no better example than my father. I was shocked to receive a phone call from him when he was just 54 years old telling me that he had experienced several silent heart attacks and had severe blockage […]

By Roger K. Allen, Ph.D.


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Unlearning Helplessness

Unlearning Helplessness

I’ve written about Martin Seligman, the father of “positive psychology” in the past. He didn’t begin his career writing about how to be positive and happy but rather studied depression and became known for his studies on “learned helplessness,” a term he coined. Seligman found that when people perceive they don’t have control over a […]

By Roger K. Allen, Ph.D.


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Writing Your Guiding Principles

Writing Your Guiding Principles

The following excerpt from my book, The Hero’s Choice, tells the story of when Hal (main character) started thinking about his guiding principles. Donald, Hal’s coach and mentor had taken him up a mountain trail and left him with a task of pondering his life in an old, forgotten cemetery.

By Roger K. Allen, Ph.D.


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Example of Living by Guiding Principles

Example of Living by Guiding Principles

Moments after Air Florida’s Flight 90 left the runway at Washington’s National Airport, it was clear that the Boeing 737 was not going to fly. As it shuddered and stalled, the co-pilot said, “We’re going down,” and the pilot answered grimly, “I know it.” With a deafening crash it slammed into the Fourteenth Street Bridge […]

By Roger K. Allen, Ph.D.


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Standing for Something

Standing for Something

I recently watched the 1982 movie “Gandhi.” What an incredible story about the power of integrity, living from ones deepest beliefs, even in the face of severe opposition and danger. Standing for Something In one poignant scene, early in the movie as he is just beginning to rally his fellow Indians against the tyranny of […]

By Roger K. Allen, Ph.D.


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Living Your Personal Purpose–An Example

Living Your Personal Purpose–An Example

In my last newsletter/blog, I talked about the importance of the “why” aspect of your personal vision. Your “why” is your personal purpose. It is the reason you exist and a crucial key to finding meaning and joy in your life. Your Purpose and Meaning You may be familiar with the name Victor Frankl, author […]

By Roger K. Allen, Ph.D.


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Defining Your Purpose

Defining Your Purpose

Three Levels of Vision There are three levels of a personal vision or rules to define your purpose, all equally important—why, how and what. “Why” do you exist? What is your personal mission or your purpose? As you step back from your day-to-day routine, how do you define what your life is about? Answering this […]

By Roger K. Allen, Ph.D.


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How to Write a Personal Vision (and achieve your new year’s resolutions)

How to Write a Personal Vision (and achieve your new year’s resolutions)

My November 28th post was about the power of vision. It seems like a good time of year to continue developing this theme to focus on your personal vision ( resolutions), since so many people are writing new year’s resolutions. However, are you aware that only about ten percent of new year’s resolutions are ever […]

By Roger K. Allen, Ph.D.


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