I my last article I talked about how our brains and bodies respond to stress. Today I want to explore the goal of stress management which is achieving an optimal state of arousal in the middle of a threat. As you can see from this diagram, the mind can be in optimal arousal (necessary to […]

I’ve recently been writing about various ways to nourish that unseen part of ourselves—our hearts or souls. Learning to nourish our hearts leads to feelings of peace and well-being, even in a chaotic world. One of the most powerful ways to nourish ourselves is the practice of mindfulness. This is a popular concept these days and […]

The Power of Stillness One way of nourishing yourself is through stillness. This is quieting the mind and body by placing your full attention on the present moment. As you’ve heard me say before, our world is filled with noise and distractions which alienate us from our inner, higher selves. We are continually connected to […]

I’ve recently been writing about “becoming,” one of the three core principles of living a joyful life. I define becoming as growing into a more mature human being, someone able to bring your best self to the situations and challenges of life. Although there are many ways you can grow yourself spiritually and emotionally, today I […]

I talked, in my last post, about what we learn from science about happiness and suggested three core themes from the happiness literature (the ABCs of happiness). I want to continue this topic by sharing a short video on the topic. Before you watch it, let me just share a bit of the backstory. The […]

In my last post, I talked about the “how” of listening and gave you a set of seven guidelines to become a better listener. Now I want to point to a special case of listening. How do you support someone who is grieving? What do you say or do when someone is going through grief […]

I have learned that the best thing I can do when things are not going my way is to stop trying so hard. I need to step back, quiet myself, be present, and simply observe. From this emerges a calm heart and clear mind which enables me to take better, more effective action.

Success can feel hallow and empty if our lives are not balanced, filled with love, grounded in the present, and a deeper sense of personal purpose. In fact, chasing success (wealth, beautiful home, building a business, community status, power, etc.) are all outer symbols and expressions of a desired inner experience. It is the inner experience we really want—to feel peace, pleasure, aliveness, joy, love; to find meaning; to sense that our lives are full, and that we’ve somehow made a difference.

In my last blog post (http://www.theheroschoice.com/2015/03/26/deal-with-troubles/), I gave you a method for handling whatever is troubling you. Essentially, the method is to stop ignoring or distracting yourself from a troubling situation and face it. This means being fully present to your inner experience (emotions and thoughts) which are triggered by the situation without acting them […]

We all have things that trouble us—situations or circumstances that are undesired and cause us distress in the form of anger or frustration, fear or anxiety, sadness or depression, guilt or inadequacy. Some of these situations are temporary, but others are long-term or even permanent and may rob us of our vitality and well-being. Here […]