Dating is fun. When you’re in the honeymoon stage of a new relationship, it’s easy to feel on top of the world. For many people, being a DINK (dual-income no kids) is a phase of life where you still have time and energy to dedicate to courting and traveling, physical fitness, and career goals. Then…

Client: “I struggle with self-confidence…” Therapist: “Write out a bunch of idealistic I am statements and mantras and you’ll magically manifest what you write over time.” Client: “You’re probably right, but I think I’ll pass.” I know this dialogue may seem simplistic and facetious, but it’s not far off from the all-too-often truth. Many people…

Recently, I was watching a stand-up comedy clip from comedian Bill Burr. In the clip, he talks about going through some hard childhood events which would have led him to feel depressed, IF he felt like he was allowed to show feelings of sadness as a man. In his stand up, he says men are…

Negativity Bias is when we remember a snake on a hike more so than the beautiful scenery. It’s also why we remember a boss’s criticism more so than their praise. This mental tendency still exists in us today because early humans needed to quickly identify and react to threats (predators, hazards) to survive, so focusing…

When my son, Wesley, scores goals in hockey, that’s cool, I’m proud of him for that. But when he backchecks, that’s when I’m really proud of him. Back-checking is when an offensive player hustles back on defense to prevent a breakaway or odd man rush. It doesn’t show up on the scoresheet. It doesn’t count…

Michael Phelps gets all the fame, but… Michael Phelps gets a lot of fame and glory for winning 8 gold medals in 2008, and deservedly so. However, without lesser known swimmer, Jason Lezak, this accomplishment isn’t possible.  In the 2008 Beijing 4x100m freestyle relay, Michael Phelps led off. He did NOT put the US in the lead. In…

Work meetings at the disc golf course are the way to go! If you’re looking for an incredible therapist, please feel free to consider my good friend and colleague, Howard Irwin. As a pastor, social worker, father and grandfather, Howard understands life’s struggles… – How to balance work and life – How to find meaning…

The biggest problem with Covid we never talk about… television and screen time. Covid meant staying in. Staying in meant greater consumption of media, more specifically, increased screen time and television.  Media is designed to be extreme, fear-based, and polarizing (it holds out attention better this way), and time spent on a platform is the number one metric…

When people think of “rest” we usually lump it all into one giant category of “time off.” The reality is, though, that almost all of us have come back from a vacation feeling more tired than when we left. The expression we often hear is needing a “vacation from vacation.”  And the truth is, the feeling…

There are many applications of the 20/60/20 Rule. Sometimes it refers to how one feels day to day about their performance (good, decent, or bad), but for me, I like to use it more deliberately. In training, I believe it helps to train… 20% of the time with someone who is better than you 60% of…