General

As a professional therapist, I realize that a lot of people’s stress in life stems from an inability to assertively express themselves. Therefore, I end up teaching a good amount of effective communication skills. Still, the truth is that I can teach all the technical skills in the world and all that doesn’t mean squat…

As a society, we try to redefine assertive communication so that communication is more equitable and diverse populations are less marginalized and more respected.    In 2018, Serena Williams vehemently challenged a call of the umpire at the U.S. Open. The supposed infraction was getting “coached” from the sidelines (which historically gets called more often…

In Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” (my favorite book of all time) he talks about how “everyone is right from their own perspective,” so why argue against it? He also mentions, “you can win more friends in two months taking a genuine interest in others than you can in two…

Why zero carb diets are a bad long term weight loss idea explained in 4 points…   Diets that require someone consume no carbs forces the body to use protein and fat as fuel, rather than it’s preferred first source, carbs. Using protein for fuel reduces lean mass as the body needs protein to maintain…

“Hurting people hurt people”  To illustrate this principle, I’d like to share a lesson I learned from my experience working at a methadone clinic. For the first two years of my post-graduate professional career, I worked as a professional counselor at a methadone clinic. Methadone is a medication given to those struggling with opioid addiction…

There are two questions I want to answer in this blog…   How and why are we conditioned to become judgmental? How can overgeneralization be harmful? And how can it be overcome?   To understand how stereotypes and overgeneralizations are formed, let’s consider this example: Imagine you’re a naïve innocent child and you see a…

I don’t know about you, but every four years when the Winter Olympics come around, I’m always reminded me of the movie, “Cool Runnings.” Growing up in the 90’s, I enjoyed this movie from a child’s perspective. It was funny, heartwarming, and inspiring. Now, as an adult, I watch the movie with an even deeper…

So I just finished a 28 hour audio book on the life of Nelson Mandela. Here are my top 3 take-aways… 1. Hope Nelson Mandela was able to go from being a labeled a terrorist and an enemy of the state to the president of nation. He did this while also being able to avoid…

A somewhat cliche, but nevertheless, powerful story that illustrates finding the good in any life situation is the story of the two shoe salesmen. The story goes something like this…   Two shoe salesmen travel to a developing country to see if there’s a market for selling shoes. One salesman returns to the states and…

Daniel Hebb was one of the pioneers in recognizing this principle of “neural plasticity” in what was later coined, “Hebb’s Law.” That is, neurons that fire together wire together. Said another way, practice makes perfect.   Hebb’s Law   When a behavior is repeated over and over, the pathways in the brain begin to hardwire.…