Everyone makes mistakes and misses important opportunities. Many of our attempts to achieve end in defeat. All of us regret many things we did or failed to do. And we often are sorry that we spoke certain words—at least in the tone we used. None of us is immune to an...
Of all the dark moods, anger is the most destructive to our well-being because it is the strongest. Many of us resort to anger as a means to appear powerful. Anger can make us strong—but only as strong as a bully. Anger can likewise appear to make us commanding, but...
Few things undermine us more easily than fear. Pervasive fear of unknown dangers can paralyze our thinking and crush our belief that we can do something to rescue ourself. Little fears that seem insignificant can serve as seeds for larger fears until they become...
The saddest thing about depression is that it eventually invades our capacity to see and evaluate what is happening around and within ourself. Like gasoline that poisons our ability to smell, discouragement warps our perception and judgment. The danger is that we will...
The desire to protect what is valuable is a universal urge. We want to keep our home and family safe from danger. We also expend much effort to preserve our authority. If our competence is attacked, we will take time to defend it and correct any misunderstanding. We...
The human mind has a wonderful capacity to explore for new knowledge and create new methods for driving back the boundaries of ignorance. The inventiveness of the mind has led to countless improvements in the way we live, travel, communicate, and provide for our...
Perhaps the greatest imbalance leading to self- destruction is the unintegrated personality—a most peculiar and mysterious unevenness in our mood and responsiveness. An unintegrated personality is one that has been fragmented into separate zones— mature beliefs and...
Modern airplanes, boats, and ships rely on radar to search for danger. These electronic devices constantly scan the path ahead to detect anything that requires a course correction in order to avoid trouble. The bene- fits of radar are now so important that it has long...
It is amazing how some people are able to use anguish to turn a minor disappointment into a major catastrophe. Others can use a spark of criticism to ignite an explosion of rage. While temporary flare-ups of strong emotion may seem commonplace, severe problems can...
Tuning from one television station to another is extremely easy. We just press a button on our remote and are connected to the sights and sounds of a new program. In a similar manner, we can connect to different memories, people, or situations by shifting our focus of...
