No New Year’s Resolution is the Best Resolution of All

The best New Year’s resolution is to have no New Year’s resolutions. That’s what I’ve decided. Last year I wrote a column about how to keep them. Maybe it’s time, however, to rethink New Year’s resolutions altogether. Why pick one time of year to decide to turn things around and live a different kind of… Read more »

Learn More

The Problem with Overpraising Children

Research has shown that there are positive effects of praising children, but it depends on what kind of praise we’re dishing out. A recent Stanford study of toddlers showed that “praising effort, not talent, leads to greater motivation and more positive attitudes toward challenges” down the road. These findings are consistent with previous research, which has connected… Read more »

Learn More

What it Means to Be Loving

While many of us may have sensed it intuitively, there is now science behind the statement that “love is all you need.” A 75-year longitudinal study by Harvard researchers recently revealed that love itself is the one true key to a happy and fulfilling life. While love seems to be a universally valued attribute, defining love in… Read more »

Learn More

Holiday Wisdom: How to Have the Best Holiday Ever

It is practically cliché by now, but nonetheless true: the meaning of the holidays often gets lost in the glitter and bows, bawdy holiday parties and last-minute rushes to satisfy obligatory gift lists – each year’s craftily marketed Madison Avenue “must-haves.” This flurry of activity leaves the American public bleary-eyed and suffering, though we can’t… Read more »

Learn More

Living Vs. Reliving

I wouldn’t belong to a club that would have me. My boyfriend must be an idiot because he thinks I’m great. When faced with an opportunity to imagine what my partner is really meaning to convey, I always assume the intention is to put me down. Each response we make to the action of another… Read more »

Learn More

Striving for Greatness: Be the Star of Your Own Show

Lady Gaga’s large persona is everywhere you look. TMZ is staked out with cameras on every corner. Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood are so mainstream that by now they are passé. Celebrity culture is a redundant term these days, because celebrity has become culture in the United States. The terms are synonymous. Lindsay, Paris, Britney,… Read more »

Learn More

The Importance of Tradition

Candles lit on the dining room table, chatter of grown-ups talking, peals of laughter echoing through the house, the delicious scent of potato pancakes frying in the kitchen where my mother and grandmother stand over the hot stove… I remember being 7-years-old, wearing a party dress with wool tights and shiny black Mary Janes. It… Read more »

Learn More

After the Loss of a Loved One: 3 Tips to Regain Your Gratitude This Thanksgiving

After the loss of a loved one, hosting Thanksgiving dinner may not rank high on your list of priorities. But maintaining routines and traditions are especially important, particularly when children are involved. Keep it together this Thanksgiving by cutting yourself some slack and focusing on the things that are good and bright and humorous about… Read more »

Learn More

Overcoming the Inner Enemy that Causes Depression Webinar Resources

Here you can watch the live recording or view slides from Dr. Lisa Firestone’s October 28, 2014 Webinar “Overcoming the Inner Enemy that Causes Depression.” Watch a video recording of the Webinar: * If the video appears blurry, click on the “Settings” icon, and where it says “Quality” select “720p HD.”  Download Slides from “The Critical… Read more »

Learn More

An Introduction to Mindfulness

What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is a state that can be cultivated in which one is aware of one’s present experience and responds to this experience in a non-judgmental and non-reactive way. The practice of mindfulness often leads to a sense of balance and psychological well-being. To cultivate mindfulness, you don’t need to try to create… Read more »

Learn More