self development

How to Overcome Insecurity: Why Am I So Insecure?

We are called a narcissistic generation. We are told that technology and social media are giving us an inflated sense of self. But most of us don’t walk around feeling like we are all that great. In fact, there is one underlying emotion that overwhelmingly shapes our self-image and influences our behavior, and that is… Read more »

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Live Your Own Life

What gives a person’s life meaning is as unique to that person as their fingerprint. In order to live your own life, you must begin to identify and prioritize the things in your life that are the most meaningful to you. It is essential that you ask yourself if you are truly living the life… Read more »

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The Scientific Approach to Changing Your Life

Last year, a poll indicated that only one in three Americans is reportedly “very happy.” Maybe this surprises you or maybe it doesn’t, but what it likely tells us is that the majority of the population is looking for a change. Whether it’s their job, their relationship, their city or themselves, most people have something… Read more »

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4 Ways to Stop Sabotaging Yourself

Last month, a video of Jim Carrey giving an inspiring commencement address went viral, gaining more than 7 million views on YouTube. The comedian poignantly captured what holds most of us back from achieving our goals, stating: You can spend your whole life imagining ghosts, worrying about the pathway to the future, but all there will ever… Read more »

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How to Make Your Life More Meaningful

When author Bronnie Ware published The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, the inspiring book based on her years as a nurse, the world had quite a reaction. So many of us who get caught up in the go-go-go of daily life screeched to a halt to read about what would really matter when we looked… Read more »

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VIDEO: Dr. James Garbarino Talks about Resilience, Hardiness, and Compassion Toward the Human Experience

Watch an excerpt from PsychAlive’s exclusive interview with Dr. James Garbarino. Dr. James Garbarino talks about how hardiness impacts an individual’s resilience. Well, I think, as I see it, there is resilience, which is a sort of description of a situation that a person has faced adversity and has been able to recover from it. … Read more »

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Qualities of an Ideal Therapist

Outcome studies in psychotherapy have shown that “The therapist is a key change ingredient in most successful therapy.” Researchers have also identified a number of traits in psychotherapists that facilitate clients’ progress and change.* In The Fear of Intimacy, I outlined my approach to psychotherapy and described personal qualities in therapists that I consider essential… Read more »

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What is a Mentally Healthy Person? An Interview with Robert Firestone, Ph.D.

A few weeks ago at Esalen, a retreat center in Big Sur, CA, I co-taught a two-day workshop called “Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice.” As part of the weekend, I showed the participants a video clip of an interview I did with my father Dr. Robert Firestone. The participants found it inspirational, so I thought… Read more »

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4 Steps to Conquer Your Inner Critic

Most of us are familiar with those nagging thoughts that tell us we are not good enough, that cast doubt on our goals and undermine our accomplishments. These thoughts might be there to greet us when we first glimpse at ourselves in the mirror in the morning. “You’re so unattractive. You’re fat. What a slob…. Read more »

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