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According to the standard classification of mental disorders used by health professionals, workaholism is not included as a nonsubstance addiction. This distinction provoked a simmering debate in the therapeutic community. There are scores of mental health professionals and civilians alike who don’t recognize it as a problem. Because to them, workaholism no different than, say, caffeine addiction. In my opinion, the problem is that people are asking the wrong…

Think about how long most people hold onto the residue of negative or even mediocre experience. They prosecute themselves for crimes past and preoccupy themselves with next time, thinking about how it’s going to be different. Both of these ruminations cheat them out of the present moment, which is the only place joy and meaning are available. Take lunch at work. You grab a crappy sandwich and bring it…

Hypnotists, magicians and persuasion experts teach us that a confused person is in a trance of their own making. When someone can’t quite figure something out, their brain’s need for closure and resolution creates an activated expectation. That makes them much more suggestible without resistance, which explains all that dancing around like a chicken on a stage in front of thousands of strangers. But although the state of momentary…

Herding cats is a management term people use to describe the futile attempt to control and organize a class of entities which are inherently uncontrollable. The earliest available reference of this idiom dates back to an article about a software design company from the eighties. The phrase later popped up in the nineties in reference to dealing with writers, and has since become a catchall for managing anyone with a fiercely…

Mold on the walls is unsightly. Black and green spots don’t exactly make for a beautiful home. However, painting over that mold is not a viable solution. Sure, party guests won’t notice over the weekend. But although paint may hide the ugly signs of a mold outbreak cheaply and quickly, it won’t remediate our problem. Even if we buy several cans of that fancy water based fungicidal protective coating,…

It’s one thing to have a burning desire for individuality, but it’s another thing to have an insatiable need for an audience to applaud it. This is perhaps the most egregious emotional mistake we make at work. Unrealistically expecting recognition of our success from others. Because when we build our sense of security and value in finding acceptance and approval externally, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment and…

Companies always seem to want more and more from their employees. Managers continue to ratchet up how much they demand from their team members, while workers get increasingly overwhelmed with unrealistic expectations about their jobs. Bottomless corporate pits. Nothing you do is ever good enough for them, no matter how good you are, no matter much effort and hard work you put in. Have you ever worked in that…

There’s a fascinating distinction called the state versus the trait. Neuroscience research suggests that any regular practice of a mindfulness based activity includes both state and trait changes. The practice temporarily changes the condition of our brain and the corresponding pattern of activity or connectivity, aka, state change. But it also alters our personality following a longer period of practice, aka, trait change. Think about certain habits people practice regularly, like…

Rehabilitation is a lifelong journey. Whether we are managing our anxiety, controlling our addiction or dealing with some other physical ailment or emotional injury, all personal transformation happens through the building process of small acts. Even if we are told that ninety days or six months or a full year is considered the gold standard of treatment for our condition, it’s healthier and frankly more realistic to assume that…

One habit for preventing sending our brains into a frenzy is to step away from the keyboard when we’re feeling particularly emotional. After all, the internet is a hypochondriac’s nightmare. It’s a minefield of confirmation bias, misguided judgments, amateur opinions and extreme scenarios. Think of it this way. When was the last time typing your symptoms into a search engine actually made you feel calmer? There’s even a word…