Posts on the importance of personal growth or becoming an individual.
Speaking on the subject of recurring psychological struggles, Carl Jung once noted that, “we don’t solve our problems, we outgrow them.” If this is true, then therapy is really about helping people to grow and, eventually, to outgrow certain issues or unhelpful life patterns. But what, exactly, does it mean to outgrow something? Growth is…
A woman dreamed, “Some women are picking out drab and uninspiring clothes for me to wear. I would feel pretty much invisible if I wore them. I get angry and tell them I won’t wear those clothes. They get angry in return, rip the clothes off of me, and smear green and black paint on…
For plants and animals summer is a time of quickened growth and development. The flowers of spring become the seeds, fruits, and vegetables of fall’s harvest. Likewise, most animal young achieve their greatest growth during this time of abundance and warmth. Your personal psychology also has its seasons. The summers of your life are times…
“Feel the fear, and do it anyway,” let this be your motto.* When there is something you feel called to do, but you’re afraid you might fail, acknowledge your fear and do it anyways. Let courage and faith be your companions in life. There will be times when your soul asks you to do things…
We are all children of God. But we are also children of the world, for this is where God planted us. In time we can become so attached to the world that we forget where we came from and where we are meant to return. Some of us make it back to God, and some…
It is the last half of the ninth inning and John is trying to preserve a one run lead with a runner on every base and only one out. As he focuses on the catcher’s mitt the players on the opposing team try to rattle him and break his concentration. They yell and taunt. They…
It seems we all have a mountain to climb. It is the mountain of our soul, our destiny, our life’s work. It is the mountain within, and many of us may not even realize that we are climbing it. On the other hand, there are some that know it’s there, but choose not to climb…
Although the Sierra Nevada gold rush played itself out some 150 years ago, opportunities to harvest gold still abound. There are rich deposits yet to be mined, and they are closer than the ground beneath your feet. This gold lies within you, and it longs to be unearthed. The world calls out for a new…
It is not easy to be an individual. You face pressures in life—from family, peers, or society—to think in certain ways and value the things that others do. For example, do you recall a time when you had to make a decision between doing what others wanted you to do and doing what you felt…
When life reaches out and grabs you, go with it. Your future awaits and it doesn’t take kindly to being put off. I know a woman who struggled with depression, various addictions, and low self-esteem into her forties. Although she was very intelligent and talented, she lived far below her potential and played the role…
