Posts Tagged With ‘ Dr. Ron Kaiser ’

We all have to deal with some commitments and deadlines and requirements in addition to having things on our schedules that we choose to do. The bottom line is that most of us lead pretty busy lives. There are essentially two ways of dealing with busy schedules: either let the course of events control us or take control of the course of events as much as possible. I prefer to do the latter. We may have to be at work or an appointment at a certain time, and our family’s meal and activity schedule may have a defined structure to it. But most of us have more flexibility in our lives... Continue Reading

While this is the time when people tend to make resolutions having to do with specific habits or behaviors, I think that this is a particularly good time to look at whether you are maximizing your potential and sharing your awesomeness with the world by being involved with your community.  That community may include your religious, political, service, school, professional society, or other organization. One of the easiest things to do is to complain about what’s wrong in the world, including that part of the world that’s closest to you – the community in which you reside or... Continue Reading

There are very few things that we can do during the last week in December to change the quality of the outcome of the year.  Hopefully, not many of us would want to change it to any great extent, but I do feel that it’s appropriate to have a level of discontent about the past in order for us to resolve to do better in the future.   That’s what New Year’s resolutions are all about – resolving to make positive changes moving forward even if we are generally proud of how we’ve functioned in the past. The fact that we start using a new calendar does not automatically assure... Continue Reading

If you’ve been to your local mall or downtown shopping area in the past few days, you don’t need a calendar to let you know what time of the year this is. The rush to find suitable decorations and gifts (hopefully at bargain prices) is an obvious indicator that this is the time of the year when three major joyous holidays are observed in close proximity to one another: Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. Hanukkah is already underway and will overlap Christmas on Sunday, December 25th, before concluding the following day – which also happens to be the first day of Kwanzaa. It’s... Continue Reading

Earlier in my adulthood, as a white heterosexual male, it was not rare for me to be in the company of others who made racist, sexist, or other bigoted comments by other white males who felt licensed to do so because of our shared race and sex. While I won’t pretend that I was always holier-than-thou in this regard, my inclusive values and positive life experiences with people who are different than me made a very accepting, non-bigoted person. I’ve always had friends of various races, religions, ages, and sexual orientations. But only in the past few years have I achieved the status... Continue Reading

Only the most rigid of non-empathic parents would watch their child bake a pretend cake and take it upon themselves to remind the child that it’s not really a cake – or watch a child color a picture of a horse and remind him or her that horses aren’t really blue, and “You’re also supposed to draw within the lines”. That type of criticism provides the child with a “Twofer” – as you are managing to destroy both self-confidence and creativity at the same time. Raising a child is a difficult task, but competent and caring parents and teachers are able to teach the importance... Continue Reading

Social connectedness is one of the cornerstones of mental health. I consider it as being one of the “non-negotiable 4” elements necessary for emotional growth – along with keeping the brain active, eating healthy, and owning your body through exercise, proper sleep, and meditation. The average person has various categories of social connections, many of which are established for us – such as family members, work colleagues, casual acquaintances, people who provide services to us, and (depending upon our occupation) customers, clients, or patients. One category that we can control,... Continue Reading

It has been told that when Michelangelo was asked how he was able to take an unformed block of marble and create the masterpiece statue of David, he reportedly answered that it was easy, “I just chipped away the parts that didn’t look like David, and what was left was David.” There’s no verifiable evidence that Michelangelo actually said that, but it does make for a good story.  It also makes for a good teaching point relative to the concept of self-confidence. One of the best ways to build self-confidence is to focus on those unique parts of you that contribute to your awesomeness.... Continue Reading

Ageism is a form of stereotyping and/or discrimination based upon a person’s age.  It has often limited older adults from employment opportunities and leadership positions in organizations because of a feeling that older individuals are not as healthy, sharp, or able to function effectively as someone who is younger.  When this thinking is applied without considering other factors, both the individual and society loses because significant talent goes unused just because age has become an arbitrarily limiting factor.  No doubt, there are older adults who have declined cognitively... Continue Reading

Do you remember when the only thing that you could use a phone for was to make and receive calls?   That seems so boring now that we have smart phones that can do a multiplicity of tasks.  Among other things, a smart phone can also serve as a computer, camera, texting machine, postal service, word processor, dictionary, calendar, record player, library, radio, TV, streaming device, to do list, alarm clock, stopwatch, and mail order catalogue, among other things.  In fact, there have been days when I’ve spent considerable time using my smart phone without making or receiving one... Continue Reading