Life is a hero’s journey, not a drama triangle. Our lives are filled with ups and downs. Challenges arise, conflicts emerge with others, and sometimes we fall into victimhood stories. It’s easy to get trapped in what’s called the “drama triangle” – bouncing between the roles of victim, villain, and hero in an endless cycle.…
One of the challenges that we have in life is a difficulty in understanding what is in (and out) of our control. This is to say, we need to identify the things that we can effect change, as opposed to what elements are out of our purview. In this, we are asked to identify our locus…
Our identities are often dictated by the plans, decisions, and actions that we make throughout the day. It can sometimes be a challenge to honor the principles you want to demonstrate. This may instances where you are making decisions for yourself, or serving as a leader for a group or organization. In my own contexts,…
One helpful focus that I’ve found in Stoic philosophies is the opportunity to consider our lives as an ongoing project. This includes a regular journey of ethical self-development. I first started this journey as I had just graduated from college. My Aunt and Uncle indicated that I had a job and was single with no…
Many times in life, we unthinkingly accept our first impressions as true. We celebrate ourselves as thoughtful, critical, intelligent beings, and yet we don’t always use these capacities. It is essential that we distinguish the impressions we make on the world, and his these impact our choices and decisions. External impressions can be deceiving. What…
I died a little bit last week. As I started my day writing, I received a phone call letting me know that my grandmother had passed during the night. This led to a feverish spate of phone calls, adjusting schedules for the week, and informing other relatives. This also led to some serious reflection. This…
Through the use of the Internet and other communication technologies, we are increasingly connected with others around the planet. In this, we are asked to consider our relationships with others and society in general. These interactions may be with citizens that live next door to us in an offline capacity. These also may individuals that we…