With September being designated as “Self-Improvement Month,” I wanted to write about a new model for work/life balance. Forget about trying to achieve some magical balancing point between your life and your work. It’s arbitrary at best. Instead, strive for life balance by balancing your needs. According to Choice Theory® psychology, everyone is born with five basic needs. We all have them, but they aren’t created equal. The need that’s strongest in one person can be the weakest in another. Also, the need that is most salient at any given time has to do with how overall important it is to you ..read more

The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration defines September as National Recovery Month, a national observance held every September to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the emergence of a strong and proud recovery community and the dedication of service providers and community members across the nation who make recovery in all its forms possible” (www.samhsa.gov/recovery-month). The dedication of service providers and community members is essential in helping those in the recovery community succeed. Recovery takes a village, yet e ..read more

August is National Truancy Prevention Month. The definition of truancy is missing more than 15 days of school with unexcused absences, meaning the reason they didn’t attend wasn’t a reason recognized by the educational system. In the United States, 20 percent of high school students are considered truant. Why does truancy happen? There are many reasons a child may not attend school. Most people assume students don’t attend school because they hate it. This may be true, but what else could be happening? Many children live in circumstances that don’t support education and are considered at-risk ..read more

August 18 is National Serendipity Day. Serendipity is defined as the occurrence and development of any events by happenstance in a pleasant or useful way. This day encourages us to appreciate those unexpected, pleasant things. I have a mantra I’ve been living now since January that my friend, Scott D’Alterio, shared with me: “Nothing happens to me; everything happens for me,” and it’s amazing how much it has helped me. It’s like taking serendipity to exponential levels, expecting that everything that happens is serendipitous. Another way to think about it is that it may not be serendipity, or ..read more

Apparently, August is a month all about romance. This week, August 8 to 14, is National Resurrect Romance Week; the entire month of August is Romance Awareness Month; and August 25 is National Kiss and Make Up Day. What’s up with all this romance in August? These designations serve as great reminders to think about the value of romance in your life and the lives of those you are intimate with. On Dictionary.com, the informal definition of romance is 1) to court or woo romantically; treat with ardor or chivalrousness and 2) to court the favor of or make overtures to; play up to. If you are fam ..read more

August is National Family Fun Month. It acts as a great reminder to enjoy some time with your kiddos before they return to school. Don’t have kids? It’s still a great time to create and plan fun with extended family members, whether it’s with your birth family, adoptive family or family of choice. Family fun can be effortless or stressful, expensive or free, and planned or spontaneous, and there are pros and cons to each. You will want to decide what works best for your family so you can start strengthening your relationships and creating lasting memories. Sometimes, the best family fun can be ..read more

July is considered National Anti-Boredom Month. The idea is to identify what “makes” you bored and devise ways to combat it. The problem, from a Choice Theory® perspective, is that nothing can “make” you bored. If you are experiencing boredom, you may want to ask yourself, “What is this boredom doing for me?” Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I was bored other than some long-distance memory when I was a kid. I seem to remember bothering my mother with the idea that I was bored and had nothing to do. Looking back, it’s obvious, I was using boredom to get my mother to provide some entert ..read more

National Be Someone Day is designed to remind adults to be someone special in the life of a child. As a counselor, I am constantly reminded of the fact that almost everyone on the planet is recovering from or currently enduring some sort of trauma, a lot of that trauma inflicted or experienced as a child. I am frequently amazed by the people I work with when they tell me their stories. Trauma is not something you can typically see on the outside. So many times, the walking internally wounded look just like everyone else and in fact, they are just like everyone else except for an event, or ongo ..read more

July is Social Wellness Month—a reminder that relationships are key to a healthy lifestyle. Humans have a need for connection; some of us have a stronger need than others. If you are someone with a lower need for connection, you might be satisfied with a beloved pet and few people in your life. Those with a high need for connection have many close personal relationships and like to be friendly with most people they meet. When your need for connection is moderate, you fall somewhere between those two extremes. It doesn’t matter how strong your need is as long as you have the proper amount of c ..read more

July 7 is Global Forgiveness Day. It was created in 1994 by the Christian Embassy of Christ’s Ambassadors, but forgiveness applies to all people regardless of religion. It is a day to inspire the act and receiving of forgiveness. If you are seeking spiritual or religious forgiveness, then that is between you and the Divine. I am writing about the forgiveness between humans. I love the unattributed quote, “Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” In other words, withholding forgiveness hurts you more than the person you are angry with. Forgiveness i ..read more