I’ve just finished reading Garth Nix’s Abhorsen Trilogy – a superb fantasy series. To my surprise, as I was enjoying this epic saga, I discovered a powerful lesson about procrastination. WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD (I’ve tried not to give away much of the plot.) In the world of these books, the dead don’t always stay dead. They try desperately to return to life, often with the help of evil necromancers. But… Read More »The Book of the Dead
When I was a kid, my parents would sometimes admonish me for wasting my life in front of “the boob tube.” (Readers from certain generations know that means television.) I scoffed and continued watching reruns of The Simpsons. But a funny thing happens when you get older: You often realize that your parents were right. It’s usually much more fulfilling, more memorable, and more fun to actually do something. Doing… Read More »Doing is Greater than Watching
You probably know the importance of cross-training. In athletics, cross-training means doing a wide variety of physical exercises, including those outside of your typical sports. My three sports are skiing, rock climbing, and hiking. And I could get in shape for those sports by just doing those three activities. But I’ll be better off in a number of ways if I cross-train, so I also do a lot of other… Read More »Cross-Training For Your Brain
A little while back, we discussed the problem of ANTs – automatic negative thoughts – and what we can do about them. Let’s add another tool to our ANT-defense toolkit: thought bouncers. Imagine that your mind is an exclusive night club. There is a bouncer guarding the front door. Lots of thoughts want to get in. But many of these thoughts are unwelcome guests; they are irrational, unfounded, unpleasant, or… Read More »Thought Bouncers