goals

People-pleasing, a behavior where individuals prioritize the needs and desires of others over their own, can have far-reaching implications for mental health and relationships. Those who engage in people-pleasing often find themselves in a relentless pursuit of approval and acceptance, going to great lengths to avoid conflict or the discomfort…

Call it what you want — time management, project management, life management — our calendars are critically involved in achieving our goals. All big projects come with long to-do lists, and not just in the corporate world. Somehow huge tasks have to be broken down into reasonable increments, and lofty…

Starting therapy can be both exciting and a little frightening, especially if it’s your first time ever connecting with a therapist or counselor. The good news is that the process is very straightforward, focused on addressing your needs and concerns from the very first session. But still: You may be…

Have you ever caught yourself actively undermining your own goals? Maybe you decide to take better care of your body, only to inhale fast food instead of buying healthy groceries. Maybe you miss an important work deadline because you spend your final pre-deadline hours doom scrolling on your phone to…

Journaling is a powerful tool. It serves as an outlet, allowing us to express our emotions and process our thoughts without fear of judgment — there is no need or temptation to censor ourselves when we’re writing to and for nobody but ourselves. What a gift. And yet, for some,…

Travel more. Lose weight. Get out of debt. Exercise more. Buy a new car. You’ve probably laid eyes on one or more of these goals before — they’re a handful of the most common goals in America. But did you actually achieve them? Better yet, did you put yourself on…

It’s normal to contemplate the state of the world and life itself; for some, though, these questions stir up intense emotions like distress and despair that last for months or sometimes years.  While existential depression is not a formal diagnosis, it is sometimes used to describe these cases of depression…

Let me paint you a picture. It’s 2 pm on a Wednesday afternoon, and you’re feeling stressed out, yet bored. You’re eating your lunch at your desk because you want to give off the impression that you’re working hard. You take a personal phone call and pretend to be speaking…

For every Taylor Swift flourishing artistically during the pandemic, there are millions of suffering and burnt-out people who aren’t composing songs or painting portraits or writing novels. What have they been doing instead? Well, if they’re anything like me, they’ve been drowning in domestic labor, work, anxiety, childcare, and other…

Do you remember the last time you rode a roller coaster? Unfortunately for me, it has been over 20 years. I have developed vertigo as I have gotten older, and I’m scared to go on one now. However, I can still remember the nervous butterflies as the ride creaked higher…

This was supposed to be the year when we collectively recovered from our pandemic trauma, found greater happiness in the workplace, and renewed loving relationships with our friends, our family, and ourselves. Did it all happen the way we mapped it out last New Year’s Eve? Probably not. But based…

Amid COVID-19, many of us are experiencing feelings of loneliness, as we’re spending significantly less time with our friends, family, and others—and video chat only goes so far. Overcoming these lonely feelings is crucial to the state of your mental health, but doing so during social distancing is tough; this…