Last week I talked about the beauty of a relationship with an introvert. Well, now it’s time to celebrate the extrovert. Perhaps less likely to be victims of stereotypes, extroverts are still often painted with broad strokes, and doing so misses many of the nuances of this special personality type. Don’t make the mistake of [read more]
5 Ways to Stop Attracting the Wrong Type of Person
Congratulations! You have jumped back into the dating pool. Doing so takes guts and vision and a joyful, optimistic heart. In fact, your optimistic confidence that you will find Mr. or Ms. Right is totally justified. But maybe you are losing that optimistic outlook because you notice a recurring theme—as you attempt to enter serious [read more]
Relationship with a Narcissist? Shut it Down (Here’s Why)
My client Tom had a sad story to tell me when we first met. He had been in a relationship with—he was firm on this point—the love of his life, when suddenly he was tossed aside. His devastation was complete and the trauma tapped into his primal abandonment wound. As we talked, over the next [read more]
The Pleasure of Your Company: Get Your Groove Back
“She entered her house and turned back to me for one last kiss, and to say, ‘I can’t imagine a better way to spend a Sunday than with you. Thank you for today.’” That’s the way my client, Nathaniel, ended his “perfect day” narrative. His story, written as “homework” between one of our sessions and [read more]
Over-giving? Try Being Self-Centered Instead
It feels good to make someone else feel good, doesn’t it? But sometimes people can invest so much in pleasing others that they leave themselves in the dust. First, let’s look at some ways people-pleasing hurts everyone. Amy is in a destructive relationship with William and can’t figure out why she stays. William is entirely [read more]
Self-Acceptance: Step One on the Path to Empowerment and Love
Marvin’s relationships never lasted. Even if they did, they were a series of unacceptable compromises and fraught with dissatisfaction. He could not, he said, find real love, the kind that transported a person and created a cocoon of unconditional acceptance. Upon further questioning, it became clear to me that Marvin was actually afraid of that [read more]
Step Out of Fear and Into Your Power
The eloquent wisdom of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” is so profound and far-reaching that they became watchwords for an entire nation, and have, in less than a century, become so familiar that some might mistake them for cliché. But in fact they are as true [read more]
Who Are You? Connecting with Your Intrinsic Self (Part II)
The truth of who you are is inevitably beautiful, and living in alignment with that truth feels so good. There is no pretense required. You don’t have to psych yourself up to interact with this or that person, because you are simply you in every moment… and being you is effortless. It’s when we live [read more]