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Basic InformationLatest NewsAHA News: Why Experts Say a Good Mood Can Lead to Good HealthGrumpy? Depressed? Try a More Regular Sleep ScheduleCold Facts on Avoiding Snow and Ice DangersDrivers May Be Inhaling Dangerous Carcinogens Inside Their CarsAHA News: Watch Your Heart Rate, But Don't Obsess About ItMany U.S. Adults Aren't Getting Healthy Amounts of Fruits, VegetablesPoll Finds Americans Highly Stressed by Politics, PandemicCould Working Outside Help Prevent Breast Cancer?Kiss Chapped Lips Goodbye This WinterAHA News: 5 Things Nutrition Experts Want You to Know About New Federal Dietary GuidelinesLockdowns Might Not Have Long-Term Psychological Effect: StudyAre the Moon's Phases Affecting Your Sleep?AHA News: The Head Is Connected to the Heart – and Can Influence HealthMaybe Money Can Help Buy Happiness, After AllStressed Out By the News? Here's Tips to Help CopeVision Problems? Here's a Guide to Which Specialist Is Right for YouFacebook Posts Big Drivers in Vaccine Resistance, Study FindsGym Closed? You Don't Need Exercise Equipment to Stay Fit, Study Shows'Pandemic Fatigue' Setting in? Here's How to Stay Safe and StrongGot Wanderlust? Travel Makes Folks Happier, Study ShowsTips for Making 2021 a Healthier YearHow to Sleep Better in 2021AHA News: Here's to a Healthy 2021, With Resolutions From Heart DoctorsWhat Loneliness Looks Like in the BrainHow to Guard Against Home Heating HazardsAs Social Media Use Rises, So Does Belief in COVID MisinformationAHA News: Keep Your Holiday Drinking on the Moderate Side With This AdviceLoneliness Continues to Rise for Americans Under LockdownToo Much Social Media Time Could Raise Risk of DepressionWorking From Home Brings Its Own Health Perils: SurveyPets Are Helping Many Americans Get Through LockdownAHA News: The Best Foods for Brain HealthAre You Happy? Your Answer May Depend on Where You LiveBooze Robbing Many Americans of Their SleepJunk Food, Booze Often Star in America's Hit MoviesCoping With Lockdown Loneliness During the HolidaysMany Young Americans Lonely, Depressed During Pandemic: SurveyStay Home This Holiday, CDC and Medical Groups UrgeElection Outcome Hasn't Lowered Americans' Stress Levels: PollWith Cold Weather Forcing Patrons Inside, How Safe Are Restaurants?Are You Feeling 'Pandemic Fatigue'?What the Pandemic Did to WorkoutsBirth Control Pill Won't Raise Depression RiskAHA News: Despite the Pandemic, Keep Social Connections Strong This Holiday SeasonTips to Cope With Lockdown as Cold Weather ArrivesGreen Spaces Do a Heart GoodLiving Healthy Good for Your Heart, Even if You're on MedsWho Are The Loneliest Americans? The Answer May Surprise YouMultivitamins' 'Benefits' Are All in Your Head: StudyDid Your Candidate Lose the Election? Study Finds Depression May Follow Blog EntriesYoga For Mental HealthHow Technology is Changing How We RelateThe Realm of Giving and GenerosityMindfulness for Busy PeopleEffective Listening in Small GroupsBelieve It’s Possible3 Ways to Know If You’re Saying Yes Too MuchWords of WisdomWarm Up This Winter By Embracing MistakesHelping Yourself Speak Your TruthWhat is Toxic Shame?What's YOUR Biggest Challenge for the New Year?Navigating Life's ChallengesImproving the Quality of Life as We AgeThe Third Noble Truth – The Noble Truth of the End of SufferingThe Second Noble Truth – The Noble Truth of the Cause of SufferingWhy Are We So Busy?The First Noble Truth – The Noble Truth of SufferingDiscovering Your Best Personal-Professional Energy: Reconnecting with Your Spiritual Homeland - Part IIDiscovering Your Best Personal-Professional Energy: In the Context of Health, Aging & Time - Part IGive Yourself a Break!Get a Better Night's SleepChanging the Machinery of UpsetWhy We Lie to OurselvesToo Much PretendingExcuses, ExcusesA Mistake Is but an Error: An Ironic-Poetic Odyssey for Human Authenticity and Audacity 9 Clever Ways to Gain ConfidenceUnderstanding Human BehaviorEmotional Needs - More Subtle and Sensible Than You Think Thought Versus RealityLife Goals and the Perception of Time: Do It Now!The Myth of Emotional SecurityHow Emotionally Intelligent Are You?Being at Peace with the Pain of OthersCelebrating Transitions in This Season of ChangeThinking and BeliefsWhat Will You Do With the Rest of Your Life? The Key to Overcoming ProcrastinationEight Ways to Take Care of Yourself During a Health CrisisIt's Not Only Okay to Reach Out During a Health Crisis - It's RecommendedThe Machinery of UpsetHow to Be Mentally StrongAntidote to Busy: 5 Simple Ways to Find Time for YouIs the Intention a Goal or Already Realized?Being Proactive About Problem-Solving Natural SPEED: Stress Resiliency Shrink Rap™: Safe Stress Survival StrategiesBe Amazed10 Things You Should Never Give Up For a RelationshipEmotion in the BrainBe Mind Full of GoodSteps to Self RelianceExpressing Your IntentionsKindness to You is Kindness to Me; Kindness to Me is Kindness to YouUsing Your "Free" Time to Enrich Your LifeIntegration of Mind and BrainThe Meaning of LifeCan You Truly Be Yourself At Work? Grow a Key Inner StrengthFive Tips to Make You More SuccessfulAre You a People-Pleaser?Evolutionary Neurobiology of ShameIs Laughter Really the Best Medicine?Whose Decision is It Anyway?What is the Mind?Getting the Respect You DeserveVolunteering in Later Life: Rewarding or Stressful?What Is Mindful Presence?How to Say No to People You Care AboutAre Your Needs Getting Met?Key Points of Letting GoDiscovering Love in the Face of Imminent DeathFeel WholeEmpathy: Your Most Potent Skill For Building Closer RelationshipsWould You Let a Crowd Diagnose You?Intention of HarmlessnessWeak and StrongThe Art of Letting GoGames and Manipulation: The Games People PlayU.S. Army's Wounded Warrior Program Aims for Multifaceted WellnessRight IntentionWhat Do Running And Knitting Have in Common? Both Can Make Us Feel BetterDeveloping a “Buddha Brain” Through GratitudeTickets To Paradise: A Good-Hearted TaleDo FreelyOrthorexia Nervosa on the Rise in the Quest to Eat HealthyWholesome Intentions – The Neurology of IntentionDeveloping An Inner Protector"Hope Dealers" Inspire Youth to Achieve True WellbeingLearned OptimismKey Points of AwarenessIt's Far Too Simple: An Adapted Zen ParablePerfectionism's Trap: Matthew McConaughey's Impossible ChaseThe Secrets of PersuasionRelax Needless Fear Around OthersEveryman's Dance Troupe Teaches Lessons about How to Live WellIncessant Drip, Drip, Drip — A Universal StoryYour Opinion is the One That Counts!How the Three Pillars of Exercise Benefit Mental HealthCore Beliefs and HappinessDo Life Challenges Make Us More Creative?A Meditation on GratitudeStop "Shoulding" All Over Yourself and Others-Everything in Life is a ChoiceA Caring, Joyful HeartThe Secrets of People That "Get It"How Socrates' Students Chose Themselves Helping Adult Children Affects Well-Being of Older ParentsAnticipation Versus Doing10 Secrets of Successful PeopleBinge TV Watching on the RiseMind Changing Brain Changing MindBeing Sedentary Changes the Brain (And Not for the Better)Are Workplace Wellness Programs Worth It?The Fun House of Mirrors — Seeing Light in EveryoneWhy Do We Fail to See Beauty? Thoughts on the Joshua Bell Experiment The Power of Intention Conquering Inertia Water Your Fruit TreeAnxiety Free New Year’s ResolutionsOne Trick to Break Bad HabitsLearning from the Fatal FlawFreeing the Sculpture From the StoneWhat Does the Latest Dream Research Tell Us? Not MuchEssential Fatty Acids and Mental HealthInstant Gratification Cowardice or Choice: From Vice to VoiceRaising a Grateful Family A Beautiful Mind — Saying Goodbye to What Cannot Be TrueFive Ways to Escape the Cycle of RuminationCreating Lasting Happiness in the New YearWhen Self-Focus Becomes a HazardEmpathy Versus Sympathy: Brene BrownMy Cup Overflows: A Zen Tale Adapted Three Favorite Ego Games Enjoy SobrietyHow Will You Use Your Gifts?Seeing Through the Ego's Fantasy-Reality Gap Accept DifficultyWorrying Too Much?The Beauty of Saying "No"Can Neurofeedback Help Musical Performance?Handling Blocks to Any Inner Practice—Meditation, Yoga, Gratitude, MindfulnessThe Ego's Way of Handling the NowAre You Mentally Strong?5 Ways to Train a Calmer Mind in 5 MinutesIV Drip Bars: Is This the New Path to Wellness?The Psychological Importance of Gratitude and GratefulnessLate Sociologist Warned About Multitasking's Effect on WellnessAffirming Your True, Authentic SelfThe Importance of Gratitude and Gladness for a Happy LifeCelebrate the Ordinary!Train the Healer WithinTurning a Negative Nelly Into a Positive PollyThe Benefits of Suffering and the Costs of Well Being: Secondary Gains and LossesOptimism Bias, Ignoring Warning SignsThe Evolution of Our SpeciesReframing: Finding Solutions Through a New LensHow to be More HopefulLet It GoA Walking, Talking, Breathing Miracle—Y-O-U! A One-In-Several-Billion ShotLet Things ChangeQuestions To Live ByFive Ways to See a Problem in a New LightAccept Them as They AreThree Components of a Commitment: A Universal ToolThe Long Term Consequences of Being BulliedBe Smarter than Your SmartphoneAccept ItHistory Shows that Exercise Boosts MoodMake a Difference Grow Inner StrengthsMeaning Depends Upon Context, Egos Make Up All the Meanings & the Context of All That's Real is Being Aware of Awareness ItselfPossible Direct Control - Staying on the Playing FieldMust You Win an Argument and Lose a Friend?Enjoy Four Kinds of PeaceLive Longer By Believing You WillWhat Do You "Have To" Do in Life?Posture and How it Changes Your FeelingsThe Five Businesses and an Inner Meter on Manipulation What You Look for Is What You Get: Learn 5 Ways To Change Your LookingOffending Rules, Bending Rules and Upending Rulers While Defending the Rule of LifeFree Yourself from Self SabotageIntroversion Gaining the Respect It DeservesEmbrace Your Introverted SelfTo Escape the Box, Embrace ParadoxA Better Way to Get Healthy Habits to StickTaming Our Inner DialogueSeeing Three Domains - Illusory, Empirical World, and AbsoluteThe Pros and the Cons of Cosmetic Surgery from a Psychologist's ViewpointHow to Cultivate GratitudeMotivation: What to do When You Don't Feel ItWhen Nostalgia is a Good ThingBeing Presence Itself - Enliven the Quality of Your LifeRelationships and the Meaning of CourageThe Power of Witnessing: How Would a Fish Know It is in Water?The Visionary Emperor EncounterSeeing Through the Unreal, Reveals Purely What is RealGet Out of the War10 Ways to Stick to an Exercise ProgramDealing with LiarsWant to Change Careers? 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What is Natural Happiness?Drop the LoadSleeping, Eating & Gaming, Oh My: The Blood Sugar-Blood Pressure-Out for Blood TriangleHow to Create Great Personal GoalsChoice - Level III: The "Will" without a Willful Doer ChoosesYou Can Always Begin AgainWhat Makes People Happy?Essential Steps to Self-Forgiveness and Overcoming GuiltChoice - Level II: Developing a Workable Structure For ChoiceHow Exercise can Change the World: Discovering your Hidden SelfThe Mozart Effect: Fact or Fiction?Choice - Level I: Seeing Through Obstacles to Living by ChoiceWhat Defines a Successful Life?Nurture HappinessBe GenerousFeelings Are Authentic and Valid — Perceptions and Beliefs Are SuspectPractice Being Here24/7 SPEED/Resiliency Shrink Rap™:Safe Stress Survival StrategiesThe Importance of Feeling SafeAre Good Surprises Ever Harmful?Accept Dependence Your Diet Affects Brain Function, New Study ShowsFind Greatness in Yourself Can Stress Make You Fat?How Negative Energy Effects Adults, Teenagers and Children: What We Can Do To Change itCritical Thinking is Not Critical, Just Looking for Truth & Reality: The Heart of Asking Questions That Reveal "What Is"On Becoming More Perceptually Objective, Empathic and Accurate: Or Getting Your Head Out of the Clouds of Negative Assumptions and Premature JudgmentsChange How You Think and Change Your LifeBeing an Outstanding Steward of Life Itself — What We Can Learn From Animals The Art of HappinessA Virtual Mindfulness World in the MakingHealthy Feeling ProcessingAre Emotions a Choice?Personal Identity: Meanings over Memories Give Them What They WantHow Social Norms Affect Our DecisionsThe Power of Personal BoundariesBuild Self-TrustHave Your Ethics Slipped? Recognize Suffering in OthersThe Sixteen Laws of Emotions: Recognizing Moods and Emotions to Return to Healthy Feeling ProcessingWhy Time Management is So YesterdayTo Stabilize Weight and Improve your Self-Esteem, Research Shows the HAES Approach Is a Winner! “Let’s Just Wait and Watch It” — Let’s NOT! The Mentality of “If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It” Can Kill You3 Days to Prime a HabitTransform Ill WillHospitals Take Notice of Bedside Manner - FinallySocial Isolation May Affect Mortality More Than Simply Feeling Lonely Ego Can Be a Superb Servant and a Tyrannical Master: Recognize Four Functions of EgoCultivate Good WillHow Giving to Others Can Improve Your MoodCome to CenterKids, Cupcakes, and Guns: How Our Cognitive Distortions Suffocate Our ChildrenProtecting Your Brain: New Research Points the WaySister Jean is a Picture of Wellness at 93 Years “Good Enough” Isn’t Even CloseMake Good BargainsThe Lure of FacebookMediterranean Diet May Benefit Your Noggin as Well as Your HeartHow Does Exercise Improve Mental Health? It's ComplicatedWill's Five Dynamic Laws of the UniverseThe Final Five "N & N" Tools and Techniques for Saying "No" (and Meaning It) - Part IIIDo You Believe in Miracles?Why Self-Compassion Trumps Self-EsteemBe Kind to Yourself: You Just Might Age BetterTaking It Easy Can Actually Boost Your ProductivitySocial Traps and Beyond: The Situation is Hopeless But Not Serious"N & N" - No & Negotiate - Tools and Techniques for Saying "No": Establishing Priorities, Setting Limits, and Solving Problems - Part IIThe Greater the Effort, the Sweeter the Reward (and the Harder the Loss)Speak TrulyRewiring a More Balanced Brain Have You Lost Your Sense of Wonder?Integrative Health Care: The Prince of Wales is Right on the MoneyThe Greatest Barrier and Passageway to Effective Communication at Work: “You”!Does Emotion Help or Hurt Your Performance?Why Is It Hard to "Just Say 'No'"?: Ten Barriers to Asserting Your Individuality, Intentionality, and Integrity - Part IMindfulness Research Makes Us Take a Deep BreathBenefits of Meditation and How to Get StartedHow Does Your Income Determine Your Well-Being?Own Being Responsible? — Absolutely, Make Others Responsible? — You Must Be Kidding!Facebook and Emotional Well-Being: Three Ways to Keep Things PositiveLived by LoveWant A Mental Health Boost? Connect Kids to MindfulnessDo We Need Anxiety? Thoughts for Entering the New YearReaching Out: Strategies for Addressing LonelinessDump the Resolution and Adopt an Acronym What I Learned about Engagement, Motivation, and Leadership from a 13-Month Old - Part ITelehealth: A Modern Path to WellnessWant Relief? Spread It OutDon't QuarrelIs Lack of Sleep Hurting Your Health?Attention Restoration Theory: Was Thoreau onto Something?Why Can't I Stick to My New Year's Resolutions?In These Heart Breaking Times, Remember: We Are The Other.Message for 2013: The Beauty of CompassionWellness Resolutions for the New Year5 Tips on How to Keep New Years' ResolutionsTrust in LoveDo You Seek Happiness?Twenty Ways to Promote Peace in Our WorldTrust the Teacher WithinMake a DifferenceHoliday Blues? 9 Tips to Cope with Holiday Depression Bruce Springsteen in Concert: What Life Lessons Does He Teach Us?Open Your Eyes and Alleviate the Winter BluesOne Breath at a TimeA Caring Request to Keep Your Feet (and ALL of your toes) on the GroundThe Intricate Ties between Depression and InsecurityLean into Good on First WakingDo You Eat at Café Gratitude or Bitter Bistro? Empathy: It's About Happiness, TooBelieve It Or Not: Skeptics Brains Are DifferentSee Deep WantsLife Cannot Be Reduced To NumbersWant to Feel More Peace? Look at Your ExpectationsThe Anatomy of a Poker FaceThanksgiving and Gratitude in Hard TimesEmbarrassment: Powerful and PuzzlingDon't Rain on the ParadeHow to Make an Anti-Bullying Program a Bad Thing (Do Not Try This at Home)Community Development: An Untapped Resource in Mental Health TreatmentWant to Get Tougher in Life? Be Vulnerable.Regret: How You Can Reshape the Past See Good IntentionsShame: The Core of Addiction and CodependencyShould Doctors Prescribe Lifestyle Changes?We Don't Need to Wait for ThanksgivingNow and Then, Stress Is a Good ThingDon't Let Waiting Become RegretSee ProgressThree Errors in Judgment We are All Too Inclined to MakeTo Caffeinate or Not to Caffeinate? Making Personal Health Decisions Must Remain PersonalPurpose, Purpose, PurposeSpeak WiselyBe Sure to Taste Your WordsFeeling Bad about Being SadCultivating Patience in Everyday LifeUnexpected Causes of TirednessSee Life from an Infant's EyesNew and Old Friendships Alike Help Us Age Successfully6 Ways Mindfulness Can Improve Your Daily Life Drop the "Shoulds"If You're Happy and You Know It…Wag Your Tail?How to be Wise About FearLet It R.A.I.N.Why I Love Rock 'n' Roll: Healing Music for the SoulThe Art of RoutineWays We Think That Can Make or Break Us - Part 2Insisting on Fairness & Justice is a Recipe For Conflict, Misery & SufferingAre You Blind? He Said...Put the "I" in IndependenceWays We Think That Can Make or Break Us - Part 1Find Your Own WayThe Brain in Your GutHow Our Brains Adapt to Trust and BetrayalTech Support to Help Us Count Our BlessingsThe Risk and Reward of Emotional Agility: How to Know When to Let GoChoose Beginner’s MindAre Compassion and Pride Mutually Exclusive?Garbage Detection and Brilliance SpottingCan You Predict Your Emotional Future?What You Need to Know About Generation XhaustedWake Up to Good NewsWhat We Can Learn from Our KidsBehold the SuperAgers!Change the ChannelMental Health First Aid: A New Concept Helping CommunitiesFind ConnectionBottom-Up or Top-Down? How We Generate EmotionsFind StillnessThe Thoughts that Hold Us Back - And What to Do About Them"Off With Their Heads!"—Danger! Danger! Guillotiners Ahead! - Identifying and Protecting Yourself From Expediency-Driven Guillotiners4 Steps to ForgivenessForgiveEnjoy the Little ThingsAn Interview with Margaret Moore, B.S., M.B.A., on Organize Your Mind, Organize Your LifeCultivating Everyday Spiritual ExperiencesMinimize Painful ExperiencesConscientiousness and a Happier, Longer LifeTraining the Self-Care HabitFriends And MarriageRelax, You've ArrivedHow to Be Emotionally Aware - No Cat Ears RequiredHappiness, Sandwiches and George CarlinPeeling the Onion—Uncovering Our Wounds in TherapyHugging is Good MedicineHold Wants LightlySelf-Advocacy vs. Hypochondria: Where Do We Draw the Line?Trust Yourself and Take Some Baby StepsA Unified Theory of Happiness: Interview with Andrea Polard Psy.D.Why Support is Important for Dealing with Food, Weight + Body Image Issues Let It GoRule-Bound Adjustment is Deadening - Rule-Flexible Adaptiveness is EnliveningRest Your Weary HeadInclining Your Mind to Happiness: Just 5 ThingsThe Importance of Family Pets, Grieving the Loss of my Best Friend, Bonnie Exercise: Building the "Can Do" MuscleOur Obsession with "More"When Does Vicarious Trauma (VT) Become a Sign of Codependency? - Part IIGenerativity as a Path to WellnessWhy You Just Can't Stop Texting and DrivingGift YourselfWhen Does Vicarious Trauma (VT) Become a Sign of Codependency? - Part ICultivating Resilience before Mental Health Problems BeginA Mindful and Compassionate Approach to Anger in RelationshipsThe Essence of Healing, Governing, Service, Judgment and ContributionCreate Peace in YourselfThe Protective Effect of Having a Purpose in LifeEnjoy NowAre Mental Health Apps the New Generation of Self-Help Books?The Downside of ExpectationsIs Hating Someone Because They are Different a Mental Illness?Find What's SacredThich Nhat Hanh Shares Some Good NewsComplacency, Apathy and Resignation Be Banished and TransformedSuccessfully Negotiating the Crisis-Trauma, Grief-Transition Passage: Six Emo-Existential Questions The Benefits of Self-Questioning Part OneClean Air = Clear Thinking (Or How Pollution Undermines Cognitive Health)Having Trouble Exercising? Cultivate a Mindful HabitAvoid the RushMore Evidence That Staying Active is Good for the BrainSpring Cleaning for Your Social NetworkLessons Learned from Almost Dying: A Personal JourneySteps Back are Not Setbacks: Finding Solid Ground Can Be EssentialBridging the International Corporate Geo-Cultural Divide or Presenter Beware and Buyer Be AwareDefining Your Own Spiritual PathBeing Kind to Your Body is Healing to the MindTo Trust or Mistrust - Part IFind Your North StarChange Your Body, Change Your Mind Being Positional, Non-Positional and Taking a StandMen are from Earth and so are WomenMultidimensional Wellness: Powerful Concept and Practical ToolCling Less, Love MoreFollow Your Dreams Start Feeling Joy Now!What Can I Do? The Seven Options Available For You In Any SituationBe Grateful for the Good and Graceful During the BadIn Challenging Times, No More “Inner Child”: Boldly Bring Your Inner ChutzpahPay AttentionThree Components of a Commitment: A Universal ToolWhen Calmness is a Trigger for Fear and How to Change itRetraining Your Brain Toward Greater FreedomThe Grammar of Committed Action: Speaking That Brings Forth BeingThe Strength and Stamina of Your Willpower Make a Valentine's ResolutionAn Interview with Gerti Schoen on The Gentle SelfThe Secret Ingredient to Making Change StickBe BenevolentWhen is Compassion Idiotic?Inspiring Power and Partnership: An Interactive and Interdependent PerspectiveCatch A "Wild Pitch?" You Must Be Kidding!Breaking Bad Habits Using The Now EffectDon't Beat Yourself UpAre Reasons Complete Nonsense? A Three-Minute Course Admit Fault and Move OnPositivity in Relationships is ContagiousA Simple Life Lesson for Us All: The Late Shirley LevineAn Interview with Brenda Knight on The Gratitude Power WorkbookPut Yourself on Your Priority ListCan You Live Without the Internet?It's Shocking How Little People Settle For, How Much They Put Up With and How Much Better They Deserve5 Tips on How to Keep New Years' ResolutionsElisha Goldstein’s Top 10 2011 Mental Help PostsBe the BodyA Tip for Happiness: Turn Routine into WonderHoliday Blues and Depression Single and Alone for the Holidays? 6 Strategies for Surviving and Even Thriving the Holidays AloneWithdraw Attention, Interest and Feeding Unhappy Thoughts,and Natural Happiness Arises and BlossomsBack to BasicsKnowledge is an Obstacle to KnowledgeEnjoy Every Last SandwichThe Impact of Exercise on Your Mental HealthSee the Good in OthersThis Thanksgiving Try the Mindful Gratitude PracticeWant a Healthier Life? The Mindful DietStart Now: 3 Steps to Success in the New YearThis Holiday Give Yourself and Your Partner the Gift of your PresenceBe FriendlyPattern Recognition: A Key to Success in Doing Anything WellWho is the One with Mental Illness?Know You're a Good PersonJohn's Story: A Critical Reminder to Us AllStep into the Clouds: Relieving StressThe Mindful Freudian SlipThe Renew Your Life ChallengeDo You Ever Recover from Emotional Pain? The Answer is YesThe Architecture of All Change ProcessesSee Beings, Not BodiesDrop Tart ToneThe Top Seven Sources of Stress and Their RemediesLower the PressureReceive GenerosityBasics of Living: Breathing, Standing, Walking and Sitting: Safeguards of Well Being and Listening WithinAn Acronym that Guides us to Mental HealthBalancing Joining and Separation Keeping It Real — Do You Get It?You Can Feel Safer: Is There Really a Tiger in Those Bushes?Your Primary Spiritual Relationship - Love for YourselfAn Interview with Lama Tsering Everest21 Ways To Turn Ill Will to Good WillGROKKED: Being Seen, Heard and Known For Who You AreA Phrase to Save Your DayHow Did Humans Become Empathetic?Am I Normal?Dreams: More Than Fantasies and WishesThe Wolf of Hate7 Mindfulness and Psychotherapy Posts You Might Find InterestingSelf-Responsibility/Self-Accountability Qualifies You as an AdultTaking in The GoodAcknowledgment Transcends Pride and HumilityAltruism: The Power of Social MediaHealthy FriendshipCan you Improve Life Satisfaction by Changing Your Focus?Video Blog: Confidence3 Steps to Say Goodbye to Old Beliefs that Keep You StuckThe Brain in a Bucket Developing An Inner Meter on Manipulation — A Critical Life SkillFacebook: A Cold Hard LookLife: Bringing Back the Missing Puzzle PiecesWhy Do Smart and Successful People Do Dumb and Self-Sabotaging Things?What's Your 500 Year Plan for Humanity's Mental Health?My Beef with the "Secret"Beliefs, Roles and Stories Can Be Useful At Times or Create Suffering: Recognition, Disillusionment, Disidentification & Surrender is Freedom Itself Want to Make Change? Listen Beliefs Are Not to Be Believed6 Keys of Assertive CommunicationStraight Feeling Talk: "I Anger Myself", "I Delight Myself"—It's All An Inside Job What is the Gift You're Meant to Give?A Question to Balance Your BrainBecoming Happier: A Will and a WayAre Meditators Better Decision Makers?Is Lady Gaga Destroying America or Is She Holding up a Mirror for us to Reflect?Safety to Express Feelings: The IPA Spring RetreatMonitor Your Thoughts and Improve Your MoodThe Power of "I Can"Getting Unstuck: Changing How We See Difficulty3 Steps to Jumpstart Happiness TodayTen Tips to Improve HappinessAwash in Harm, Do No More Harm: The First Law of All Health, Healing, Wellness and Well BeingCan We Really Trust Our Intuition?Treating Depression with Medication: A Philosophical ApproachWhat an Apparent Poor Sense of Direction Revealed about the MindWithdraw Attention, Interest and Feeding Unhappy Thoughts, and Natural Happiness Arises and BlossomsWhat the Future Holds (From the Perspective of Two 30-Year-Olds)Three Components of a Commitment: What Qualifies as a Commitment and a Committed PersonTake My Advice, I'm Not Using ItTwisted Upside-Down CommunicationSurvival Tips for Singles During the Valentine’s SeasonAnother View of ForgivenessLessons From the Other Side of 80We All Need to Take This More SeriouslyObstacles and Obscurations The Benefits of RoutineNeedless: You Can Have Almost Anything You Want(So Long As You Don't Need It!)Mindfulness in Daily LifeThe Junction of Political Awareness and Mental HealthWhy We Fear Success and What to DoExcellent Self-Programming with the UnconsciousThe Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind: Part Four: Precious Human BirthThe New Year: Recognize, Release, RefocusRecharging Yourself Through Relationships and Giving to OthersA Fresh New Year Upon Which to Embrace ChangeRecognizing and Working Well with the UnconsciousThe Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind: Part Three: KarmaThe Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind: Part Two: SufferingThe Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind: Part One - Impermanence5 Steps to Connecting to the Good in LifeStrategies to Communicate and Maintain RelationshipsMindfulness, Intuition and the BrainA Vacation is Good For the Soul...and for the RelationshipThe Art of Pacing - Live Long and ProsperDepressed? Consider this Strategy TodayPrime Your Mind for GoodDid You Know? Some Surprising Data about Stress Can Increased Light Make You Fat? Your Mind: A Blessing and a CurseAn Expert Interview with Darrin Zeer on Managing Work Stress Lessons Learned: Like Bridges Burned?Can How you Eat Change What you Eat and What you Weigh?9 Ways Mindfulness Can Change Your LifeHow Lucky Are You?Musical Inspiration to Open to the Possibilities of Life 10 Ways To Finish The Race With The Bear On Your Back!"So What's the Point?" Help with Finding the Answers... New Research: Mindfulness and Adolescent Boys Change Your Mind, Your Brain and Your Life! A Bit of Humor that Can Change Your Day3 Steps to Turn Negative Self Talk into Emotional HealingHow a Flexible Body Makes a Flexible MindThe "Fallen" Realities of Human Nature5 Ways to Renew Your Life TodayThe Great Illusion of Good and Bad Feelings1-Minute Generosity: Helping Thousands in NeedThe Most Important Way to Start Your DayWhat is Docosahexaenoic acid and Why You Need to KnowThx: A 1 Minute Exercise Opening to the Space in Your Life: A Needed ReflectionSaturday: The 12 Hour Unplug Challenge New Research: 5 Minutes Outside Can Boost Your Self-Esteem and MoodPsychedelics Good for Your Mental Health?3 Questions to Consider on this Earth DayWhat You Need to Know about the Dangers of Meditating for Relaxation Four Steps to Bring On HappinessWho Killed Happiness and How to Get it Back! Resiliency: Rewiring the Brain from Self Harm to KindnessA Practice to Get Clear on Living the Life You WantFighting Stigma: Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Wellness for Law Enforcement PersonnelThe Dangers of Compassion Texting While Driving: Breaking the HabitFeeling Depressed? 3 Steps to HappinessHope: Our Greatest Antidepressant5 Factors of Resilience to Engage Today! Be Happy Right Now! What About the Good News? The Psychology of Twitter, Mindfulness and Your Mental Health Meaning in Life: What Golf Balls Can Teach UsPeace in Oneself, Peace in the WorldWake Up to What Makes You Happy!Want Mental Health? Lessons from a KingEco-Altruism and Your Mental HealthCan Blogs Really Help? A Fundamental Attitude to Rediscover for Your Mental HealthOne Strategy to be More Successful Day to Day1 Strategy for Everyday Mental HelpTrain Your Mind to Tame Your StressThis is it! Letting Go of Daily StruggleIs Web 2.0 a Source of Happiness or Addiction? 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“Good Enough” Isn’t Even CloseWill Joel Friedman, Ph.D. Updated: Mar 9th 2013If A “Good Enough” Mentality Is Purely A Defensive Ego-Mind Shenanigan, Then What Is the “Good”?
Have a real commitment to excellence. 'Pretty good' and 'not bad' are not good enough. —Jim Mora, Jr.
If “good enough” isn’t even close, then what is the “good.” I suggest the phrase “good enough” is typically used as a dishonest cover up or cop-out for mediocrity, substandard quality, service, and responsiveness. This popular expression is reminiscent of George Orwell’s terms “doublethink” and “newspeak” from his iconic novel 1984, that may have been combined into “doublespeak”, that is, language that deliberately distorts, disguises or reverses the meaning of words. One sense of doublespeak has the purpose of making the truth less unpleasant, while another is intentional ambiguity and reversal of meaning to disguise the nature of what is true, producing a communication bypass.
I wonder if people regularly use the phrase “good enough” as a means of being dishonest in a sneaky backhanded way, an excuse for shoddy work, and to indulge in slovenly thinking. Doesn’t this phrase undermine taking self-responsibility for one’s work quality, operate as a defensive gambit to head off necessary review, shaping and correction, and abdicate a real commitment to excellence? Isn’t saying “good enough” often a euphonium for hidden expediency, that is, simply get something done and we’d rather not know how you did it, the quality of what you did, or the price of doing it? Isn’t the phrase “good enough” often only dumbing down expediency and a manipulative ploy that undermines the ability to be honest, receive key feedback, and take positive action? Another ego-mind shenanigan?
I wonder if the phrase “good enough” can be an example of “dumbing down”, a popular modern phrase that points to the deliberate diminishment or belittling of the intellectual level regarding the content of our cultural structures, including education, news, film, literature and critical thinking. The idea originated as slang in approximately 1933 and was used by motion picture screenplay writers to mean “revise so as to appeal to those of little education or intelligence”. (Algeo, 1988) “Good enough”, similar to “close enough”, “pretty good” and “not bad”, blurs or confuses the reality that the product, service, or performance is not excellent, and often less than even functional. Using simple observation and basic due diligence, you can check the product, service, or performance and find something far short of outstanding, and often short of a rudimentary level of quality, workmanship and workability. So calling something “good enough” at best can manipulatively disguise barely passable work as legitimate and acceptable, and at worst can lie and diminish truth by pitching something that simply distorts reality.If you would like to hear more, please scroll down to the next HEAR button.
Another take on a good enough mentality is that it has become so familiar, over-learned, and broadly accepted that it is enacted as a habit requiring no present awareness whatsoever. In this case, saying “good enough” comes robotically enough out of pure conditioning, without any pausing to consciously examine its meaning, purpose or appropriateness. While developing routines as habits that need not be critically evaluated each time they are used can be quite efficient and helpful, they can also become comfortable traps that disallow presence, accurate perception, critical thinking, and renewal.
In the context of a good enough mentality acting as habitual behavior, another view is offered by the term “functional autonomy.” This term originated with the astute psychologist G. W. Allport who used it to describe any behavior that no longer has connection to its original purposes and now functions all on its own. One form is ritualism understood as an attachment to the means while sacrificing the ends, a means-ends reversal. One clear illustration is athletes’ superstitious behavior before events.
The classic story “roast beef” literally puts some meat on these bones of functional autonomy. The story describes how a mother was teaching her daughter to cook roast beef. After cutting both ends of the roast beef off, her daughter asked why she did that. The mother said it was how her mother did it and had no idea. So the mother called her mother asking about this only to get the very same answer! In mother’s mother calling her mother who was well into her 90’s and still sharp as a tack, she was informed that the ends were cut off because the oven in those days simply wasn’t wide enough to fit the roast beef! The cutting off the ends of the roast beef continued to be handed down over generations operating in accord with functional autonomy, never realizing that newer wider ovens made cutting off the ends of a pot roast unnecessary. Similarly, a good enough mentality shown in words, attitude and behavior can come to function all on its own, quite disconnected from its original purposes, functions or needs. The sad, funny truth is the person enacting the pattern usually asks no questions and is clueless!
Still another angle to look at the good enough mentality is to consider the notion of settling for what will do, even with some improvement, at the expense of true excellence and the good. The popular phrase, “close enough for government work” seems to catch this spirit and exemplify it. It’s rather shocking, if completely understandable and utterly human, how often people become disappointed, frustrated, resigned and dispirited when their expectations are thwarted, when their wants are different from what actually shows up right here-and-now. It tends to be precisely in these situations when people tend to settle for less, not out of genuine acceptance or acknowledgment of what is, but far more often in some sort of begrudging bargaining and displeased settlement to get what they can, since they cannot get what they really want. This “settling” is making what you get somehow all you can do, the better becomes the enemy of the good, and the good enough that isn’t becomes the enemy of true excellence.If you would like to
One further angle on this phenomenon that seems relevant is psychologist Martin E. P. Seligman’s groundbreaking work using the conditioning of dogs to describe a phenomenon he named learned helplessness. His theory outlining a perceived absence of control over the contingencies or outcomes of a situation, setting up a giving up, even when the control to effect the painful situation is reinstated, can help the understanding of clinical depression and related psychological challenges. Thus, given a situation in which a living thing once was effective in avoiding an unpleasant, painful or harmful circumstance, and now has no control over the outcomes, the living thing is likely to give up, become resigned and behave in a helpless manner, even after again having the ability to control the situation. Seligman coined the term “learned helplessness” to describe behavior in such no-control circumstances.
The possibly relevance of learned helplessness to a good enough mentality is straightforward: when you have once been successful in exerting control over unpleasant, painful outcomes and then have experiences of no control of these consequences, it would be understandable to not aim very high or particularly care about the quality or standard of care. You may ask, “Why bother?” and excuse what you do as good enough in a context of learned helplessness, even after you can once again exercise control over the results. Illustrations abound in several professions, acknowledged not as clichés, but purely as occupational dangers that go along with the nature of that work and impact some of the ranks therein. Not to single out any professions, since this pattern appears to be fairly widespread, it is fairly common to have experienced jaded, unresponsive nurses, burned out medical doctors and paramedics, office workers, phone representatives and civil servants that simply are going through the motions, and a great many workers in corporate bureaucracies who have given up particularly caring about their job quality and instead cover themselves and their jobs through being politically savvy, rule-bound, not aiming very high, seniority and blending in. Consider Boron’s three laws of bureaucracy: 1) when confused, mumble, 2) when in trouble, delegate, and 3) when in control, ponder. All good enough, huh?
A good enough mentality, including the possible understandings afforded by doublespeak, expediency, dumbing down, an over-learned habit, functional autonomy, settling, and learned helplessness, is unfortunately widespread in our society and easily identified. Look at the inefficiencies and waste widely documented throughout the bastions of the defense and arms industries, civil service, city, county, state and national governments in addition to a broad swath of businesses that seem to hobble along aiming and hitting the lowest common denominator for quality, service and responsivity. Look at the musical recording industry and the rich information once coded on long-play (LP) records and reel-to-reel’s having been dumbed down into the digital coding on compact discs (CD’s) and MP3’s. Look at the building industry’s long-standing trend of using cheaper materials, poorer building techniques, and cutting corners in new construction to hit a price point that will sell quickly. Look at the quality of our educational system from elementary levels to graduate school and see an ongoing downward slide of quality, teaching to the test, grade inflation, and less than excellent teachers. See our medical health care system as largely receiving mediocre quality reviews while being the costliest.
The phrase “good enough” can be often seen as a manipulative ploy of dumbing down expediency that excuses mediocrity, abdicates honesty, distorts reality, and undercuts taking positive action. Who would do such a thing? Could this phenomenon point to the ego-mind operating by the principles of self-deceit? Could this pattern simply be another of ego-mind’s myriad shenanigans to seemingly be our master? Within the function, understanding and perspective of the ego-mind operating as an imaginary separate false sense of self, a misidentification and optical illusion, isn’t this the origin of all defenses, manipulations and misrepresentations? Are you drawn to continue giving ego-mind in this function room to operate to your ruin? Is there any benefit or gain? Do you want to work this hard?If you would like to hear more, please scroll down to the next HEAR button.
Saying this is not to villianize or demonize this thinking psychological self, given it serves essential executive functions. The opportunity ego-mind in this one function affords is multiple: 1) to heal the wounded ego given traumatic bruises it has endured and remain unresolved, 2) to deconstruct, resolve and dissolve the survival decisions, beliefs, identifications, roles and stories it decided upon that block a functional, happy life, 3) then, progressively build a healthy ego that works and dreams well in the world, 4) help it be our dutiful servant, not our master to blithely follow, and 5) ultimately mature, shed, and outgrow it, leaving only its healthy functionality operating as a tool, skill sets and intelligences. This journey of growth and development, maturity and evolution, reveals the always already present True Self / Original Nature—who we truly are—to experience, enjoy and contribute. We are this “good.”
If “good enough” isn’t even close, then what are healthier alternatives? A fine approach is to simply recognize this mentality when it is present, hold the person enacting it with compassion or feeling with their suffering, and bring your effortless aware attention to all the possibilities we’ve explored to understand what functions / purposes it serves this particular ego-mind. This stage requires the setting aside of all reactivity and negative judgments while calmly “standing under”—an ancient meaning of the word understanding—to begin to fully see another’s background, context, values, experience, conditioning and good enough behavior patterns. Now choose to meet the unmet need and help another help himself to heal their wounded ego-mind, when genuinely interested and signed up in committed action to grow. Now, here, in this space, ‘good enough’ starts shifting to the ‘good’ indeed.
How can the “good enough” mentality best be transformed and transcended into the good? Of course, the one to start with in addressing any ego-mind created unworkable defensive pattern is always oneself, specifically seeing or witnessing in presence one’s particular conditioned fictive ego-mind who dreamed up and fabricated the good enough mentality in the first place. In revealing concepts as purely concepts and not real, the whole world pivots. Free the ego, and who you are is revealed to be free. The jig is up, the game is over, and the ego-mind’s shenanigans are no longer under the radar. Once seen, who’s interested in listening or following it? Here’s the fast track: reveal ego-mind, and all that is unreal dissolves instantly. An inquiry: what is changeless and does not come and go? We are this Good and Joy!
References
1. Algeo, John; Algeo, Adele (1988). "Among the New Words". American Speech 63 (4): 235–236.
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