• Stop Looking Outside Yourself for Validation

    May 17, 2025 How often do you base your self-esteem on your accomplishments, your social circle, or  your looks? How often is your self-esteem go up and down based on circumstances or moods? As I began researching the topic of self-esteem, I realized that, like many people, I conflated the definitions of self-esteem and self-worth.… Read more

  • Who Am I? What Makes “Me” me?

    May 10,2025 What is self-perception? Self-perception refers to the way an individual views themselves, encompassing their internal feelings and understanding of their characteristics. It involves a personal and subjective understanding of oneself, rather than external perceptions from others. The person has a picture of who they are. This perception influences attitudes, behavior and overall sense of… Read more

  • There is a Need to Be Kind and Compassionate to Yourself

    5/6/2025 Do you see yourself as kind and compassionate? Do you extend that to yourself? I must admit over the years, I thought of myself as not good enough. I internalized what I saw as a shortcoming. I developed a strong bias against myself. It was not just what I physically saw, I disliked or… Read more

  • How Your Blind Spots Can Deter Your Career

    May 3, 2025 Blind spots are personal traits or aspects we demonstrate, but are not aware of. If the traits appear as weaknesses, they can then limit the way we react, behave, or believe that could limit our effectiveness. These blind spots can negatively impact career advancement and overall professional success. Cynthia Orduna of Career… Read more

  • You Do not Know What You Do Not Know: Missing Our Flaws

    April 29, 2025 Over the last several weeks, I shared how several factors, such as unconscious biases, defense mechanisms, emotional repression, lack of self-awareness, and cognitive dissonance, can cause personal blind spots. Over the next few weeks, I will focus on the distinct types of blind spots. This week…relationships. Do you have a topic of… Read more

  • Being Nice is Different from Being Kind

    4/23/2025 Contrary to popular opinion, kindness is not synonymous with niceness. Those words often are interchanged, or their meanings are meshed. While both involve positive interactions with others, kindness is understood to be a deeper, more genuine expression of care and concern, while niceness is more about being polite and agreeable.  Kindness is defined by… Read more

  • What is Cognitive Dissonance?

    4/18/2025 What is Cognitive Dissonance? It is the mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes. As individuals, we tend to seek out consistency in our attitudes, perceptions, and values, yet we do something that conflicts with the values we hold, we may feel uneasy and uncomfortable. Here are some examples:… Read more

  • Are you aware of who you are?

    April 11, 2025 Sounds like a deep question. In the here and now, we may not be fully aware of what is happening around us or who you really  are.  We are less aware than we think. Dr. Tasha Eurich is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, and researcher. She conducted a multi-year study on self-awareness.… Read more

  • Do You Stuff Emotions Deep Inside Without Realizing it?

    April 4, 2025 Did you learn that some or all emotions were hurtful, wrong, or undesired? As humans, we can use emotional repression as a defense mechanism. People who are repressing emotions may use other techniques that do not match their feelings. They might be confused as they might feel angry, or anxious in a… Read more

  • Defense Mechanisms: Our Unconscious’ Way of Protecting Ourselves

    3/30/2025 How do we protect ourselves from overwhelm, stress, or anxiety? Our brains have developed psychological  strategies, known as “defense mechanisms,” that are unconsciously used to protect us from anxiety, arising from unacceptable thoughts or feelings that we might have.   In the late 19th century and early 20th century, psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud first developed the idea… Read more