10-09-2024- I believe renewing old friendships is always a good idea. This is particularly true in an age when so many persons feel isolated and do not have enough human contact and non-human electronic communication is often the major means of communication they have. It also is true we live in an aging population time with constant geographical change that results in persons either losing friends due to death or not living near them and losing contact. I believe renewing old friendships is also helpful even if you do have a loving partner, family and friends. Too often persons become too insulated and judgmental in their life outlook by only being around persons who think like them and a broader perspective can be helpful. It also is true that in spite of the tremendous amounts of information available, persons often tend to filter so much available information in a way to only reinforce their views. This is not necessarily a negative thing in itself, but if we want to be as well rounded as we can be, it is always useful to have insights and ideas from other persons different from our own. My wife and I recently have been making contact with friends we knew many years ago, and even have had a chance to meet with many of them in Miami and Michigan. This past weekend I talked to someone I had not seen for decades at a party about fond memories I have of his mother who died over thirty-five years ago. He was very happy to hear my memories. The following are specific advantages of renewing old friendships and keeping the contact current and alive: 1. A big advantage of the electronic age is that it does allow us to talk and see each other, regardless of where in the world we live. 2. It is always helpful for one’s memory to be in contact with friends from the past and relive old memories. 3. If someone were a friend of yours somewhere in your voyage of life, then keeping that friendship alive enriches both of your lives. 4. You will be surprised at how happy most people will be to hear from you and you may hear compliments from them that you made contact and added some brightness to their lives. 5. You may gain some insights on how to look at life through the prism of someone living a very different life. This is true even if your current views on life are very different but both are honorable. 6. As people age or periodically move geographically, their circle of friends often decreases, 7. It is easier to continue long time friendships than go through the long term process of developing new ones…If we are maintaining contact with old friends and have them continue as current friends, the odds are far better we will not end up isolated or so narrow in our views that we run the risk of having trouble having friends or being friends with anyone.

September 30, 2024-

HOW TO GET YOUR MOTIVATION BACK

Motivation is that quality that drives us to satisfy needs that we have and to achieve goals we set to have our dreams come true. It can be intrinsic or extrinsic. A person usually has some combination of both. Intrinsic motivation is that something within us that leads us to want to achieve something,to reach a goal such as learning a trade, graduating from high school/college, finding a lifelong partner to meet our intrinsic needs to love and be loved,meeting a sales goal or simply finding things to make a person happy. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of us. It usually has some connection to desiring something. It could include financial like a bonus or higher pay, and/or more authority/responsibility,more education/training or receiving praise and/or encouragement from someone we desire it from. The list of possibilities is huge. The combination is what would be what is required to be motivated in life. When our motivation is lacking in either or both of these areas, it can lead to lack of satisfaction in life and health conditions such as headaches, anxiety or depression. It also is true that mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression or physical ailments can lead to a person not having the energy,ability or positive approach to life that is needed in order to be motivated to complete desired activities. The following are things someone can do to try to get their motivation back: 1.Taking an honest look at yourself and determining why you have lost your motivation. 2. Determine what you desire to achieve and what is possible. 3. Seek inspiration from others who once lacked motivation, but came back to be motivated and successful. 4. Determine if anxiety and depression are the cause of your lack of motivation and seek out the psychological and medical support you may need to overcome them. 5. Determine if physical ailments are impacting your motivation and ability to meet goals. 6. Determine if some combination of poor diet, too much caffeine or alcohol, lack of exercise and not enough sleep negatively impact your ability to be motivated. 7. Determine if you are burned out,stressed out or overwhelmed so you are not able to function. 8. Ask for help and insight from professionals and/or those you respect and look up to. 8. Reassess your goals realistically and determine what can be done to best help you get your motivation back. 9. Do self-care and determine that you deserve to be loved by yourself and others. 10. Set goals that are rewarding, specific and reasonable…After you’ve done this, start moving forward and taking control of your life. Lack of motivation hits most people at one time or another. It is important for perspective that you realize you are not alone losing motivation. No, millions of people have lost motivation but overcome it and have been able to get back on the right track. The important thing to remember is that you can do it and each day is the beginning of the rest of your life. Now is the time to be as motivated as you can to seek out realistic goals to make your dreams come true. .

September 24, 2024- Briefly defined, Helicopter Parenting is when a parent becomes overprotective and involved in every aspect of their child’s life. My point is not that being involved with your child and trying to make sure they can be as successful as possible both emotionally and physically is bad. No,to the contrary,that is what good parenting is all about. The problem is that Helicopter Parenting does not allow children to grow and develop their own personalities dealing with the ups and downs that life throws at each of us. Effective parents have guard rails to make sure their child does not stray into dangerous and inappropriate activities for their age. They function as loving advisors who help them through difficult situations but do not take over for them. Sadly,even when with the best of loving intentions,Helicopter Parents can negatively develop dependency,low self esteem,anxiety,depression and poor interpersonal communication skills in the children they love so dearly and do not want to be hurt emotionally or physically. Typical behaviors of Helicopter Parents would include the following: 1. Completing homework assignments and projects. 2. Calling the school and other parents over minor problems their children are having and putting all the blame on others. 3. Micromanaging all aspects of the lives of their children. 4. Excessive control. 5. Demand for total acquiescence/obedience. 6. Involvement in even minor activities like what flavor of ice cream to eat. 7. Total control of friendships. 8.Will not allow different thoughts and opinions from their own. 9. Will not allow a child to flourish as a free thinking person. 10. Excessive social media tracking. 11. Excessive anxiety and fear that something terrible will happen to their children even if as unlikely as a plane falling out of the sky and killing them. 12. Trying to not allow their children to make mistakes. 13. Little or no insight into the inappropriateness of their behaviors and the emotional harm they can cause their children.