Podcaster, author, and former ABC reporter and anchor, Dan Harris, has a tattoo, FTBOAB which stands for the Buddhist expression, “For the benefit of all beings”. As a regular listener of his 10% Happier podcast, I love that wide angle view of purpose. It connects me to a greater sense of what we can do when we up our game to be in it as … Continue reading The Cumulative Effect of Dan Harris
About 25 years ago, I met a man that seemed to be able to see into the depths of me. He had this delightful romanticism, soulfulness, and energy about him that was so intriguing. And there was a palpable connection between us that we both attested to. Over the years, we tried dating a few times but the timing was never right. We even happened … Continue reading Grateful for What I Don’t Have
Can you believe it has already been a year since I published my first post here on Wise & Shine? As we celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada today, I’m counting my blessings. One of the things I’m grateful for is the opportunity to start my week and yours by having my thoughts appear in your inbox on Monday mornings. In today’s post, I thought it would … Continue reading Highlights of My First Year on Wise & Shine
Almost 3 years ago to the day, I was scrolling through my WordPress feed, desperate to connect with a publication, attract readers, and advance my fledgling career as a writer. Continue reading Dear Readers: Thank You & Until Next Time…
I don’t like cars. That may be an unpopular opinion in car-centric America, but I don’t care. I don’t find them interesting at all. Continue reading Bye-Bye Blueboy
Entering 2024 and looking at our common ground made me want to turn the whole New Year Resolution idea upside down.
Instead of wanting to change or hope for something else(whatever that is), I wanted to build a tower of Gratitude.
Continue reading The Tower Of Gratitude
A few weeks ago I posed the question: How can gratitude go wrong? Today I’ll suggest some answers of my own. I’ll also bring in some observations by author and psychotherapist Pete Walker. Shaming (Wrongfully) Accusations of ingratitude, or assertions that one ought to be grateful (and is not), can be used to shame someone abusively or inappropriately. Statements such as “You should (just) be … Continue reading Gratitude Shaming: Using the Idea of Gratitude to Harm
Gratitude is very popular these days. Especially this week since it’s Thanksgiving. I’m not against gratitude and I even have some, but the smart-ass, non-compliant, rebel in me is crawling out. Continue reading A Hater’s Thanksgiving
Please don’t misunderstand. Gratitude, and the cultivation of gratitude, are wonderful. What I am asking is whether there are ways in which gratitude, or messaging about gratitude, or the cultivation of gratitude, can go wrong? How can gratitude go wrong? Have you ever experienced or seen this? (This image thanks to Pexels) Continue reading Question of the Day: How can gratitude sometimes go wrong?
Friday is Black Friday—a day I would love to erase from the calendar. Why? Because it’s symbolic of the out-of-control consumption that is taking over our world. In addition to harming our bank balances, overconsumption impacts our mental health and it’s destroying the planet. But there is an alternative! Friday is also Buy Nothing Day. Continue reading Turn Black Friday Into Buy Nothing Day
Arrogance, the trait of overestimating one’s abilities or importance while underestimating others, is a human characteristic like many others. While it may sometimes be mistaken for self-confidence, arrogance often leads to negative consequences in personal and professional relationships. Let’s see why arrogance has a destructive power and why embracing humility is a far wiser choice. The Destructive Power of Arrogance Arrogance can act as a … Continue reading The Pitfalls of Arrogance: Why Humility Triumphs
After Todd’s post last Friday, which also mentions a previous post by Troy, I re-post here an article about getting old. So, here you find some instructions for living your third youth with no worries. There is a direct relationship between aging and physical, and mental activity. People who adopt a sedentary and passive lifestyle after retirement accelerate their aging process. Lack of movement diminishes … Continue reading Late Bloomers: Instructions For Use
Everything I write about is aimed at helping people understand and love who they are. To not be ashamed or hide behind some false character armour but instead embrace the gifts that God has given them. As part of that aim, I’ve compiled an epic ebook entitled Unlocking Personality. Based on the Big Five Personality model – one of the most widely recognised and respected frameworks in … Continue reading Unlocking Personality: A FREE eBook I Wrote!
I realise that writing a book is like doing a giant jigsaw puzzle. Except you have to make the pieces first. You make the pieces and then work out where they go. You move them around until everything just sort of clicks into place. Then you flesh out the spaces in between. The hardest part for me is discarding the pieces that don’t fit. That’s … Continue reading Piecing Together My Thanks
Hello on a Tuesday! I hope everyone is off to a great start for the week! We talk a lot about what the best habits are to make our lives better. ‘How do I become more productive?’, ‘How can I be happier?’ are some of the questions we hear and probably ask ourselves a lot (knowingly or subconsciously). Let’s do some brainstorming: if we were … Continue reading The best habit of all
I have two images of wealth in my mind. One looks like what most people envision. A lavish lifestyle, a big plastic mansion, a luxury yacht, 8 sports cars… You get it. Then there is this second image. In this picture, there is a place called home. It’s quaint, rustic. Filled with messy, silly, somewhat annoying children. There are a lot of friends and family nearby. … Continue reading The Two Paths to Wealth
“Trying is the first step to failure.” – HOMER SIMPSON I don’t care much for New Year’s Resolutions. The idea of sitting down to make a list of things I must or must not do. Frankly it makes me want to jam a pen in my eye. (Which would, incidentally, be less painful than watching as I inevitably fail to stick at any of them.) … Continue reading A New Year’s Resolution You Might Actually Keep
By E.L. Jayne Red rock roads and satin sunsets. Crimson cacti and eclectic, desert diners. Moab, Utah is a splendid sight for sore eyes. This trip to Moab held a completely new experience in store for me. I was attending a festival for BASE jumpers to film my friends jump off really high mountains. Continue reading An unexpected lesson from the world’s most dangerous sport.
Dear readers, This Christmas we wanted to give something back to say thank you for all of your continued support. So, we thought we’d offer you all the opportunity to share and promote your blog here on Pointless Overthinking… for free! Here’s the proposal: If you would like to share your blog, please introduce yourself and leave a description of your site with a link to it … Continue reading An Opportunity To Share and Connect
Billy Osogo Last Sunday was Father’s Day. A day when we stop to celebrate and appreciate the father figures in our lives. Whether biological, a guardian or someone who simply performs that function. You get the picture. I spent sometime reflecting about my Dad. Due to the nature of his profession, he wasn’t around much (physically) as I was growing up. We however spent countless … Continue reading FATHERLY LOVE
