12Apr 2016 by CJ

What you don’t say is decision enough

Life & Living
“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing." ― Theodore Roosevelt There’s nothing more frustrating (and annoying) than sitting around waiting for people to make a decision. Yes, there are certainly varying degrees of the decision making process - what to have for dinner is far less difficult than where you should invest your money. But as Roosevelt said, doing nothing has it’s own ramifications. For starters, progress can never be made without some kind of decision (good or bad) to move you forward. Decisions are actions and actions lead to change. But change will never occur if you rarely make choices or take chances. The other thing that happens when people fail to make…
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31Mar 2016 by CJ

There’s no room for know-it-alls in life

Life & Living, Youth
“Unless your name is Google, stop acting like you know everything.” – PictureQuotes.com First, let me start off by saying the quote above is priceless! Definitely t-shirt worthy. With that in mind, for all those know-it-alls out there (and you know who you are) enough already! It’s getting harder and harder for the humbler beings of this world to sit back and smile while you carrying on with undeserving authority. You might think you’re very well adjusted, but let’s be real – you’ve got issues which cause your know-it-all syndrome. But your issues do not need to become my issues. So what are the schools of thought on know-it-alls? It’s simple really. Diane Barth (LCSW) offers a clear explanation on PsychologyToday.com. There’s an underlying insecurity. When speaking of one of…
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30Mar 2016 by CJ

A trip to the NJ shore – without getting drunk

Youth
Today I was asked a rather interesting and perplexing question. To put it into context, I grew up in New Jersey – not far from the Jersey shore.  The MTV show with the same name did little to boost the reputation of the Garden State, which might explain where this question came from now that I live in Colorado. The question was, “Didn’t you go and get drunk on the boardwalk all the time?” Ah, no. Yes, I did frequent the Jersey shore on numerous occasions. But typically they were to enjoy the sights and sounds of the ocean, a box of salt water taffy and to allow the smells of the sausage and pepper stand and the sea air to take me on nostalgic trip down memory lane. People…
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28Mar 2016 by CJ

Success doesn’t always make sense

Life & Living
The way I see it, one’s ability to succeed is fundamentally comprised of two basic elements: 25% comes from one’s natural ability and the other 75% is based on pure old fashion luck. That statement is in no way meant to diminish the overwhelming talents so many of us possess. But it does make you think about those that have the ability, who seem to have the drive, but can’t seem to make their dreams come to fruition. When was the last time you watched a movie, read a book, heard a song on the radio or watched a program on TV and thought to yourself, “wow, that was really bad”. You spend a few moments pondering the amount of money publishers and entertainment gurus must have spent to produce…
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21Mar 2016 by CJ

Being an active listener is sometimes all people need

Life & Living
"As a relationship matures, you start to see that just being there for each other is the most important thing you can do, just being there to listen and be sorry with them, to be happy with them, to share all that there is to share." - Fred Rogers Today my wife was a little down. She's usually the picture of happiness and joy, but today she just found herself burdened with the uncertainties so many of us feel at some point in our lives. I hate to see her like that, and typically I always find something constructive to say in order for her to compartmentalize her feelings and find some peace. But this time I actually found myself somewhat speechless. My mind was at a loss for anything…
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