Opinion Forum

Healing from War 2012

May 17th, 2012

By Jan Barry About 100 people turned out for a Saturday night event in April that offered no booze, dancing, live music or political speeches. The attraction was a display of art created from military uniforms and war memories. The event—called Healing from War Through the Arts, at the Puffin Cultural Forum in Teaneck, NJ—featured [...]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: Combat Paper, exhibition, poetry, PTSD, veterans, war, Warrior Writer
Categories: Arts, Life, Military | Comments (0) | Home

Don’t Go “Caveman” in a Crisis

May 17th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor Research has shown that when we experience a crisis, we regress back to our primitive ancestors; we go caveman! We fall back on most deeply ingrained instincts and habits that have served us well for eons by ensuring our survival, namely, by triggering the “fight-or-flight” response. This primal reaction produces intense [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: business, caveman, control, crisis, emotions, fight, flight, reactions, threat
Categories: Education, Life, Science | Comments (0) | Home

Align Your Values and Your Life

May 15th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor In my last post [on this topic], I described the essential role that values play in the life you lead. I also showed how you can deconstruct values so you can really understand what values are driving your life. But it is one thing to recognize what values you possess and [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: choices, happiness, lifestyle, passion, personal growth, values
Categories: Education, Life, Science | Comments (0) | Home

Pride in My Bride: A Mother’s Day Tribute

May 11th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor Mother’s Day is on Sunday. Unfortunately, my own mother died some years ago, so I can’t celebrate the day with her (though I owe her an immense debt of gratitude for all that she gave me). There is, however, another mother in my life that deserves to be honored, namely, my [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: children, family, marriage, Mothers' Day, parenting, pressure, stress
Categories: Life | Comments (2) | Home

Your Values, Your Life

May 7th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor Your values form the foundation of your life. They dictate the choices you make and determine the direction that your life takes. Your values will influence your decisions related to your relationships, career, and other activities you engage in. Despite this importance, few people choose their values. Instead, they simply adopt [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: choices, occupation, personal growth, popular culture, society, values
Categories: Education, Life, Science | Comments (1) | Home

Is Technology the New Opiate of the Masses?

April 24th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor Karl Marx famously called religion the “opiate of the masses.” Well, to paraphrase Reggie Hammond, Eddie Murphy’s character in the film 48 Hours, “There’s a new opiate in town and its name is technology.” Yes, folks, everywhere you look these days, you see people “shooting up” their technological “drug” of choice, [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: addiction, dependence, games, internet, opiate, social media, technology
Categories: Life, Media, Science | Comments (0) | Home

Should Parents Raise Their Own Children?

April 16th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor This is, I realize, a rather heretical question to ask given the size of the “parent-industrial complex,” the fact that the word parent has morphed from being a noun (i.e., what someone is) into a verb (i.e., what someone does), and the recent proliferation of “I am a better parent than [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: children, coaches, kids, parenting, parents, raising, teachers
Categories: Education, Life, Science | Comments (1) | Home

Do You Have ‘Complete Freedom’ in Your Life?

April 9th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor My series of posts on “life inertia” has been exploring the role that it plays in where your life has been, where it is now, and where it is heading. As you consider ways to change your life inertia, it’s helpful to have a vision of the direction you want your [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: choices, freedom, goals, life inertia, needs, personal growth, vision
Categories: Education, Life, Science | Comments (0) | Home

Blame Your Parents for Your Problems!

April 2nd, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor In my last post, I described the differences between needs, which ensure your psychological and emotional survival and growth, and NEEDS!, which arise from the neuroses, pathologies, and just plain whims of your parents and the environment and culture in which you are raised and have likely caused you considerable unhappiness [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: adulthood, choices, needs, parenting, personal growth, responsibility
Categories: Education, Life, Science | Comments (1) | Home

Do You Have Needs or NEEDS!

March 27th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor Just as your basic physical needs (e.g., food, water, shelter) must be met to ensure your physical survival and growth, another set of needs must also be satisfied to guarantee your psychological and emotional survival and growth. These needs include: Feeling loved (“I’m worthwhile”), Allaying insecurity (“I’m safe”), Feeling competent (“I’m [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: childhood, dysfunctional, healthy, life inertia, needs, personal growth
Categories: Education, Life, Science | Comments (0) | Home

Changing Your Life “Inertia” Takes Courage

March 19th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor In a previous post, I first introduced you to my law of life inertia: “The tendency of people, having once established a life trajectory, to continue on that course unless acted on by a greater force.” I followed that post with another in which I described the four forces that drive [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: change, conviction, courage, faith, life inertia, personal growth, uncertainty
Categories: Education, Life, Science | Comments (0) | Home

The Olden Days of Air Travel Were Horridly Primitive

March 16th, 2012

By Dan Miller We didn’t have the TSA, delicious airline meals or pleasant flight attendants. It’s all so much better now. Don’t believe it? Just watch these shocking videos.

Articles written by Dan Miller
Tags: 747, aircraft, airlines, aviation, comfort, cost, crew, Pan Am, satire
Categories: History, Life | Comments (4) | Home

i deserv, i mean lik, yu no, more betr edutasion

March 15th, 2012

By Dan Miller the wurld aint fare and i deserv lots more betr stuff then i get. mostli i deserv a gudd edutasion so i kan hav lotsa monie two liv gud and sav th wurld like i wanna. i weasted twelve years of mi lyfe in skools and done gradueted. stil peple tell me [...]

Articles written by Dan Miller
Tags: education, ignorance, jobs, satire, skills, teachers, welfare, youth
Categories: Humor, Life, Politics | Comments (2) | Home

Crisis: Emotional Threat or Challenge

March 13th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor Emotions lie at the heart of how you respond to crises. They are the starting point for all of the reactions that we have toward a crisis. They are also the first obstacle to establishing a positive response to a crisis. That is why it is essential to understand the role [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: challenge, crisis, emotions, reactions, threat
Categories: Education, Life, Science | Comments (0) | Home

Mental Battles

March 3rd, 2012

By Jan Barry Remember the TV ad where several people congregate in New York’s Grand Central Station, each wearing a bright white T-shirt displaying a message revealing startling and very personal information: “bipolar,” “sister,” “schizophrenia,” “mother,” “post traumatic stress disorder,” “battle buddy.”

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: bipolar disorder, BringChange2Mind, families, Glenn Close, mental illness
Categories: Life, Media | Comments (0) | Home

A Muse’s Art

February 14th, 2012

By Jan Barry Poets and artists since ancient times have fervently cited or called upon a female Muse for inspiration. Seldom did the Muse speak for herself. This thought arose as I read and reread a privately printed chapbook of poetry by Lovella Calica, the founder and director of Warrior Writers, a notably inspiring creative [...]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: Lovella Calica, poetry, PTSD, veterans, war, Warrior Writers
Categories: Arts, Life, Military | Comments (1) | Home

Freak Out or Geek Out?: Children’s Emotional Reactions to Achievement

February 14th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor These days, children seem to be given every opportunity by their parents to achieve success in school, sports, and the performing arts. Children receive private tutoring, coaching, and instruction. They attend summer camps devoted to their achievement activity. They seem to be assured of having every possible skill necessary to achieve [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: achievement, children, emotional skill, failure, parenting, success
Categories: Education, Life, Science | Comments (0) | Home

Is This the Future of American Values?

February 7th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor In researching my next parenting book, I came across several recent studies that I found truly disturbing. As you will see shortly, the results don’t paint a pretty picture for the future of our children or our society as a whole. Even more damning is what it tells us about how [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: children, entertainment, parenting, popular culture, TV, tweens, values
Categories: Life, Media | Comments (4) | Home

Five Steps to Positive Life Change (and the Big Payoff!)

January 30th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor In my first post in this exploration of how we can produce meaningful and last life change, I described the four obstacles that prevent change. In my last post on this topic, I introduced you to the five building blocks of change. These steps I just described set the stage for [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: change, forks in the road, goals, obstacles, payoff, personal growth
Categories: Education, Life, Science | Comments (1) | Home

Why Corporate Change is Difficult, But Possible

January 27th, 2012

By Dr. Jim Taylor Now, more than ever, the corporate world is in a state of constant change. Whether increasing global competition, the emergence of new technologies, or the high turnover of company staffs, life in the business world is constantly in flux. Despite this reality, companies themselves don’t always adapt quickly or well to [...]

Articles written by Dr. Jim Taylor
Tags: business, change, management, motivation, obstacles, recognition
Categories: Education, Life, Science | Comments (1) | Home

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