Math Anxiety, Tax Anxiety

Ugh, it’s tax season. Anyone else avoiding some math??  Raise your hand if you’d rather watch TV! But WHY do we find this so hard to do?  What gets in the way? Is it just PROCRASTINATION? Like the old Saturday night live skit, Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt….and procrastination is rarely just procrastination. … Read more

What Do I Tell My Kids?!?

For a long time now, I have had the luxury of receiving the newspaper on the weekends on my front stoop.  I enjoy reading the weekend paper in ink, on paper, while I drink coffee – not just catching the headlines in my email, or listening to the news in the car.  But when the … Read more

WOOP Your Procrastination!

Researcher Gabrielle Oettingen says you should WOOP your life. No, this is not an obscure dance move, or a rap song.  WOOP is an acronym that stands for: WISH OUTCOME OBSTACLE PLAN In my last blog post I wrote about procrastination and how it is often a mask for anxiety and avoidance.  WOOP is a … Read more

Procrastination

Susan*: “Uh-oh, my husband just emailed me a list of hotels for a vacation we might take next year!” Me: “Why is that an ‘uh-oh’?” Susan: “He always goes online and wastes time when he’s procrastinating. We don’t even know if we are going to take that vacation!  It’s probably been hours since he stopped … Read more

Acceptance

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about acceptance – specifically, about accepting our own emotions.  Acceptance is not the same as “feeling good about” something. The dictionary defines it as “the action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered.”  Acceptance is an active behavior, not a passive feeling – it is something we need … Read more