Beating Ourselves Up Has Not Been Confined To Individuals

Beating ourselves up is not limited, of course, to individuals. We as a country seem to be engaged in a serious and prolonged syndrome of beating up ourselves and each other. How much do you feel any sense in the U.S. that we are beating ourselves up over any key issues such as wars, damage […]

Ending “Pre-Emptive Strikes” Against Ourselves

There was a very bright woman in my high school French class in senior year who, each time we had a test, would announce dramatically that she was going to fail. Inevitably, she would get an “A,” and usually the best grade in the class. She taught me about what I call “pre-emptive strikes” – […]

Has Beating Yourself Up Ever Been A Habit For You?

Who among us has not made some huge mistake – or at least a mistake that felt huge at the time? Perhaps a careless comment, a unfortunate traffic matter, or misplacing something so that we cost ourselves or someone else some money. Often, our response has been to beat ourselves up – and to continue […]

“The End Of The World As We Know It” Shifts To “The World We’d Like To Know”

Thank you for your responses to the question about “the end of the world as we know it” – and, in particular, how the “end of the world” feeling can be transformed into “the end of the world as we know it,” and then into “a new world that actually has a chance of being […]