Self Development

Evan on February 4th, 2012

The Usefulness of Habits In self development awareness is very important. Habits are what we do ‘automatically’ (without much awareness at all) so they seem to be almost the opposite of self development. How can they serve self development? Habits assist us by allowing our awareness to be free from what we are not interested [...]

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This year I plan to do some longer posts that go into a subject in more detail and depth. This is the first one of this style. If you would let me know whether you like this style of post or not (or what you like and dislike about it) I’d be very grateful, thanks, [...]

Continue reading about The Contribution of Gestalt Psychotherapy to Self Development

Evan on December 30th, 2011

You can get a magazine about self development once a month for the price of your email address. It is called Life Skills Magazine and it is put together by Ayo. Each issue is put together by a bunch of contributors – some regulars (such as yours truly) and others who Ayo has spotted as [...]

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Evan on December 23rd, 2011

It is that time of year when bloggers review the year and come up with lists of best blogs. The following thoughts were prompted by Steven Aitchison’s Top 50 Personal Development Blogs of 2011.   I don’t object to this in principle – so long as the inclusions and awards aren’t taken too seriously. If [...]

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Evan on December 21st, 2011

I think “controlling” your emotions is a rotten idea, here’s why.   Living Whole When we are acting with all of us this experience has depth and satisfaction. This is true even if we are dealing with something awful – like mourning the death of someone we loved. If we bring all of us to [...]

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Evan on December 16th, 2011

What I Don’t Know Who will make the changes that they want to make is mysterious. It is not the degree of trauma. Some people with horrific trauma make the changes. Some of those who grew up in very good circumstances don’t. It is not degree of education. Some of those with little education make [...]

Continue reading about Change is About Acceptance and Meaning

Evan on December 14th, 2011

There is usually an issue at the core of our lives. Sometimes we don’t know what it is. Sometimes we do. In my case I didn’t. I had spent my life trying to be good at stuff. I had investigated a couple of areas I loved and learned stuff about them. I was an OK [...]

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Evan on December 9th, 2011

Self development can start to feel like a serious business. Living authentically can sound heavy. It’s good to giggle. Laughter can bring a sense of proportion and lightness. Focusing on our goals, necessary to be sure, can make us awfully tunnel visioned. Fun lets our focus widen.   It Sounds Strange to Say: “Work at [...]

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Evan on December 6th, 2011

Work and Meaning I am impressed by how having meaningful work contributes to our sense of joy and our ability to cope with difficulties. I have seen this even with people who are very depressed or have other major ‘mental health’ problems.   Why would this be? I think it shows us how important meaning [...]

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This post is in response to a comment in the box in the sidebar that asks about your greatest difficulty living an authentic life.  The comment was: Going against the grain of other’s expectations of you.   We are all part of relationships It takes quite a few months – in some way years – [...]

Continue reading about Four Ways to Help Us Resist Expectations So We Can Live Authentically