Blog

Nov 28

It’s Not Your Fault – Now What Are You Going to Do About it?

By DrPaul M-Power

“It’s not my fault.” “I didn’t sign up for this.” As a psychologist I hear different refrains of this idea over and over. And I tell those that express the sentiment – you are right! You didn’t ask for this and it isn’t your fault. Now, what are you going to do? We don’t have a choice in what we are faced with (most of the time). We do have a choice in how we react to the event and circumstances. Here are a few ideas to keep in mind that may help you get out of the, “It’s not my fault,” rut. Hopefully these ideas can help you to take you from victim to agent quickly. I am working for you and honored to be on your team. DrPaul

Nov 28

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Happy Thanksgiving LOP Family

By DrPaul M-Power

We will keep this quick this week since many of you are celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends.We are grateful for you and every effort you have made to spread positivity in a world that gravitates to negativity.We are grateful for you watching LOPTV YouTube videos, reading our newsletters and books. Those that joined us for webinars and courses over the course of the year.We are very grateful for our Live On Purpose Central members that we get to interact with every week.Happy Thanksgiving, now go eat some turkey and reach out to those you are grateful for and tell them why.DrPaul

Nov 16

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What is Your TED Moment?

By DrPaul M-Power

Do you like TED Talks or Inspirational Speakers? The psychologist in me is fascinated by these speeches. There is a common thread through most of the talks given. There was something hard. Obstacles and problems were placed before them. It was something they would not have chosen for themselves. They suffered, but persevered. The person did not give up. And out of the conflict or trauma they have learned or created something that helps others. They open up and are vulnerable about their experiences and the transformation that occurred in them. That vulnerability creates a connection with people. Even if we don’t know them personally. In the vulnerability others can connect with them and see hope. So, if you are going through a hard thing (and who isn’t?) ask yourself what you can learn from the experience. Then when you are in a good place, share with others. Let your

Nov 10

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Lesson of a Colorful Paper Turkey

By DrPaul M-Power

Remember the colorful paper turkey’s we used to make in school around this time of year? On each red, yellow, or orange feather, we would write something we were grateful for. Mine often mentioned my family, friends, food, and toys, probably similar to yours. I wonder if my teachers had any idea of the benefits of writing down the things we are grateful for. Did they know that gratitude journaling can increase productivity, happiness and better health? Did they know that gratitude journaling can stimulate the prefrontal cortex to lead to better reasoning and decision making? Did they know that gratitude journaling can shift our minds away from “I” and “me” to “we” and thus relieve anxiety? Did they know that gratitude journaling can decrease feelings of depression and sadness? Did they know that gratitude journaling can make us happier – even if our circumstances have not changed? So many

Nov 02

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Don’t Be Afraid to Be a Beginner

By DrPaul M-Power

Remember how it felt when the teacher would introduce a new concept to the class? Often what we were faced with looked like hieroglyphics until the teacher explained what everything meant on the paper and how to read it. Often kids look at the paper and immediately go to: “I can’t do this.” “I have never dealt with this before.” “I don’t get it.” Teachers patiently try to walk their students through the steps until the lightbulb comes on. This usually happens after the child has calmed down enough to actually look at the paper and follow the directions. Maybe for you it was learning algebra and suddenly having letters thrown in with numbers. (I thought it was kind of fun, but I remember others having a harder time.) We all survived algebra yet we still get new problems thrown at us. Like calculus problems. Unlike algebra, these seem to

Oct 28

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Imagination and Creation

By DrPaul M-Power

Imaginations are powerful. Imagination is the ability to see something that isn’t in the present. It is the ability to dream up something new, to be creative and resourceful. Imagine if you could feel calm and hopeful when things are tumultuous. Imagine if you were presented with a problem and you knew immediately what to do. Imagine if you went a whole day without losing your patience. What is your imagine if? When we do exercises like this we tend to imagine something better, something that will increase our happiness. Yet, we have the ability to think up something worse and some people automatically go there. I call it defaulting to the negative. I also call it stinkin’ thinkin’. Next time you find your thoughts going to the negative know that you have control. Boss your brain. Tell your brain you are the boss and you want to imagine something

Oct 19

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What’s Your Angle?

By DrPaul M-Power

What’s your angle? When we say this we want to know what someone is trying to get out of a situation. You know what I mean. All the sudden your kids are asking if there is anything they can do for you??!? We know something’s up and they are probably wanting the car or another privilege. I gotta hand it to them, at least they are using the try-angle. When we have a problem, it can be easy to throw our hands up in the air and scream. Especially if it feels like we have tried everything. People often tell me this, “Dr. Paul, I have tried everything.”They really think there is nothing else to try. That is not a fun place to be coming from. There is most likely something else you can do. Coaching has helped me in my professional and private life. It can help you too and

Oct 11

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Perception of Mental Health in America

By DrPaul M-Power

One of our coaches passed along an article that shows 90% of Americans believe there is a mental health crisis in the United States. Being a psychologist, I read about and talk to others in the field about mental health so it is on the forefront of my mind. With 9 out of 10 saying they believe there is a crisis, it shows they have been thinking about mental health also. This survey was not a study of records, it is about the perception of mental health. About half of those polled said that someone in their family or someone they knew had experienced a severe mental health crisis and were a threat to themselves or others or engaged in self-harm. We know that the recent pandemic probably made mental health for some worse, but it may have helped awareness rise. The number of people seeking help for mental health related issues has increased

Oct 07

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Coal and Diamonds

By DrPaul M-Power

Lead is a normally soft metal, yet when it is squeezed under enormous pressure, it becomes stronger. Henry Kissinger said, “A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.” He also reminded us that diamonds aren’t made in a day. Sometimes pressure is exerted externally, without our consent and that can feel difficult. Like when a pandemic was forced on us and all the sudden we had pressures we hadn’t seen coming and didn’t ask for. We are largely out of the pandemic and many people learned a lot of hard lessons through the pandemic. I have observed that when people challenge themselves and don’t wait for something externally to challenge them, they often get lots of benefits from their challenge. Challenging yourself can increase self-esteem because you can learn to do something that you previously could not do. Challenging yourself can increase your brain power. You

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