I’m sure I’m not alone in experiencing many life changers.
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My life changers include my parents, cardiac pacemakers, friends, cats, books, doctors, teachers, musicians, therapists, my two husbands, my son, and me!
Let’s see if there are any life changers in today’s blog.
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Here’s what I find when I search for life changers on YouTube.
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Thanks to all the life changers out there, including YOU!
Voices of reason are few and far between these days, especially if you listen to the news.
That’s the reason I asked about voices of reason on social media last night.
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I have mixed feelings about ChatGPT but sometimes it can be a voice of reason.
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Are there voices of reason elsewhere in today’s blog?
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Here’s what I find when I search for “voices of reason” on YouTube:
Eleanor Longden is a powerful voice of reason.
Thanks to all the voices of reason out there, including YOU!
Letting go of perfectionism is something I practice every day. It’s something I need to do now, because I only have fifteen minutes to create this blog this morning!
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What do you think about letting go of perfectionism? Is this blog post good enough?
Last night, when I couldn’t sleep, I listened to this video about emptiness:
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I appreciate the idea that emptiness (like silence) holds a place for possibility.
I’m hoping that the muscle relaxant I took last night will silence the annoying clicking noises I hear whenever I talk.
There will be emptiness and possibility in today’s blog post.
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Thanks to all who are here for this emptiness post, including YOU!
Maybe because fun seems to be in short supply these days, many people I know have been resolving to have more fun.
For example, here’s a fun statement that was said during a therapy session yesterday about Thanksgiving:
Let’s put the “fun” back in family dysfunction.
I hope you have as much fun looking at today’s images as I had gathering them for you.
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I just had fun reordering that calendar (which was called “the b-word” online) for next year.
Here’s a conversation about fun I just had with ChatGPT:
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This reminds me to work on my fun song “ChatGPT Thinks I’m Great.”
Here’s what I find when I look for “fun” on YouTube:
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That TED talk was so much fun, I watched it twice.
Thanks to all who are here for this fun post, including YOU!
Part of my job as a therapist is awareness of people’s moods.
In every session, I’ll ask people about their moods and document whatever they say. Typical moods are “sad,” “lonely,” “frustrated,” “anxious,” “angry,” “depressed,” “worried,” “excited,” “panicky,” “okay,” and “I don’t know.” Sometimes people tell me their mood is better at the end of the session than at the beginning, which improves MY mood.
What moods do you see in my images for today?
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Here’s a song that I wrote when I was in a mood.
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What is your current mood about this moods post?
I have many moods and one of them is gratitude for YOU.
When people in therapy talk about how guilty they feel, I often encourage them to throw guilt away in my “magic waste paper basket.” I don’t feel guilty about having a magic water paper basket nor about suggesting that people throw guilt away. My experience is that toxic perpetrators do not feel guilty at all while well-meaning and essentially good people do feel guilty about minor infractions and imperfections.
Here’s my magic waste paper basket …
… and don’t feel guilty about throwing away guilt in any receptacle you choose.
I am guilty of gathering all the images for today’s blog post and I don’t feel guilty about sharing any of them with you.
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My guilty pleasures include chocolate soufflé and the Daily Bitch calendar.
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “guilty.”
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Thanks to all who help me feel less guilty, including YOU!
I’m good enough, I’m smart enough to remember Al Franken’s Stuart Smalley character from Saturday Night Live.
Stuart, who was not a licensed therapist (unlike me) often said “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.”
Yesterday, I was good enough and smart enough to talk to another licensed therapist about Stuart Smalley and that catchphrase. In EMDR therapy, I’ve been working on believing that I’m good enough and smart enough to trust myself, and I imagined saying those affirmations to myself and believing them.
I’m good enough, I’m smart enough to realize that even though Stuart was a character on a sketch comedy show, he is still good enough and smart enough to help others, including myself.
Are my images for today good enough and smart enough?
Thanks to all those who are good enough and smart enough to help me create this daily blog, including YOU.
Yesterday, when I saw this in the supermarket …
… I thought about a recent therapy session when I had suggested that someone — who was dealing with many slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in their lives — visualize and design some imaginary body armor to protect themselves. This person loved that assignment and looked forward to sketching some cool body armor they could then imagine putting on when they were feeling vulnerable.
This morning, as I get ready to go out into the world, I feel like I could use some body armor, too. My body armor would be colorful, strong, comfortable, and allow myself to move and react nimbly. My body armor would repel bad news, aggression, and toxicity from the outside and let my own self-defeating thoughts escape easily.
Do you see any examples of body armor in today’s images?
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Do you think imagining and wearing body armor might help you live your best life during these scary times?
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “body armor.”
When I spent hours looking at tiles for our shower remodel yesterday, little did I know that I was looking at body armor.
Thanks to all who — like imaginary body armor — help me feel safer, including YOU.
In almost every group therapy session, people talk about setting limits with others. Because so many of us are people pleasers, it’s difficult to say “no” without feeling guilty.
Let’s see if today’s Daily Bitch Calendar can offer any insight about setting limits.
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That might be all we need to know about setting limits, but let’s check my other images anyway.
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Here’s what I find when I search YouTube for “setting limits.”
Because I slept later than usual today, I need to be setting limits on how much time I spend on this blog post. Therefore, thanks to all who helped me create this “setting limits” post, including YOU!
