The Secret to Why Your Behavior Is Inconsistent

A person in a gray jacket standing on top of a mountain.

Is your behavior inconsistent with your goals? If so, it could be keeping you from living the life you say you wish to lead. Exploring your insconsistent behavior–the difference between how you say you want to act and how you actually behave–can help you stop sabotaging yourself and be true to your values and desires.…

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Moving on from Losses

A vase with dead flowers in it on the floor.

The celebrations of All Saints Day, Day of the Dead, and Halloween (derived from the European pagan holiday of Samhain) all reflect the human experience of having to accept losses, deaths, and endings as inevitable aspects of life. We can always take some comfort in knowing that endings lead to beginnings. At this time of…

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Change Your Health Story Using Forest Bathing

A woman standing next to a tree in the woods.

Walk through a forest and your body and mind will soon reflect that you are free of electronics, artificial light, mechanical noises, and constant distractions that invisibly raise your stress levels and cause you to jump from thought to thought. Forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku as it’s called in Japan, is a practice of taking time to enjoy…

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How I Think About Giving on the Street

Two hands holding each other in a close up picture.

When it comes to our stories, most of us want to think of ourselves as people who are supportive of others. How much of your story involves giving to those in your community who are less fortunate? Many people don’t often ask this question of themselves until a stranger asks them for money. In that…

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The Secret of Sublime Living

A park with pink trees and benches in the background.

When was the last time you watched the sunrise over the horizon or observed the changing colors of the clouds as the orange sun retreated at the end of the day? When was the last time you laughed with your best friend or felt the grass, earth, or sand underneath your bare feet? The Japanese…

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Yearning for Something Else

A man standing on rocks in the water.

How much of your story has involved yearning for something else, versus working with what you have? When I was a teenager, I spent time in my grandparents’ house in Paris, Kentucky. It was a small house with one bathroom, which had a radio that was usually tuned to bluegrass music. One day, I heard…

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The Power of Storytelling for Individual and Organizational Change

A book cover with the title of the halo and the noose.

Many say casually, “You could write a book about what I’ve been through!†But how much time do we spend considering the stories of our lives? Being able to describe the story simply can help us to recognize the archetypal energies that are affecting us. A person who says “I’m always the bridesmaid and never…

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Breaking Through Obstacles So You Can Write a New Story

A group of plants growing in the dirt.

What is your story? There’s a story that you’d like other people to see, and the story you’d like it to be, but then there is the story as it really is. Is it satisfying to you, or do you want to write a new story? If you do, you may find that breaking through…

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Regaining Your Confidence

A person on a surfboard riding the waves.

Do you lose confidence after a loss or failure? If it’s a particularly big loss or failure, or part of a series, you may find it next to impossible to have faith in yourself afterward. Lost confidence can affect you for years and become embedded in your story as a recurring theme that seems to…

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My Story: Archetypal Themes, Plot Twists, and Becoming the Storyteller

adventurer image

Like many stories, my story has archetypal themes and plot twists that led me to my current story. When I was growing up, the steel industry seemed to define my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My father worked in production planning and later, marketing, for U.S. Steel. As a teenager, I followed in his footsteps, taking various…

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