Harvard Professor Dr. Arthur Brooks often shares his experience of being on a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Washington, DC, when in the darkness, he overheard an elderly man sitting behind him quietly tell his wife that he might as well be dead, that nobody respects or thinks about him. For the remainder of the flight, the man's wife did all she could to console him, insisting that none of his contentions were true.
Dr. Brooks assumed that the gentleman was nearing the end of his life and was feeling down over not having met his own expectations. When the plane landed and the lights flicked on, being the curious-minded social scientist that he is, Dr. Brooks inconspicuously turned to look and was stunned to realize that the elderly man was one of the most famous people in the world, someone whose early accomplishments in life made him rich, famous, and even widely viewed as a hero, and not at all a controversial figure. Read more
Last week, a longtime reader of our newsletter asked for a referral to a doctor I trust in the Chicagoland area. The first person who came to mind was a fellow named Dr. Michael Krys, a highly decent person who I remember from my days as an intern as being supremely honest, caring, and skilled as a health care provider. Read more
A few days ago, I heard from a friend who shared that her young teenage child was on the receiving end of some less-than-thoughtful commentary on a well-intentioned community project she was a part of. It seems that these days, no cause or age group is exempt from being targeted by keyboard warriors who are eager to politicize everything.
Having had an online presence for close to 20 years now, I am thankful that I learned long ago that as soon as I get even the faintest whiff of toxic behaviour, the best move is to press delete and carry on. Read more
Oscar Wilde wrote: "Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes, they forgive them."
As adult children of aging parents, it seems that in some cases, built-up resentment for various wrongdoings can last until their parents' final days. Often, the heartfelt apology that adult children yearn to receive never comes, adding to their bewilderment and hurt. Read more
Your vlog made me wonder if you've covered the importance of apologizing when you've done something wrong and how to apologize? If not, I'd love to know your thoughts on this topic. My fiance and I don't argue very often but when we do, the issue of who owes who an apology is usually a point we have tension over. Read more
I am deeply grateful to have Maya Angelou to turn to whenever I need an injection of all that is good in life. Morning and night, even if I don't have much else to meditate on, I remember this from Maya:
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
Thank you for all that you gave us, Maya. Thank you. Read more
What keeps us healthy and happy as we go through life? If you were going to invest now in your future best self, where would you put your time and your energy? There was a recent survey of millennials asking them what their most important life goals were, and over 80 percent said that a major life goal for them was to get rich. And another 50 percent of those same young adults said that another major life goal was to become famous. Read more
One of the most important realizations that I made early on in my personal health journey and as a health care provider is that all of us have the priceless ability to generate powerful waves of healing energy on demand.
How, you might be wondering?
The answer lies in filling ourselves with an enormous spirit of gratitude. Read more
The challenge with those who regularly make selfish choices is that typically, they are unaware of the pain and hurt that they create for others. For the purpose of streamlining these thoughts, let's call such people egoists: those who are preoccupied with their own interests.
My life experiences have led me to believe that the vast majority of egoists behave the way they do because they carry significant unresolved pain within, often some combination of not having received sufficient love and being put down by those they most needed to be nurtured by as youngsters. Read more
