Happy New Year! Time for THIS...

I want to wish everyone a very safe and Happy New Year filled with love, laughter, health, happiness, and everything else you could possibly want!

2017 was a milestone year for this blog. It garnered more views, comments, and likes than in any of the prior years since it was launched. And it's all thanks to loyal readers like you! Without you guys, this blog would have become obsolete long ago.

All the time and hard work I put into it is well worth it because I have the most engaged, intelligent, and -- put simply -- amazing audience I could ever ask for.

Whether you'll be awaiting the New Year at home with family, at a fancy restaurant with your significant other, or at a concert with friends, I hope you enjoy the final hours of 2017 to the max.

I encourage you to reflect on the moments -- good and bad -- that defined the year for you, as they will help you chart a course for 2018.

You'll not only want to replicate those good times in the new year, but build on them so that you can say you experienced even higher highs than you have over the past 12 months. For example, you may have visited, say, San Francisco this year, but perhaps it's time to aim for that Hawaiian vacation you've always dreamed of.

You may be wondering why I would ask you to dredge up the bad moments you experienced. Shouldn't they be buried away for good?

While I always advise my readers against living in the past, sometimes you need to consider where you've been in order to know where your going.

In all likelihood, those hardships you faced made you even stronger than you were going into 2017, which will in turn help you overcome the obstacles bound to come your way in 2018.

While my exciting trip to New York City in early spring was the zenith of my year, my kidney stone attack in the fall accounted for the worst hour or two of the year, if not my life. I experienced such excruciating pain that I thought I would surely pass out. (It's no wonder many women say it's more painful than giving birth.)

But something good came out of that terrible ordeal. I not only became more health conscious (e.g., drinking more water), but I became even more appreciative of life and learned that even when we think we're having a bad day or moment, well, it's probably not as anguishing as a kidney stone attack.

Life is about learning from our experiences so that we can better position ourselves to enjoy more and more good moments while weathering the bad ones.

I hope you learned a few new things on the blog this year, whether about career strategies, relationships, or famous events in history. If some of the posts brought a smile to your face, and maybe even prompted you to share them, then I accomplished my goal!

I look forward to providing you with a fresh batch of content in the coming year on all things psychology, relationships, and history.

Again, thank you for reading and best of luck in achieving all your resolutions. You can achieve anything you set out to do!

Happy New Year to all!

No response from someone IS a response

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You're probably asking yourself, "What in the world does Isolophilia mean?" It sounds like it would be something negative, doesn't it? After all, words that end in "philia" (e.g., pedophilia) tend to involve things we want nothing to do with. But Isolophilia isn't something all people deplore. In fact, introverts like me welcome it. Put simply, Isolophilia is defined as having a strong affinity for solitude. It describes a person who relishes being alone. While extroverts can only take so much solitude, we introverts find that it rejuvenates us. In order to recharge our batteries, we need to retreat to a quiet environment where we we're left alone to rest and/or gather our thoughts. Extroverts, on the other hand, become bored and drained when they're alone for a lengthy period of time. Social interaction is the fuel that drives them. So while an extrovert would probably do anything to avoid feelings of Isolophilia in most cases, an...

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When asked to think about the most common culprits for a relationship's going south, most people will point to cheating, complacency, and taking one's partner for granted. While these are all valid -- and documented in various posts on this blog -- there are certain habits on the part of partners that may not kill the relationship right away, but cause it to erode more gradually. Among the most egregious of these is expecting your significant other to be perfect. They pick at your follies any chance they get. Nothing you do is ever good enough. In fact, you will never measure up to an ex, neighbor, or accomplished co-worker. Perhaps this all sounds a bit familiar. When you feel as though you're constantly being put under the microscope, it can inflict lasting damage on the relationship and your self-esteem. You're walking on eggshells all the time, praying you don't say or do something that's going to trigger your partner. This is no way to live, let alone ca...

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