In a prior post, I discussed how anxiety may drive people to clean their homes, organize their offices, or wash their cars. Cleaning isn't atop most people's lists of things they enjoy doing -- hence the reason so many with the means hire people to do it for them. I like keeping my condo clean, which is why I try to tidy up at least once a week.  But every now and then, I break out the vacuum cleaner not because the place is a mess, but because I am -- and cleaning helps me unwind.  Perhaps I've had a tough day at work, or my wife and I have just had a terrible argument.  In lieu of taking my frustration out on a punching bag, stress ball, pillow, or some other object, I derive satisfaction from sucking up dust or removing stains. Filthy grime be gone! Perhaps I see them as embodying the negative emotions I'm wrestling -- anger, frustration, disillusionment -- and picture myself quashing such feelings with the aid of a handy broom or duster.  Once I'm done cleaning,...

Never be a prisoner of your past, for it was a lesson -- not a life sentence. There's nothing you can do to change what's already come to pass; all you can do is learn from it so that you don't make the same mistakes. There's no sense beating yourself up over past decisions that, in hindsight, you wish you hadn't made, whether that includes hooking up with your ex, taking a particular job, or making a poor investment. You should never lament anything that (1) once made you smile, even if it was at the very beginning (2) you ultimately learned from, making you a better person today. Our missteps, as a matter of fact, are our best teachers. It's through our mistakes that we gain the most wisdom. If we never made any, how could we ever better ourselves? Of course, that doesn't mean we should deliberately make foolish decisions for the sake of learning a lesson. But there's no question that all of us can cite at least a few choices we have made t...

Don't worry about what may go wrong . Instead, get excited over what could go right ! This is sound advice even for me. I tend be a little paranoid and cynical at times, but I've resolved to be more optimistic this year. There comes a point where we need to accept one thing: There are things in life that we have no control over. Things will not always go our way, no matter how hard we try to shape the outcome. Life is like a rollercoaster -- it has its ups and downs, but we might as well make the most of the ride! There's a difference between being cautious and being so worried about what may go wrong that you refuse to take any chances in life. Life is short. If we don't take risks every once in a while, we'll never know what it's like to grow and achieve a milestone. The most rewarding things we experience in life -- the ones we look back on most fondly -- tend to be those that involve a lot of hard work and frustration. Ultimately, nothing taste...