"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." - Dolly Parton What Dolly is essentially saying is that nothing in life worth having comes easily.  You have to work for it, and that often includes having to put up with others' BS for a while. For example, you've had it up to here with your boss's toxic ways and have set a goal of bolting to another employer before year's end. However, to realize this plan, you'll have to continue enduring his nasty tantrums -- if you haven't already called him out on such behavior -- until you find a new job, as the food has to be put on the table and the rent isn't going to pay itself.  Or perhaps you're reeling from the fallout of a terrible breakup. Life may seem bleak today -- especially after having to pull the plug on a relationship you once envisioned lasting your whole life.  But rest assured that the day you find yourself with someone far better th...

So said a graphic that I happened upon today on Facebook. It caught my attention because I already do just that: Rather than boasting of my plans and accomplishments to others -- whether on Facebook or elsewhere -- I let my work do the talking for me. For starters, I've never been one to disclose every morsel of information about my life, much less brag about my achievements. Sometimes people get so caught up telling others about what they've accomplished -- say, losing 10 pounds while dieting -- that they forget they're far from done. Once they get the praise and validation they're after, they become complacent and are unable to regain their momentum. It's not to say that everyone who does this is a show-off. As human beings, we seek positive reinforcement in virtually everything we do. But, like everything else, it can be taken a step too far. People don't have to know everything about us. We can have a goal in mind without having to tell the wor...

Sometimes we question what the purpose of our lives really is. We get stuck in ruts, or, even worse, we hit rough patches where nothing seems to go right and ask ourselves, "Is there more to life than this?" What we have to remember is that storms eventually pass. We need to stay focused on the things that really matter to us life. Those things obviously vary from person to person, but we all strive toward achieving goals that make life purposeful. My goals in life include: Loving my wife and family and being there for them as much as I can Helping the less fortunate Helping animals, about which I am passionate Learning as much as I can, especially about the subjects that interest me the most (psychology and history) Living below my means Becoming as good a writer as I can possibly be, and writing a book someday Your goals may be to strike it rich, support the environment, and help find a cure for a certain disease. That's the beauty of life. We all hav...