Has anyone -- whether it be your partner, friend, relative, neighbor, or boss -- done you wrong this year? If so, heed this important end-of-year tip: Let it go . Start 2019 with a clean slate. Don't carry other people's drama and negativity with you into the new year. Let your hopes and dreams crowd out your fears and worries. Sure, we can never rid ourselves of all our concerns, but why not start the new year on a high note? If you can't excise from your life the people bringing you grief, e.g., your toxic boss, make it a New Year's resolution not to get hung up on their every word or move. Refuse to allow these people to sour your mood, lower your self-esteem, and eat away at your mental well-being. If we're not careful, we can become trapped in a vicious circle of questioning people's motives, possibly blaming ourselves in the process: Why did they yell at me over the phone? Why haven't they answered my texts? Why did they seem to ...

You have a huge fight with your spouse. Your car leaves you stranded on the highway. You lose power at the office and, to your dismay, you forgot to save three hours' worth of work. You accidentally spill soda on your spanking-brand-new blouse. Ever have a day like this, where everything seems to go wrong? We've all been there. I'm actually in something of a rut as we speak. When you find yourself stuck in such a rut, the first thing you need to do is calm down. Breathe. Relax. Decompress. Then, remind yourself that things will get better. It's normal to hit a rough patch every now and then. Sometimes things just don't go in our favor. The sooner you accept that, the quicker you'll get through this phase. Then, do your best to resolve the problems at hand. Once you and your spouse have calmed down enough to have a conversation, let him or her know what's on your mind and work together toward a resolution. Keep the lines of communication o...

One of the most cowardly things a person can do is to talk smack behind someone's back . Unfortunately, this has become all too common in virtually any context we can think of -- work, school, even at home. Let's stop for a moment and consider why someone might want to badmouth someone behind his or her back. In most cases, it's because the person is upset with or envious of the individual and wants to find a way to stick it to them without having an actual confrontation. Thus begin rumors and a lot of he-said-she-said, putting those in the middle -- the ones made to listen to the remarks in secret -- in a tough situation. Truthfully, talking behind someone's back has a juvenile quality to it. Why not act like adults and talk face to face? When people's emotions get the best of them, they can act callously. Most people like drama to some degree -- otherwise, reality shows ranging from The Kardashians to The Real Housewives wouldn't have such a big fol...