Many of my coworkers have been working at my company -- and in the same department, no less -- for 20 or more years!  It's doubtless a rarity in this day and age of frequent job hopping.  Most of them lament staying there so long. Promotions have been hard to come by, not to mention they feel utterly stagnant in their jobs. Some tell me they can't remember the last time they actually learned something new. It certainly doesn't help that our department is run by two overbearing women -- my boss is one of them -- who are completely stuck in their ways.  Now in their 50s and 60s, they concede that it's too late to think about moving. They're more focused on retirement now than anything else. Competing for jobs with people as old as their kids, they say, is a losing proposition.  When asked why they stayed there so long, they admit that they became complacent over the years. I can attest to the fact that the company provides employees with a handsome salary...

Many people tell me that they wish they could change certain aspects of their lives. To be sure, some of them are fully in their control, like finding a better job or losing weight. It takes hard work and persistence to achieve these goals, but they're certainly not impossible. What is outside their grasp, however, is the behavior of other people. It's this that seems to make them more despondent than anything else.  You may have tried your hardest to change your partner for the better -- say, to be more helpful around the house -- to no avail. You might be pushing your friend to hang out with you more often, but she seems to have time for everything and everyone except you.  We've all been there. As long as you've done your part and expressed how you feel, there's no reason to feel dispirited over that which you cannot change. We can't will others' behavior to be how we like. People will always do things that will upset us. Unfortunately...