They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Similarly, happiness means different things to different people. Joe's ideas of happiness may be earning 200K a year because it provides him the means to afford his big mansion and fancy cars -- even if it comes at the expense of having to work long 60 hour weeks. Ana's version of happiness may be far more modest. Give her a small apartment filled with books and pets and she's in bliss. Sam, for his part, might find happiness in moving to a different city every other year, while Betty might take delight in being a stay-at-home mom. Different strokes for different folks. Judging others for their likes and lifestyles is no less inappropriate than passing judgment on, say, their physical appearance. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, yes, but that doesn't grant them the latitude to criticize others' choices just because they don't align with theirs. I may aspire to become a manager, but you mi...

My wife and I have been together for 12-and-a-half years, of which over three have been as a married couple. I often reflect on the beginning of the relationship, which was surely a magical time. We were both juniors in college with ample butterflies in our stomachs. Our relationship came as something of a surprise, as we had met in the 6th grade and didn't see or speak to one another again until the year we hooked up -- which, by the way, came almost a decade later after reconnecting on MySpace! Now that we've been married and living together for several years, it's easy to see how different things are from the way they were when we got together. Aside from the obvious (e.g., you're not as embarrassed to fart in front of one another), you essentially become a team once you're married -- one that has far more important things to worry about than simply choosing what movie to watch or restaurant to dine at. From bills to helping the kids with homework, marri...

Some of us have a tendency to become very attached to people in our lives, whether friends or coworkers. Maybe we grew up with them, have worked them for 20 years, and/or have shared a bevy of great experiences with these people. Sometimes we can't help but hold people in high regard, going so far as to consider them more like family than our actual relatives. However, as noted in many of my posts -- including some within the last week or two -- we often have a hard time accepting changes (whether abrupt or gradual) in their behavior, which ultimately change the dynamics of our relationship with them. Here are a few examples of ways people can change: 1. They get in a relationship, tie the knot, and/or have kids, leaving them with little or no time for you.  I have a friend who fell off the map last year while he was in a relationship with his ex. Once the relationship ended, he reverted back to his old ways, wanting to hang out with my wife and I almost every weekend. Ne...