The word of the day is one of my favorites, as I often use it to describe my hard-to-please boss: persnickety. The dictionary defines it as "overparticular about trivial details; fastidious. In other words, someone who's persnickety is fussy, choosy, particular, picky, finicky...you get the point. One thing is to be particular, but people like my supervisor seem to deliberately look for any excuse not to proceed with something -- signing off on a project, choosing a dress for a party, etc. It's these kind of people that take forever to make a decision. Just when they seem to have made up their mind, they find something new to criticize. If not given a deadline, they can spend weeks -- if not months -- nitpicking at the most minute things. While to one observer this may reflect a discerning eye, to another it may signal a chronic inability to make a decision. Had you ever used or heard the word before? Have you ever met someone persnickety?

Many people have asked me this question concerning relationships:  "What if I give someone a chance, only to get hurt by them later on?" The fact of the matter is that getting hurt is always a real possibility in any relationship. We all enter into a relationship with high hopes. In the early stages, the other person might seem so incredible that you would think they fell from the sky. Gradually, though, one's true colors come out, and they may not always be to our liking. No one's perfect, though, and relationships are all about accepting and working through each other's differences.  It's when those differences become irreconcilable that the relationship is in trouble.  You never really know how a relationship will turn out. The high divorce rate in the U.S. alone can attest to that. Still, if we don't take a chance, we'll never really know what the relationship holds in store.  Even if it doesn't work out, th...

When people judge you and you become bothered and angry by what they say, you lead them to believe they're right. When people judge you and what they say goes in one of your ears and out the other, you're demonstrating one thing: you couldn't care less what they think. This is the posture we should adopt. No one can make you feel bad about yourself without your consent. Why should you care about what they say? No one's a better judge of your character and personality than you. No one knows you better than you know yourself. Why give such judgments any importance when, at the end of the day, what you think about yourself is all that matters? If you judge yourself to be lazy, rude, hurtful, or irresponsible, it's up to you decide whether those traits ought to be changed. Change them because you wish to do so, not because others are prodding you to. If you judge yourself to be bookish or ambitious, it's no one's place to tell you to change those...

Ever wonder why losing something seems so much more potent than gaining something? According to a concept known as loss aversion, our fear of loss is greater than our desire to gain. In other words, we prefer not to lose $10 than to find $10. Some studies have suggested that losses are psychologically twice as powerful as gains. It's no wonder, then, that consumers are so easily swayed by ads that include verbiage suggesting that time is of the essence, like "while supplies last" and "this offer ends soon." Even if we might not want or need a product, we take advantage of the offer -- just so that we don't miss out. The person who said, "You don't know what you have until it's gone" was onto something. When we lose something, we lament the absence of something that may never come back. In many cases, they can be things that hold some sentimental value, like an old shirt or Teddy bear. Gaining something -- say, buying a 201...

Is thinking too much a bad thing? Not when it concerns studying for a big exam, working on an intellectually grueling project at work, or playing brain games like Scrabble and Jeopardy. But it can serve as a hindrance when it comes to making decisions.  Carefully thinking through your choices is one thing. Spending so much time mulling things over as to not make any kind of decision is another. Overthinking breeds inaction. You can't put off decisions that involve your personal and professional forever.  Any action is better than inaction. And choosing not to act isn't a decision.  I'll be the first to admit that making a life-altering decision is anything but simple.  Switching jobs, getting married to someone we've only known for weeks, moving to another city -- these are all leaps of faith, and we really don't know whether such decisions will pan out.  Because of the risk involved, it's no surprise people balk. They think, th...

What's something we can expect to see when we go see a movie at the theater?  Beside popcorn, children, and "coming soon" movie banners, we have to sit through a couple of previews for movies slated to be released in the coming months, otherwise known as trailers . I've always wondered why they're called "trailers" if they precede the show for which we've paid.  As it turns out, the term “trailer” comes from their original placement within the movie screening -- “trailing” at the end of the film. When marketers realized a large portion of the audience left immediately after the feature ended, they moved them to run before the movie began.  A smart move, to say the least. I've observed that at the conclusion of nearly every movie I watch at the theater -- particularly the longer ones -- there are always a few people running for the exits.  Movies absorb one's attention and can very easily wear you out, especially if you s...

Many people fail to understand that, as Confucius once stated, "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." Okay, maybe life isn't as simple as Confucius makes it out to be. Regardless, his sage advice still holds to a certain extent in our consumer-driven, bigger-is-better, dog-eat-dog world. As I've stressed in prior posts, some people are just too hung up on material stuff. They're profligate spenders of the worst kind, running up their credit cards until they begin receiving calls from credit collectors. These individuals really have no idea how much pleasure they can derive from simpler pursuits like taking a jaunt around the park, swimming at the beach, or simply hanging out with their closest comrades. Society wants us to believe that in order to earn people's respect -- not to mention your own -- you must have an expensive car, large house, and all the other bells and whistles that constitute the so-called American Dream....

Today makes another wonderful day to savor life -- in all its beauty. To smile. To laugh. To breathe the fresh air. To commute with nature. To frolic with those you love. Today brings a fresh opportunity to be grateful for the things we so often take for granted -- like having clean drinking water at our disposal and caring friends at the ready. Today invites you to throw yourself headlong into your passions, whether that be watching exhilarating sports, reading to your heart's content, or generously devoting your time to a local animal shelter. Today makes the perfect day to explore places you've never seen, speak to people you've never met, and raise questions you've never asked. Today is all about you. It's all about positive vibes, meaningful connections, and memorable experiences. Relish all the great things you'll enjoy today -- from the delicious slice of pizza during lunch to the conversation with your close friend over the phone. Always ...

On this day in 1785, the Georgia General Assembly incorporated the first state-funded institution of higher education in the newly independent United States. The prior year, the assembly had set aside 40,000 acres from which they aimed to earn the money to endow the institution. In 1786, Yale University alumnus Abraham Baldwin was chosen as president, and the school's charter was hammered out. In 1801, John Milledge, future governor of Georgia, donated over 600 acres along the Oconee River (in present-day Athens) to serve as the site of the new university. Three years later, the school graduated the first class. The new institution's first name was Franklin College, in homage to Benjamin Franklin, and modeled its architecture and pedagogy after that of Yale University. Now known as The University of Georgia, its shift from religious tolerance to gender equity and racial integration was a gradual one. It wouldn't admit women until 1918, the same year President Wo...