It's no picnic waiting for a train on a chilly Sunday morning but that is exactly what I was doing at my local train station in Westport, CT when my attention was drawn to three teenagers who were in a close huddle a few feet from me. I knew they...

It's obvious why we want to make good decisons. Yet, it's also obvious that too many people make too many wrong decisons, from taking the wrong job, marrying the wrong person, to selecting the wrong college. How does this happen?

There are many reason we make wrong decisons but I...

Evolutionary sciences tell us that regardless of your sex, Mother Nature has hardwired you to be a caregiver. If she hadn't, parents would not feel compelled to nurture their young, leading to infant mortality and quick extinction. From an evolutionary perspective, both sexes are hardwired to nurture and protect...

Every once in a while, I find a book that I am compelled to recommend. This time, it is What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20, by Dr. Tina Seelig who has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and is the Executive Director for the Stanford Technology Ventures Program...

If you are like one of the millions that read The Huffington Post, it is safe to say your parents are aging and perhaps ill. How well do you understand what they are going through?

Dr. Tamra McClintock Greenberg, in her new book, Psychodynamic Perpectives on Aging...

A positive critic, whether giver or taker, is one who can consistently get the power of positive criticism. Since there are hundreds of empirical studies that indicate giving and taking criticism positively is a key attribute of successful individuals, productive organizations, and joyful relationships, it is in your best...

A wolf stands over a frozen bird and begins eating it while his littler mate watches hungrily. Then, when he has eaten more than half the bird, he rises, carries the carcass and lays it a foot from his sister's nose. He then waits beside it as she...

Mindfulness is becoming a popular term these days so I thought I would learn more about it by interviewing Dr. Ronald Alexander, a leading expert on the subject and author of the just published Wise Mind, Open Mind: Finding Purpose and Meaning in Times of Crisis, Loss & Change...

The key to managing your emotions is to understand why humans have emotions. According to the principles of natural selection, they must give some advantage in helping humans survive. What is it?

Unlike the majority of the scientists who study the brain as the hardwiring apparatus for emotions, those...

Likability -- it's a key predictor to success in all areas of life. From being the teacher's pet to party invitations to job promotions, likability can get you where you want to go.

Likability pulls people toward you, so a good way to maximize your success is to...

Beauty attracts, beast repels. The fact is, all the universal things we term beauty, that we deem attractive, can be traced to survival.

When fruit is immature and useless as seed, it is green and inconspicuous against the foliage. When it ripens, it colors and gives off a sweet...

A recent Tuesday ago, I woke up in the middle of the night with discomfort in my chest and both arms. Since I had a bad case of indigestion a week before, I thought it the same and an hour later, I was able to fall back asleep.

The...

"When I am criticized, I feel_____________"

If you are like most people, you complete the sentence with words like, "hurt, angry, defensive, dejected, disappointed, embarrassed, put-down, failure, no good, resentful" or other words that communicate the same.

Indeed, few of us come home, call up a friend, or tell our...

Numerous studies show that the majority of us have health vulnerabilities. What are yours? Right off the bat, if you are an average American, you're plump, and your health is at risk. Millions of Americans, all ages, are literally eating years off their lives.

Consider how most of us attempt...

Why are some marriages more successful than others? Startling research in the evolutionary sciences reveals that we are all "hard wired" with natural instinctual tools whose purpose is to help marriage thrive. Natural selection, naturally, favor those marriages that thrive because thriving marriages increase the chances of reproduction, and...

You might think Oprah Winfrey's favorite color is purple but I'd say she is more partial to green, that is, psychological green.

Addressing 4,700 graduates at California's Stanford University, in May of 2008, Oprah Winfrey advised them to always follow their instincts, for they are like "a GPS system for...

In Part 1, I pointed out that Green with envy and Green with Greed have proven to be losing strategies for individuals and our country alike. Now, it is time to become psychologically green, a green that brings with it optimism and productivity.

Being psychologically green means tuning into...

Green with envy and Green with Greed have proven to be losing strategies for individuals and our country alike.

Today, though, there is a new psychological green that brings with it optimism, productivity and a sense of thriving instead of surviving.

Today, being psychologically green means tuning into your...

Nobody likes to worry but we do it all the time. We worry about health, bills to pay, our children, job, future of the economy, and many worry about the state of our marriage/relationship.

Worry does not make us feel good. In all my years of being a psychologist,...

Getting yourself into an empowering environment -- one that helps you grow -- is the foundation for enhancing your life, according to Mother Nature. That's why you are hardwired with shelter seeking instincts, their purpose being to guide you into an environment that helps you thrive-whether it is a job,...