The sunny-side-uppers claim that a positive attitude is the secret to success. If only all the Eeyores of the world would start thinking more positively, we could cure disease, create world peace, and line our pockets with riches.

Yet the self-proclaimed realists assert that they're the only ones...

It's the late-night, whispered conversation between you and your spouse when you're finally alone in the bedroom after an exhausting day of dealing with family holiday drama.

"You've got to talk to her," hisses the wife, who has been counting the days until the "holiday" is over.

"She's...

Growing up, we never said "grace" in my house. My mom was raised Catholic and my dad a Baptist. Somewhere along the line, they both left their resepctive childhood churches, and by the time we came along, religion was no longer part of their daily lives.

I suspect...

An open letter to men:

We love you, we really do. We know you're different than we are, and we like it that way.

It's true we often ask you to act more like we do. But if we're honest, we know - and you know - that our...

"Oh no, too many people showed up, and we ran out of parking spaces."

"Groan, we already had three events this weekend, and now we have a fourth. I don't see how we're going to be able to fit it all in."

Such is the stuff of modern...

How did you get where you are today?

Was it skill, luck, hard work?

If you're somewhat successful, it was probably all three.

But what's it going to take to get you to the next level?

Will it be more of the same? Or could some of your perceived...

Forget health care and Afghanistan, the big media question of the day is: Who's going to replace Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America"?

There are bigger life-and-death issues out there, but who we share our morning coffee with matters, or at least it matters to those of us who watch...

Outbursts in Congress, cursing on the tennis courts, and grabbing the mic from a young award winner; everyone is lamenting our loss of civility as more and more public figures continue to behave badly.

To quote my grandmother, "I think someone has forgotten their manners."

"WE already have a science project," said one mom.

Another asked, "Who did YOU get for language arts?"

It was Back-to-School Night at the middle school, and there were a whole host of parents who seemed to think they were entering the...

"She's just trying to push your buttons."

"He's such a manipulator."

We often accuse others of being manipulative, but do you know how hard it actually is to manipulate people?

It may seem like when, say for example, your mother (or your mother-in-law) repeats the same...

Does the size of your spoon affect your waistline?

Will the location of a scientist's cubicle impact his productivity?

Can the width of an aisle determine the future of a nation?

If you want the answer, ask Joseph Grenny. He's an expert in propinquity. It's a...

Who's got your back?

Do you have people in your life that you can count on to support you, no matter what?

Sometimes it all depends on how you interpret the word "support."

We all need people who will be there for us in our darkest hours....

Should job interviews include a weigh-in?

There's been some debate in the media about whether or not Surgeon General nominee Regina Benjamin is too overweight for the position. On behalf of chubby, middle-aged, smart women, I feel obligated to take up this cause.

I'd like to know,...

It's just a moment.

It's the moment when the usually calm mother screams at her kids, or the normally kind man loses his temper or the competent TV news anchor rolls her eyes after a trying segment.

Yet still we judge.
...

The evil stepmother is a staple villain of fairy tales. A wicked witch who cackles into a mirror, she starves her husband's children while she wallows in riches.

Today's stepmoms might not be accused of casting spells, but talk to any first wife about her husband's new wife and...

Welcome to the new normal.

Your 401(k) has tanked, your job is hanging by a thread, and purchases you once considered routine are now major life decisions.

Many have suggested the current economic challenges are causing us to rethink our values.

That may be true, but I'm...

It's a middle-aged rite-of-passage. It's the moment you become invisible.

It's when you realize that people (people of the opposite sex, that is) are no longer looking at you; they're looking through you.

And it's even more depressing if they're gawking at your teenage daughter.

For me,...

We all know that body language can convey thoughts and emotions. But did you know that people are more likely to respond to your non-verbal messages than they are your verbal ones?

Dr. Richard Strozzi-Heckler says, "When people listen, only 7 percent is content, the other 93 percent is...

I love television. I truly love it. I wept when TiVo was invented, because it meant I could watch even more of it.

Sophisticated people claim to be "soooo busy" that they don't have time for mindless TV. Or at least that's what they're all quick to tell whenever...

Do you ever notice how some people always seem get the best tables and the most helpful sales people, and nobody ever messes up their order at the drive-through?

Is it just good karma? Or are they doing something different than the rest of us who find ourselves dealing with...