So a bunch of people in my life have been telling me how frightened they are by the financial situation in the world today, and how they’re concerned that their jobs or businesses won’t survive.  Interestingly enough, I predicted in advance who most of these people would be.
How did I do this?  The answer is [...]

I recently read an interesting article in Newsweek about a study by Stanford University psychologists.  The researchers took two groups of people, put them in separate rooms, and had them fill out questionnaires as part of a supposed experiment.  In fact, however, the questionnaires had nothing to do with the actual study.
The real experiment began [...]

Transitioning to a career that has us feel more purposeful and fulfilled—and overcoming all the anxieties in the way of making the change—is a big achievement.  Unfortunately, however, making this kind of transition usually doesn’t render our lives anxiety-free.
There are, of course, logistical issues involved in starting a new career—for example, finding clients, decreasing our [...]

A while back, I worked with a client who was interested in leaving her corporate marketing job and opening a health food store.  Although she knew a lot about the products she wanted to sell and had a passion for her business, she had no experience dealing with the logistical issues—like finances and inventory—that come [...]

I believe many of our fears, career-related or otherwise, stem from a misperception of ourselves as small and weak.  We see ourselves as too fragile to deal with possible setbacks in our jobs, confrontations in our relationships, medical issues, and so on.  Even if we know it’s not rational, many of us have the deep-seated anxiety [...]

My friend often complains that he feels overworked and underappreciated in his career.  He does have a somewhat stressful-sounding job–at his company, he supervises a team of tech support people who are constantly barraged with emergency computer issues.  But from what he’s told me, I think at least some of the problem results from his [...]

Many of us spend a lot of time fretting over aspects of our lives that might turn out badly in the future.  Maybe it’s the fear that we’ll mess up a project at work, that we won’t be able to pay the bills next month, that we’ll have some type of medical crisis, or something [...]

Personality tests are becoming increasingly popular among people starting out in their careers and those seeking career transitions.  These tests are intended to gather information about the taker’s desires, fears, values and skills and recommend careers best suited for people with those traits.  If we pick a career that other people with our personality type [...]

I often work with people who feel crushed under the weight of their obligations.  They have so much to do, and they’re constantly worrying that it won’t get done.  When I suggest they can calm themselves by changing the way they think, I’m usually met with skepticism.  “Changing how I think won’t make my obligations [...]

A friend recently admitted that she feels guilty when she talks to me, because it seems like she’s always “unloading her problems” onto me.  It’s true that she sometimes tells me about the obstacles and anxieties in her life.  But I’ve never felt “burdened” or “unloaded on” when she tells me what’s going on for [...]