The Official Website of Michael Corthell

“I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” ― Abraham Maslow, Toward a Psychology of Being A problem well defined,  is a problem nearly solved  

by Michael Corthell Our lives are a series of problem solving opportunities!   The problems we face will either defeat us or develop us, that is depending on how we respond to them — either with a positive or negative mindset. One of the best things we can do beyond having a positive mindset is to not 'self-create' problems. Be positive always, and love the good and the bad, for it is life and we are to learn from every experience. In one of Norman Vincent Peale's stories, he shares his thoughts on this topic. One day, Dr. Peale was walking in New York City when a man he knew stopped him to talk about his problems. He talked about how he was becoming overwhelmed by his business and personal problems. Dr. Peale listened and then said, ''I know a place where no one has any problems.'' The man became very interested and asked, ''Where is this place?'' Dr. Peale, said, ''In the Bronx, in the Woodlawn Cemetery.''  Prob

Understanding is the first step to acceptance,  and only with acceptance can there be recovery. ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire If you could relive your life, skipping all the bad and hurtful parts, you would miss what made it worthwhile(in the end). You have to accept your life complete, as a whole -- like the world itself.

“Your subconscious is a powerful and mysterious force which can either hold you back or help you move forward. Without its cooperation, your best goals will go unrealized; with its help, you are unbeatable.” ― Jenny Davidow, Embracing Your Subconscious: Bringing All Parts of You into Creative Partnership Think good thoughts, and good follows you. Think evil, and evil follows you(and often those around you!). You are what you think about all-day-long.

“You can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.” ― Michelle Obama Let me ask you a question, an important one for your life. What is better? Taking action and maybe make a terrible mistake or to take no action and die slowly(or quickly) anyway? Life is all about making choices, and taking action.

If you can't decide what to do with your life, someone (or some event) will do that  for you. Your indecisiveness can make you a slave! by Michael Corthell We human beings, as a whole, are surprisingly bad at making logical choices, especially when the decisions we have to make involve too many conflicting options. Many people give up and leave their decision-making up to others by taking a vote, throwing a dart in a map or tossing a coin. ''When you see how the President makes political or policy decisions, you see who he is. The essence of the Presidency is decision-making.'' — Bob Woodward The process of decision making can be made much easier if we weigh all options using a 'pros & cons' list. One of the greatest men in American history used this method. Below Benjamin Franklin describes how he used the 'pros & cons' list. "My way is to divide half a sheet of paper by a line into two columns; writing ov

 

“Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been.” ― Kurt Vonnegut Practice good actions with sincerity today, then why will it matter if you regret it tomorrow?

by Michael Corthell Regret hurts, right? It's a feeling like homesickness, a feeling of what might have been. If only I had_________.  But understand this; regret is a good thing. Why? It is a pointed and profound learning experience. Handled correctly we grow and become better, more well-rounded human beings. It has everything to do with acceptance. ''Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh.'' — Henry David Thoreau In the short term folks are more likely to regret negative actions and mistakes they've made, but in the long term they are more likely to regret missed opportunities and actions not taken such as not spending enough time with family etc. However, there is much value to be had by being regretful. We make sense of the world. ''I tried this and it didn't work.'' C

“Love him and let him love you. Do you think anything else under heaven really matters?”   – James Baldwin In his iconic novel Giovanni’s Room, gay author James Baldwin makes a powerful statement about love. He proclaims that sex and gender don’t matter; all that matters is that two people love each other. Nothing should stand in their way if they have love in their hearts. These words resonated with millions of people who felt like their emotions were invalid because of the gender of the object of their love. With this quote, Baldwin assured them that it didn’t matter because love is love. Equality means more than passing legislation. Equality is won in the hearts and minds of the the people. That's where it really counts.

by Michael Corthell While the gift of sex and procreation is a very important part of this earthly life, many religious teachings including those of Jesus say that neither of these will play a role in the afterlife (or the 'beforelife') because our souls and our spirits, which are the essence of who we really are as created beings have no gender. Our biological packaging is for procreation and gives most of us either a male or female gender assignment at birth, but it is increasingly recognized in the society today that not all of us fit neatly into gender assigned categories, either physiologically or psychologically. The truth is, that human beings are a combination of masculine and feminine energies (yin-yang balance). The physiological representatives of these energies is manifested in the hormone testosterone, and estrogen, we all have some of each in inverse proportions(normally). Generally speaking those who are male at birth would have more testosterone t

“I abhor the idea of a perfect world. It would bore me to tears.” ― Shelby Foote Boredom is the beginning of creative action. The state of being bored opens up room for new activities. Without boredom, no creativity. (See: #PositiveMindset)

by Michael Corthell We have all been bored and some of us are really boring. Boredom is being stuck between wanting to do something and not being able to. It's not that you don't want to do anything. It's just that every thing to do has no appeal—everything seems dull and boring. We are going to change that right now. ''Since boredom advances and boredom is the root of all evil, no wonder, then, that the world goes backwards, that evil spreads. This can be traced back to the very beginning of the world. The gods were bored; therefore they created human beings.'' —Soren Kierkegaard There is really no need to feel disturbed by a little boredom. There's a big world not only out there, and a really big one in here (author points to his head), just waiting to be explored. Here's how to  vanquish boredom . Boredom can be fought four ways:  1. By understanding what boredom is and what it causes. 2. By having some ex