jane seaton, ph.d.

I read an article at the New York Times yesterday* about how ineffective willpower and effort are, for implementing New Year’s resolutions. Apparently numerous studies show that what does work, really well - instead of gritting one’s teeth and getting all stressed out - is practicing gratitude and compassion, plus genuinely taking pride in our accomplishments. As an independent teacher and psychotherapist, this new understanding is going to change the logistics part of my wor

I love accidentally discovering new ways to do things. I made a mind map* recently. It took three versions to get to a completed, articulate - if somewhat daunting - depiction of my current life as a whole. But I kept the second work-in-progress version, on which I'd drawn all the categories I needed to include, but also ended up with lots of crossings-out, redirecting arrows, etc. I couldn't quite bring myself to throw out this second version, even though it looked messy and