If it’s true that chance favors the prepared, then it’s equally true that preparation is everything. Preparation centers on your mind. You keep your mind working through lifelong thought. It’s never too late to start, but you have to maintain … Continue reading →

When we say someone has an “inflated” sense of himself, we’re really saying that he’s inaccurate. In other words, he sees himself as having virtues that he does not have; or, he sees himself as having more virtues than he … Continue reading →

There are countless ways to say NO. But NO is still NO. NO is the absence of yes. Keep this in mind when dealing with others. Many don’t want to say no; they’re not comfortable with it. They mean NO, … Continue reading →

Living through your children is not the same as loving them. Living through your children means trying to control them, to set the course of their lives–all in the name of “doing what’s best” for them. It’s dishonest. It would … Continue reading →

A person is depressed when he/she feels that no action is possible to gain control over improving life. Bitterness is the result of anger piled on top of the depression. Bitterness is the attempt of the psyche to reassert itself–through … Continue reading →

“Depression” started out as a clinical, psychiatric term. It applied to a pervasive, irrational and consistent feeling that one is helpless and has no control over one’s life and existence. Depression applied to an unfortunate minority of the population. In … Continue reading →

Anyone who tells you that something is ideal, but impossible, has suggested that he has given up.

An emotion is a decision after the fact. You don’t decide to have an emotion, but its very presence in your psyche is proof that some thinking has already taken place that you can either choose to embrace–or choose to … Continue reading →

I don’t believe in mystical devils and possessions. But I do believe in their real-life equivalents. People actually create their own demons. No, they don’t mean to do so–but they still do. How? Mainly by refusing to face facts in … Continue reading →

Those who have arguments provide facts, along with conclusions. Those who have none, provide insults. Matching insults with insults doesn’t prove you grasp the truth. It doesn’t do justice to the truth. It only shows you have no arguments, either. … Continue reading →

Awareness makes honesty possible. Self-honesty is critical. You will not tell the truth to others unless you’re in the habit of telling the truth to yourself. Yet to be honest about the truth, you must be aware of the truth. … Continue reading →

Q: Dear Dr. Hurd: In today’s culture, it is easy to be cynical. How can one not succumb to cynicism while simultaneously not being naive to the negativity or ulterior motives of people? A: The term “cynicism” implies a departure … Continue reading →