TWO BIBLICAL CHALLENGES TO FIGURE OUT
By
Bill Cottringer
“Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.” ~Bernice Johnson Reagon
There are two very powerful Biblical challenges that have provoked me for years in the search for ... Views: 1589
THE UNNECESSARY SUFFERING PART OF NECESSARY SUFFERING
By
Bill Cottringer
“Anything, anything would be better than this agony of mind, this creeping pain that gnaws and fumbles and caresses one and never hurts quite enough.” ~Jean Paul Sartre.
Life involves a certain amount of painful, ... Views: 1203
SELF-GROWTH REALITY REPAIR
By
Bill Cottringer
“Common sense is the simple knack of seeing something as it is and doing things as they should be done.” ~Mark Twain.
This article has been written for both self-growth writers and readers. Having been an avid student, teacher, practitioner, ... Views: 959
ACCESSING THE SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS CONNECTION
By
Bill Cottringer
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” ~Herman Cain
Success and happiness definitely reign as King and Queen of the worlds’ mind, at ... Views: 1068
The Imaginary Walls Between Religion, Spirituality And Psychology
By
Bill Cottringer
“There are no whole truths; all truths are half-truths. It is trying to treat them as whole truths that plays the devil.” ~Alfred North Whitehead.
Why do religion, spirituality and psychology try to tell ... Views: 996
THE HARDEST LESSON IN LIFE TO LEARN
By
Bill Cottringer
“It isn’t what you think you know that is most important, but rather how you feel about what you think you know.” ~Unknown author.
What is this hardest lesson for us all to learn in life? Learning what to take seriously and what to ... Views: 2363
“Success is what you do and get from finding the abundance that has your name on it.”
~ The author.
At home and work, we are all part of realities we often don’t particularly like and sometimes desperately want to make better. These realities can be uncomfortable conflicts in ... Views: 829
Finding Your Own Underlying Mental Health Within
By
Bill Cottringer
“The obscure takes awhile to see, but the obvious even longer.” ~Unknown author.
Just about the time I finally think I have the main purpose of life figured out, up pops something else with a slightly different flavor and ... Views: 832
There Is Nothing Wrong With Seeing Things The Way They Are
By
Bill Cottringer
“Common sense is the simple knack of seeing things the way they are and doing things the way they should be done.” ~ Mark Twain.
Here are two important clarifications that I think Mark Twain would have agreed ... Views: 1070
“Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.” ~William James.
What is this hurricane that disrupts all relationships at work and home? In two words: Wrong ... Views: 1140
Dealing With The Pressure For Instant In And Out Results At Work Or Anywhere
By
Bill Cottringer
Many years ago I wrote about the need to slow down, because the hectic pace of living that most of us were getting caught up in was causing physical distress. This is certainly not new news, but ... Views: 883
Why Somebody Else Can’t Tell You How To Be Successful And Happy.
By
Bill Cottringer
“Success and happiness are what you get from doing what you have to do to get them.” ~The author.
What do you suppose all these folks have in common?
• All the present living presidents.
• All the academy ... Views: 931
The least Applied Solution to Relationship Conflicts Worth Considering
By
Bill Cottringer
“The only way to mange the destructive affects of anger and hatred are to cultivate the positive antidotes of patience and tolerance.” ~The Dalai Lama.
In any intensely close personal or work ... Views: 805
THE ONLY WAY TO THE TOP IS ALWAYS AN UPHILL CLIMB
By
Bill Cottringer
“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing all the hard work you already did.” ~Newt Gingrich.
This morning I was driven to write this article after initially responding via e-mail to an ... Views: 1040
Five Ways to Keep Your Perspectives Flowing Forward
By
Bill Cottringer
“In anything, perspective is everything.” ~The author
Perspective: Personal point of view; how you view something; different aspects of an object in thought from a particular standpoint.
I hope Lao Tzu doesn’t ... Views: 875
Reality Repair Rx: A Critical Time for Thoughtfulness
By
Bill Cottringer
“You can’t behave your way out of a problem that you thought your way into.”
~The author.
This quote is a re-arrangement of an earlier one by Stephen Covey, “You can’t talk your way out of a situation you ... Views: 913
THE “WORST BAD HABIT” YOU CAN GET CAUGHT UP IN
By
Bill Cottringer
“The obscure takes a while to see and the obvious—even longer.” ~Anonymous.
What is the worst bad habit you can get caught up in? One that is hard to see because it is so much of who we are on this human journey. As it ... Views: 893
AN IMPORTANT “YES, BUT...” CAVEAT OF BALANCE BEING AN ASPIRATION POINT
By
Bill Cottringer
For much of my life I have faithfully bought into the total virtue of the ‘golden mean’ of balance between extremes being the only way to go. This safe road has generally worked out to my benefit, ... Views: 912
THE MOST IMPORTANT YES, BUT…IN ACHIEVING SUCCESS IN ANYTHING
by
Bill Cottringer
“One quality is worth more than four quantities.” ~The author.
Although it may seem as though the quantity of your efforts are what lead to success at doing something your are trying, it is rather the quality of ... Views: 1099
TEN SUCCESS PRINCIPLES TO IMPROVE TRAINING RESULTS
By
Bill Cottringer
Here are the ten best common sense principles to understand and apply in order to improve the quality of your training efforts and the actual results you get:
1. Separate “training” from “teaching” in your mind and ... Views: 1132
BEST 10 CUSTOMER SERVICE TIPS IN THE BUSINESS
By
Bill Cottringer
“Good customer service is 90% listening and follow-up and 10% talking.” ~The author.
1. Leave your bad moods, frustrations and other agendas at home or at least put them aside and out of mind and heart when you are engaged with ... Views: 2340
Unhappiness/Happiness Reality Repair
by
Bill Cottringer
“There is only one cause of unhappiness: The false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held, that it never occurs to you to question them.” ~Anthony de Mello.
Your reality repair results—decreasing ... Views: 1077
Ten Important ‘Yes, Buts…’ of Happiness to Keep in Mind
By
Bill Cottringer
“The good ole days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.” ~Billy Joel.
The path to the most rewarding things in life always seem to be singular, but they do have some “yes, but…” side paths ... Views: 918
What Causes Unhappiness? (And Why This Question is Important)
By
Bill Cottringer
“An unanswerable question: Are good vs. bad and fair vs. unfair dualistic, subjective judgments a human invention just to know one from the other, or do things actually have an innate positive vs. negative flavor ... Views: 4138
Success In The Tit For Tat Relationship Game
By
Bill Cottringer
Success in relationships is based on accurate information used in the basic cooperation vs. antagonism tit for tat game we all play. The tit for tat game typically goes like this. If I choose to do this then I expect you to do ... Views: 6719
Love-Hate Relationships Are Fertile Ground For Learning & Growing
By
Bill Cottringer
“You know you are in deep trouble when you learn to either love to hate a person or hate to love them.” ~The author.
In looking back over the many relationships I have had at work and domestic ... Views: 948
Four Important “Yes, Buts…” About Success to Keep in Mind
By
Bill Cottringer
“Success is often what is left when you empty your toolbox of the failed solutions that are past their opportunity, but hard to give up.” ~The author.
Two very good cases have been made about our main purpose for ... Views: 885
THE REST OF THE HAPPINESS STORY
By
Bill Cottringer
“Unhappiness is just the accumulation of an unwanted feeling arising from incorrect thoughts about and the anxiety of not being able to remove the source of the unhappiness and the increased unhappiness to which all this leads.” ~The Author.
... Views: 1068
Isn’t It Time To Agree Upon The Important Stuff—Doing What Matters Most?
By
Bill Cottringer
In making the long, bumpy and winding way home in my own reality repair journey, I have finally discovered answers to the two most important questions I imagine we all have. These are:
• What is ... Views: 1026
21 EASY WAYS TO HAVE MORE PEACE OF MIND, HEART & SOUL
By
Bill Cottringer
A worthy growth goal and improvement strategy, which builds a valuable sense of general wellness that leads to more success, is to carry out an action plan to give your mind, heart and soul more peace. Hear are 21 ... Views: 5521
SHORTCUT TO HAPPINESS
By
Bill Cottringer
“Happiness is merely what you get from doing what you do to get it.” ~The author, not being facetious.
Or put another way…
Shortcut to Happiness
Want more happiness?
Slow down & do less,
Unload the overload;
Listen to what you want,
Hear what you ... Views: 938
Four Places To Be On The Growth Continuum And Three Of Them Are Bad
By
Bill Cottringer
“If we are growing, we will always be out of our comfort zone.” ~John Maxwell.
Sorry about the gloom and dome title, but it’s true, just like throwing a pass in football—three things can happen and two ... Views: 923
HOW TO BE DEMOTED GRACEFULLY WHEN YOU ARE A GOOD PERSON
By
Bill Cottringer
One of the realities of today’s economic downturn is a hard one to swallow, at least with any honorable degree of courage, humility and gracefulness. This is the reality that you can still be a good person, and an ... Views: 8803
REALITY REPAIR OF THE HUMPTY DUMPTY FALL
By
Bill Cottringer
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses, and all his men,
Couldn't put Humpty back together again!
~Well-known nursery rhyme.
This well-known children’s nursery ... Views: 1122
By
Bill Cottringer
“Faith doesn’t fixate on the ownership of absolute truth of the mystery of life, it allows our experience and understanding of this mystery to grow as it may, with or without our belief and consent.” ~The author.
One process seems most real to me—the creative movement ... Views: 937
A PERSONAL CHOICE: PRETEND OR PLAY?
By
Bill Cottringer
“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.” ~Henry David Thoreau.
For a long time now I have gradually realized ... Views: 842
WE MAKE HELPING TOO COMPLICATED
By
Bill Cottringer
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ~Anne Frank
We tend to make things much more complicated than they need to be. I am not sure why we do this. Maybe out of boredom and ... Views: 861
Two Burning Questions That Keep Popping Up Like the Gopher-Bopping Game at Carnivals
By Bill Cottringer
“Bold questions deserve bold answers.” ~ The author.
There are two burning questions that keep popping up in my life, just like the gopher-bopping game at carnivals. Bop them down ... Views: 1035
Dealing With Early Negative Downloads That Now Control Most of Your Life
By
Bill Cottringer
What can you do about all the negative, unconscious downloads that occurred before age six, that now flood your mind with overwhelming self-sabotaging beliefs that you are not even aware of? This ... Views: 963
Describing the Indescribable Feeling We All Want: Peace of Heart
By
Bill Cottringer
“Words are the voice of the heart.” ~Confucius.
I feel rather foolish. I have been barking up the wrong tree for a couple of decades. I imagined that the end goal of all our reality repair efforts—fixing ... Views: 1006
TEN SIMPLE TIPS TO AVOID TERRIBLE TALK
By
Bill Cottringer
"It is usually impossible to get a conversation going when everybody is talking too much." ~Yogi Berra
If you want to avoid terrible talk, improve your communication skills and get better results with people, try these ten ... Views: 1097
LIKABLE COMMUNICATION
by
William Cottringer
“Our brains quickly perceive others to be likeable, neutral or unlikeable; the words that follow verify that initial perception.” ~The author.
Ron and Jennifer are both successful professionals. Jennifer is on the top of her career as a CEO ... Views: 2167
POWER COMMUNICATION
By
William Cottringer
“Good communication is when an artist conveys the message of his images to a musician who correctly translates them into the musical notes she plays.” ~The author.
Today being a good communicator is not enough. Professional success requires ... Views: 1302
THINK IT BUT DON’T SAY IT
By
Bill Cottringer
As a kid I never bought into the infamous playground chant, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. Just re-look at my last name above. Now let your imagination run wild, empathizing about all the possible hurt and ... Views: 1379
MENTAL SLICING & DICING YOUR WAY TO HALF-HAPPINESS
By
Bill Cottringer
“All colors are friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites.” ~Marc Chagall.
I am well into the second half of my life and in looking back I think I can openly admit that I goofed greatly in the first ... Views: 860
TRUE BALANCE: WHEN TO BE EVEN-HANDED AND WHEN TO GO FOR IT WITH ALL FOURS
by
Bill Cottringer
“Genuine happiness and true peace of mind only come about when you begin to make progress at knowing when to be even-handed and when to close your eyes, hold your breath and jump in with all fours.” ... Views: 773
Good Decision-Making
One of the most important skills in life and work to perfect is decision-making. Successful outcomes are always based on good decision-making but good decision-making is not a skill you can learn overnight or learn from a book. It takes great thought, patience and ... Views: 949
Why Do Bullies Bully?
by
Bill Cottringer
“Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke.” ~Benjamin Disraeli.
I am beginning to think that a very widespread problem today, especially with youth, is the problem of perceiving you are being bullied (by life, parents, teachers, peers, employers, ... Views: 10630
THE FIVE C’S OF SUCCESSFUL REALITY REPAIR
By
Bill Cottringer
There is a mighty roadblock in the way of successful reality repair—fixing broken realities (social problems, economy crises, wars) and creating new and better ones we want (equal access to and enjoyment of abundance and ... Views: 871
IS THERE A POINT OF NO RETURN IN RELATIONSHIPS?
by
Bill Cottringer
“There is a point at which everything becomes simple and there is no longer any question of choice, because all you have staked will be lost if you look back. This is life's point of no return.” ~Dag Hammarskjold.
I have ... Views: 2295