June 30, 2026- Are you bored in life and nothing excites you? Do you go through the motions of life, but the fun is gone? Do you find yourself alive, but with no emotional spark? If so, then you are missing out on what a person needs in order to be happy. I will add this lack of motivation can happen in a life that most persons would consider very positive. It does not matter what someone else might think, the important thing is if you find you have a lack of motivation and want to do something about it. Before we talk about things to do to regain motivation in your life, let us talk about some of the things that cause someone to lose motivation. They would include a person being bored, being rudderless and going in no particular direction in life, being depressed and anxious, having too much routine in their life, spending too much time watching television or digital time, not taking care of self emotionally and physically, a lack of spirituality, and simply accepting your life with lack of motivation is something you cannot change. If this is happening to you, you can make changes so you can overcome your lack of motivation in life. They would include investing some time to figure out what you are doing with your time, initially set some small changes to your life that you feel could be helpful and you can do, gradually add more changes, remember your passions and interactions that were exciting in the past, seek spirituality to give more purpose to your life, do things that are fun and different from what you are doing, walk and exercise to keep the body in good shape, keep your mind active with puzzles, reading and other things to keep the mind going, get outside and connect with nature, get some nutrition back in your life and make sure you are eating healthy, get enough sleep, finding new people or groups to add to your life, spend time helping others and being grateful for what you have, limit television and digital time, look at your job and see if you need a new position, look and see if you need more education for a new job or career you desire, be accepting of yourself and your feelings but determined you are going to get some motivation back in your life, and as needed, seek out a trained therapist to help you get more motivation and direction in life.

June 23, 2026-
Everyone periodically can fall into a shopaholic spending spree. For clarification, we are not talking about the person who has a Compulsive Shopping Disorder(CSD) to the level they are in severe financial distress with resulting anxiety and depression because of their compulsion. No, we are talking about the person who spends too much money on shopping and desires to control the spending urges. A person with a severe compulsion to buy who cannot stop on their own very likely needs to find a therapist experienced in compulsive behavior and potentially a group to sort out the problem. The problem we are discussing here is when being a shopaholic leads to you spending beyond your means or simply wasting money spending on things you do not need but feel you want in the moment. When you decide to quit being a shopaholic, a simple plan to start besides cutting up the credit card and waiting a week before buying something you want, is to designate a period of time to only get what you need and when you need it. This is much easier said than done. During this period, on a daily basis, determine what motivates you to buy as urges come forward to buy things and you control what you spend. Typical reasons would be Internet ads, deals from retailers you commonly buy, shopping trips with friends or family, peer pressure to buy, surfing sites like Amazon, a bargain you cannot resist, or a desire to own something regardless of your need. If you want to effectively stop being a shopaholic, you need to distinguish between need and want. Many people have a problem with this distinction. You need to do it to control your shopaholic spending habits whether you are 15 or 80 years old. Minimizing shopping trips with friends or family can help. Most people can remember coming home from shopping or the shopping trip with many things they really do not need and not even sure they want after they have them. Being willing to return things that one determines they do not need or they do not use is part of the process of stopping being a shopaholic. The more you do this the more you will realize how many things you buy that you do not need. It is a wise thing to look at how many clothes or books or whatever you have bought and see if you ever used them. While hopefully on a much smaller scale, you may find you have become “Emelda Marcos” in the present. You might remember that during her period as the First Lady of the Philippines, she had at least 1060 pairs of shoes. You do not want to fall into the pattern of going shopping and talking about how much you saved while ignoring or not wanting to admit how much you spent. It is difficult to stop being a shopaholic, but now is a good time to start.

June 16, 2026- I strongly believe family meetings can enhance family unity and communication. This is true even in our world where we no longer always have the nuclear family and there often is one parent raising children, parents co-parenting children, or there is some combination of family members in a blended family. I would argue that regardless of the composition of the family, having family meetings on a regular basis can be very helpful. In such a fast paced world where social media and the Internet can capture the attention of children and adults for a good share of a day, it is important that there be times that families meet and discuss things related to them. I would suggest these be on a weekly basis to the point they become something that is expected and often pulls the family together when distractions separate family members from each other. Typical things that
can be gained from regular family meetings would include improving family communication by having all members communicating, allowing children and adults to discuss their feelings and make arguments about what their needs are and what is important to them, a place that is psychologically safe where everyone can share their feelings and not feel they are going to be attacked or not be listened to, observe parents modeling tolerance and understanding, everyone can have a sense of belonging, resolve conflicts that otherwise can simmer and lead to breakdowns in the family, using communication to enhance understanding in relationships, teaching children and parents alike how to listen, share home work responsibilities and work together as a team, compromise, teach leadership through parental modeling that will carryover not only from family meetings but to other relationships in life, and develop a closeness among family members that often is lacking. Parents often do not do this because life can be so hectic that it is hard to have a time when people can sit down and talk. It also happens because it does not seem to be something that is really promoted as important in our society. I am not saying that people are opposed to family meetings. No, I am simply saying it does not seem to be something that people are talking about and doing as a priority. I can say from my interactions with people in my work and life in general that family meetings are not common. It is not easy to just sit down and have family meetings. It is best they have been developed as the family was growing and became a natural thing for people to do. This is something that should happen at least once a at a time that is picked each week to get everybody together and talk. It is never too late to start. My advice is to begin trying it and see how it works out. It may be awkward initially, but the possibility of developing better family communication certainly makes it worth the effort.