HappinessCounseling.com

A language of life and self-esteem

The last few months I’ve been studying what seems like a brand new language. I say “seems like” because this language actually isn’t foreign to me or to you, like Chinese or Russian (assuming you’re not bilingual:). Rather it’s what we spoke naturally when we were very young, before we became immersed in the language [...]

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Bullshit! hit piece on self-esteem and Nathaniel Branden

Time for a break in a long blogging hiatus. A close friend of mine informed me that Penn and Teller recently did a Bullshit! episode on self-esteem, which can be viewed here (though it might become defunct due to being in violation of so-called “intellectual property” laws). A very thorough explanation of the show was done [...]

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Owning feelings, then changing them

One of the most important and psychological insights is that feelings are not irreducible primaries. While most people take them as “the given,” feelings are actually the result of our subconscious assessments or interpretations, in the form of super rapid thoughts (or “silent assumptions,” as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) calls them). This means that feelings are [...]

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Happiness and hedonism

As I’m about to go out to enjoy the sun-drenched Mission Bay beach that beckons from my bedroom window, I thought “hedonism” would be good to address. Along these lines, I also had an extraordinary conversation the other night with a woman who had not yet encountered the explicitly Objectivist perspective on happiness. (Btw, if [...]

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Happiness in hard economic times

This year may prove to be difficult for many, as the seeds of statism sown over the years grow into seriously poisonous foliage. Since government has a monopoly on the medium of exchange in our economy (via fiat currency and legal tender laws), it’ll be hard for anyone to escape the consequences. With that, how [...]

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