Not sure how satisfied you are with life? Well, there’s a psychological tool to help you with just that.
We’re pretty good at acknowledging if we’re happy or not and then seeking out resources and ways to address however we feel about our overall ‘happiness’ with life. But something people rarely think about is how ‘satisfied’ they are with their life.
Happiness and satisfaction are sort of similar but also quite different. Personally, I believe happiness happens throughout a day or month but isn’t something we have to experience all the time (because all our emotions are valid — not just happiness). But satisfaction with our life? That’s something we can work to create a feeling of within every…
As a writer, the standard measure of output and success doesn’t always apply
One of the most significant difficulties I’ve faced since I started freelancing as a writer full-time is learning how to measure my workdays.
The typical Mon-Fri 9–5 offers us so much structure and the ability to measure our output because it’s neatly handed to us. What we should be doing, how we should be doing it, by when — there are multiple constructs in place to guide us. …
Are you STILL getting in your own way?
Most people have a well-rounded idea of what is meant by ‘self-sabotage’. We’re usually pretty comfortable observing a friend, loved one or colleague’s behaviour and identifying self-sabotaging aspects. Where appropriate, we’re also capable of taking them to one side and having a conversation to help them try and understand and address where they might be subconsciously holding themselves back.
When it comes to acknowledging how we might be self=sabotaging ourselves, however? That’s a whole other ball game.
We’re not so good at firstly, acknowledging we’re indulging in self-sabotage, and secondly, identifying exactly which behaviours are resulting in our own self-sabotage…
I genuinely need to have a conversation about the topic.
Content Warning: In this piece, I’ll be discussing several sensitive topics and using words/phrases that may be triggering for some readers. Please exercise your best judgement for your personal safety before reading.
As a writer, I’m always conscious about the topics I chose to explore and ensuring I do so in respectful ways, while still honouring my own lived experience and curiosities.
I’m part of a few online writing groups, safe places for like-minded people to seek help and advice around the writing life in general. …
At least, I’ve stopped believing in the way it’s currently marketed to women.
Many of us are driven towards self-improvement. We live in an era that fully encourages, endorses, and promotes positive striving towards being a ‘better’ you.
Advice is everywhere from magazines to television, books and (of course) social media. Entire accounts, websites and blogs are dedicated to helping us on our self-improvement and wellness journeys. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness market is now three times larger and more profitable than the worldwide pharmaceutical industry. It’s an economy all of its own, and it’s definitely not one to be sniffed at.
While the idea of striving for self-improvement is…
Wow. February.
Is anyone else sitting around wondering where January went?
I feel like I always spend my Decembers getting excited for the new year to roll around and then ... it’s more of the same. I won’t lie; it’s been a tiny bit of a personal journey getting over that unrealistic expectation!
Curated Careers was started to share ideas, advice, and personal experiences about carving out better expectations for ourselves when it comes to our careers. I started the publication last year when I realised I kept getting asked for help on multiple topics about work and career paths, but not…
These three questions will help you determine whether it’s the golden opportunity you hope it is.
Whether you’re coming out of a period of unemployment, looking for a new challenge, or have decided you’ve outgrown your current work environment, securing a new role is an exciting achievement.
Hopefully, you’ve already asked a good number of questions at your interview, to help you get a clearer understanding of the potential work environment you’ll be entering (we talked about this in my last article, remember?).
Once you’ve actually been offered a role, there are still some important questions you need answers to before I recommend you confidently accept it. …
We’re suckers for holding onto things, people, and relationships longer than we need to.
“Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.” — Ann Landers
The interesting thing about being ‘stuck’ — whether on a person, memories from a past pathway in life, an idea for the self, a career, possessions, or grudges — is that many people don’t realize they are in fact, stuck.
I’ve been guilty of holding on to things long past their due date. I still am in many ways.
It’s a tough habit…
A surprising number of people I coach get stumped by this one — and it’s super important to make sure you know how to respond.
Interviews are almost always anxiety-inducing. No matter how many you sit through, or how confident you are you’re the right person for the job, the act of sitting in front of a panel and concisely, articulately and personably answering their questions always causes a few butterflies.
We often spend quite a bit of time preparing ourselves for the questions we think we’ll be asked. We research the company, revise cognitive behavioural question examples; we practice the STAR technique, we ask a friend or two to give us a mock and a pep talk.
But so many people forget to prepare…
An underresearched but vital emotion: joy is something we need to pay attention to.
For every person who says joy and happiness are the same things, another says they are vastly different. I believe there is a difference between the two, but what exactly that difference is and how we definitively define it, well, that’s a wide-open field of thought.
One thing that many people, psychologists included, do agree on is that happiness is an experience that has many measurable factors. There is a wide range of psychologically proven activities, behaviours, and characteristics that feed directly into our ability to acknowledge, experience, and label happiness.
Joy, on the other hand? Much less researched and…
Elaine M.
Writer etc | Psychologist-in-Training | Careers Coach Veteran | Covering: Careers with Purpose, Positive Psychology + Creative Living without the BS
