If you have a lasting, fulfilling friendship or love relationship, odds are it is not due to luck. It’s humbling to sometimes remind ourselves that everyone is pretty much as offensive as everyone else. Unless you are being emotionally abused or manipulated, chances are the challenges you face in your relationship would most likely surface with anyone you choose.

How do you deal with the dispiriting and demoralizing moments in your own development? None of us can be permanently cheerful or carefree. You may lose direction or even inspiration at times. Have you ever felt numb or deadened inside?

Do you have a habit you desperately wish to break? Do you munch late at night, gossip, smoke, or drink a tad too much? Those who gossip sure do have a sense of rumor. Why is it so dang hard to break that groove? Believe it or not, your brain seeks to minimize effort. So, when you create a habit pattern, you no longer have to think about it much. You are now on automatic pilot.

Many of us share a powerful instinct to try to please others and look good in their eyes. You may find yourself agreeing with his views or her choices. He loves golf. Oh yes, so do you. He is voting for this or that candidate, and all of a sudden, so are you. And you know what they say: George Washington is the only president who didn’t blame the previous administration for his troubles. Then again, it’s been said: If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let us do it.