Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/Struggling-to-Be-Here-Now.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/Struggling-to-Be-Here-Now.html Many of you know of the book, Be Here Now, the 1971 precursor to Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now. From the titles of these books, you get the idea that there is something to be gained from focusing on the present rather than being run by our painful past or anxiously awaiting the unknowable future. Easier said than done, perhaps. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/Decisions-Decisions.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/Decisions-Decisions.html Should I take this job or that one? This one offers security but is boring and has little room for advancement; that one offers a chance to grow but carries economic risks. Decisions, decisions! We face choices—big and small—constantly. Even the decision between two good things, such as a vacation in the sun or one on the ski slopes, can cause us anxiety. How do we decide how to decide? http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/The-Attitude-of-Gratitude.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/The-Attitude-of-Gratitude.html The other day a client sat nervously in my office, dismissing her "silly" feelings preemptively with a wave of her hand. “Please explain,” I encouraged. She pulled a tissue out of the box and dabbed her eyes, looking at the carpet as she spoke. “I’ve had a lot of health problems recently. I don’t want to be a complainer but it’s been a push just to get up in the morning and go to work. Yesterday, my boss just left a stack of work on my desk and walked away without a word.” With that, her voice broke. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/What-Would-You-Do-If-You-Had-No-Fear.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/What-Would-You-Do-If-You-Had-No-Fear.html “What would you do if you had no fear?” This is the intriguing question that my friend, author Diane Conway, posed to people. Their answers inspired her to write a book of the same name. Her question inspires me to stop often during the day to ask this of myself. Even when I don’t realize that I’m fearful, I find the question useful because fear has many symptoms and disguises. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/Questions-About-Personality-Profiling.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/Questions-About-Personality-Profiling.html Do you have a trait, an addiction, or a disorder that causes you suffering? If you were offered an instant, painless way to stop the OCD, ADD, depression, panic attacks, addiction, angry outbursts, impatience, or shyness, would you want it? What if this treatment could wipe out a particularly traumatic memory for you? http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/Fake-It-Till-You-Make-It.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/Fake-It-Till-You-Make-It.html A friend sent me an e-mail after reading my blog last week about AHAs. In the blog, I shared seven realizations, including: Whatever I judge myself for, others will pick up on it, whether I try to hide it or not. So I may as well stop wasting my energy pretending anything. She expressed confusion because she is also familiar AA’s philosophy of “Fake it till you make it.” She wondered how I reconcile “faking it” with being genuine. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/Ahas.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/Ahas.html I love those rare and often serendipitous moments when I see something in a new way for the first time. I wish that I could plan them but I guess, by definition, an AHA! has to come to us. Perhaps the most we can do to facilitate them is to remain open and not ignore them when they are jumping up and down waving their arms in front of us to pay attention. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/What-Heisenbergs-Uncertainty-Principle-Means-for-You.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/What-Heisenbergs-Uncertainty-Principle-Means-for-You.html Essentially, Heisenberg determined that the mere observation of a particle causes it to then move in an unpredictable manner. I started relating this to us. After all, aren’t we a bundle of particles? Do we, by simply observing ourselves and each other, alter our paths in surprising ways? If observing my thoughts changes my subsequent actions, then I might want to be more thoughtful about what I think. So I came up with a list of Ten Thoughts to Invite Surprising Changes to my own bundle of particles. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/Courtroom-Earth-vs-Classroom-Earth.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/Courtroom-Earth-vs-Classroom-Earth.html When I am coaching my professional clients, in some fashion, I am likely to be asking them, “What risks are you avoiding taking that might very well make you happier?” Together, we examine whatever fears, self-judgments, or limiting beliefs are holding them back, keeping them in Courtroom Earth instead of letting them enjoy hanging out in Classroom Earth. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/When-Opportunity-Knocks.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Work-Life/1864/When-Opportunity-Knocks.html …or as we say in California, when the Universe says “Yes!” Have you ever gotten exactly what you wished for and then, moments later, felt your stomach tighten, your heart race, your mind screaming the admonishment, “What have I done?!” Why is it sometimes more comfortable wanting something than actually manifesting it?