Dealing with pushy salespeople, difficult coworkers, or everyday drama can test your patience. Luckily, I’ve got a few assertiveness tricks that actually work.

You can’t grow if you don’t know. Self-awareness means noticing your patterns, owning your triggers, and catching yourself before you say “I’m fine” when you’re clearly not.

Everyone loves compliments, right? If you deflect praise, downplay it, or assume someone is just trying to get on your good side, it might be a sign of something deeper.

Your childhood plays a part in how you handle failure. If mom swooped in to “fix” everything or dad just stood there disappointed, you never learned to manage failure.

Several years ago, I received an email from someone who had taken Queendom’s Emotional Intelligence Test. He wasn’t very happy with his low score and expressed his discontent by cursing us out and calling us names that I will not reiterate in detail here, as this is generally a PG blog. However, it was something […]

After my car decided to do a little jig at a red light and blink some rather dire warning lights, I found myself having to call for roadside assistance. On the way to my mechanic, the tow truck driver inquired as to what I did for a living. “Research and psychometrics is the official title,” […]

I don’t think I’ve ever been a silver-lining kind of person, even as a child. You know how kids always have that “pie-in-the-sky, everything-is-awesome” view of the world? That wasn’t me at all. I was the Chicken Little, the doomsayer. I was the “OMG-we’re-going-to-get-in-trouble/we’re-all-gonna-die” kid. Try as might, I’m not a very good optimist. I […]

Advice is kind of like ordering a pair of pants online: It won’t fit everyone, but you’ll only really know if it will work for you if you try it. And like fashion, some words of wisdom go out of style. I always strive to offer practical tips in my blogs, but sometimes the things […]

1. You feel like you’re just going through the motions. You’re existing, not living. I call this the “running on auto-pilot” feeling. You get up in the morning and go to work because you have to pay your bills. When someone asks how you are, your response is always “fine,” even when you’re not fine. […]

I am honestly dumbfounded by the ease at which people reveal their deepest, most humiliating secrets on one of those second-rate, no-holds-barred talk shows—in front of millions of strangers no less. I can barely speak above a whisper when talking to my pharmacist about bowel issues. This is why I kind of love the whole […]

Saturday afternoon, I watched my hairdresser as she flitted around getting my “recipe” ready. She seemed different: Her step was lighter, her head a little higher, her smile less strained. “The energy here is different,” I noted. “You like it here.” I swept my eyes across the room. There was a Christmas tree in the […]

I never really joke about therapy. I think it can be extremely useful, especially since some doctors are a little trigger happy when it comes to doling out prescriptions. I don’t oppose drug therapy. If a person is suffering from a debilitating disorder, medication is often required to help the person achieve a degree of psychological balance. But […]