Personal Development

Empathy is me and you

by Queen D, March 11, 2015

If you’re ever feeling down or a little cynical, I recommended entering “faith in humanity restored” into a search engine – and then just sit back and wait for the tears of joy and gratitude to fall. I bet one bazillion dollars that you’ll choke up a little (please don’t take me up on that; […]

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Personal Development

To succeed or not to succeed

by Queen D, January 28, 2015

My guilty pleasure is those #FAIL pictures, especially the sports-related ones. I firmly believe that it’s okay for me to giggle at other people’s flubs because walking without tripping is a hysterical challenge I face on a regular basis. Sports history is laden with examples of epic fails or classic “chokes.” In the 1996 Masters […]

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Personal Development

Success hang-ups – What’s holding you back from awesomeness?

by Queen D, January 7, 2015

It’s inevitable. I’ll be watching the finals in an Olympic event, and there will always be that one athlete who, on the brink of getting a medal, will suddenly stumble (literally and figuratively).  In their tearful post-interview, they’ll say something along the lines of “I don’t know what happened. I guess it just wasn’t mean […]

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Personal Development

The warm and fuzzy benefits of having a pet

by Queen D, October 22, 2014

They’re warm, they’re furry, and they love you just the way you are. And most of the time, you’d rather be around them than other humans. Aside from the mostly unconditional love they offer, pets come with other benefits. Researchers Friedmann, Barker, & Allen (2011) (among many others) conducted a pretty interesting study. They asked […]

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Personal Development

“Money can’t buy happiness” and other clichés

by Queen D, October 15, 2014

I hate clichés, and we’ve heard the “money can’t buy happiness” one so often, it’s kind of lost its mojo. But honestly, if I could give each of you a million dollars to prove that it won’t make you happy (at least not for long), I really, really would. The only thing I can give […]

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Personal Development

The secret to living life fully…learned from kids

by Queen D, September 17, 2014

Image credit imgur.com Something happened after the age of 5. It was like a switch was flipped and suddenly, the world became an intimidating, scary place. In those first five years of my life I was bold. I spoke my mind freely. My mother also told me that for some strange reason, when someone got […]

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Personal Development

The human phoenix: History’s most inspiring people

by Queen D, September 11, 2014

I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and send my love to all the human phoenixes who overcame grief and pain as a result of the events on September 11, 2001. This post is dedicated to you. My friend reads cards – tarot specifically. Being a researcher, I take nothing at face value, but I […]

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Personal Development

Change is the only constant: A lesson I learned from my cat

by Queen D, September 3, 2014

My recent move has set my life off-kilter. I’m a creature of habit and routine; it offers me a false sense of control. Even when I know change is necessary, I don’t really like it. There’s comfort in keeping things the same, kind of like how a person who is depressed finds comfort, so to […]

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Personal Development

I want my own Mr. Miyagi: Life lessons learned from my fictional guru

by Queen D, August 28, 2014

I watched The Karate Kid movies in the late 90’s, years after they originally came out (the one’s with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita, not the remakes). I didn’t grasp much of what the trilogy was trying to teach because my young mind was too busy thinking about how cute Daniel LaRusso was. I also […]

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Personal Development

Just because your head says so, doesn’t make it true: Self-limiting beliefs that are holding you back

by Queen D, August 12, 2014

Before I parallel park, an ugly green gremlin that kind of looks like my driving teacher from years ago makes an appearance in my passenger seat. The jerk doesn’t even buckle up; he just sits there and openly mocks me. So you’re trying to park huh? *snicker* Oh this is going to be gooood! Let’s […]

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Personal Development

Crazy is the new normal – and other lessons I learned in Psychology

by Queen D, August 6, 2014

There are a few memories from university that stand out for me: That time I walked in late to my History of Psychology class and knocked over a girl’s coffee. That night in a mind-numbing Sensation/Perception class where I contemplated switching to Journalism. The Neurobiology quizzes that required us to choose the wrong answer. Aside from […]

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Personal Development

Fries – and other ways to train yourself to be more positive

by Queen D, June 19, 2014

I’ve been on an optimistic stint. Not because I’ve developed a serious case of Pollyannitis, but because the stress of the past month has required a personal intervention. So I’ve been scouring the internet for tips on boosting optimism and encouraging positive thinking and I can offer you this guarantee: If I, a stubborn, pessimistic […]

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