In the 1985 movie, The Breakfast Club, anti-hero John Bender is mouthing off to Assistant Principal Richard Vernon, while in detention. His defiance is funny, but finally, Richard Vernon says to him, “You know something? You ought to spend a little more time trying to make something of yourself and a little less time trying to impress people. You might be better off.” In the movie, Bender is kind of a jerk in the beginning.

Personal growth is an integral part of happiness. It’s something that we try incredibly hard to achieve throughout our lives. We look to influencers, books, and other sources searching for that ‘ah ha’ moment to catapult us into a different realm. Honestly, most of us work extremely hard to find that happy medium to live our lives in harmony. So, when people come along to wreck that growth (and they will), it can negatively affect

This meaning behind this Zen quote is similar to the meaning of a quote often attributed to Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau said, “Happiness is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder…” The same idea is stated in, “The bird of paradise lands only on the hand that does not grasp.”

In The Incredibles, Edna Mode gives us great advice in all her scenes. She is a costume designer for superheroes. When Mr. Incredible visits her to make him a new suit, she examines his old one, calls it a hobo suit, says he can’t be seen in it, and throws it in the trash. Confused, Mr. Incredible removes it from the bin and says, “what do you mean? You designed it!”. Edna replies, “I never

Human beings spend a fair amount of time trying to avoid pain. We try to escape our emotional pain by staying too busy to notice it, or by smothering it with various addictive substances and activities. Our commitment to avoiding physical pain is no different, either. Of course, it’s not a big mystery why we do this. Pain doesn’t feel good. It hurts. It’s uncomfortable, or even excruciating and downright unbearable at times. No one

During a speech in Washington, D.C, in 1883, world-renowned writer and orator Robert Ingersoll gave an address where he complimented Abraham Lincoln. In that speech, he said something along the lines of, “If you want to judge a man’s character, give him power.” This quote has widely been spread across social media platforms and even out of the mouth of politicians as something Abraham Lincoln uttered himself. However, it was Robert Ingersoll who said it

Autumn has always been my favorite season. Growing up in New England, I got to experience the full wonder of the four seasons. Now that we live across the country, the change of seasons is much later in the year and certainly not as profound. Every chance I get, I love to visit home in the Autumn. And if I can’t make it back, I will order apple cider and apple cider donuts and have

Have you ever felt as though your words were not being received and understood in the spirit in which you intended them? Maybe you were trying to have a meaningful discussion with someone, and they acted like you were verbally attacking them. Or maybe you were trying to be encouraging but they felt like you were being dismissive or insensitive to their feelings. When misunderstandings like these happen, the problem might not be that your