Really Useful Therapy: Another way to look at things

Nancy and Tamara follow up on the discussion of creating Bright Spots. They share some of their own observations, as well as discuss possible pitfalls to those just starting out this practice.

Finding happiness is a misunderstanding. Creating happiness is a better way to look at things. Tamara and Nancy discuss a simple practice to expand how we see the everyday events that are helpful in creating bright spots. 

Tamara and Nancy discuss another way to look at the concept of microdosing from the perspective of how we use our thoughts. Tiny doses of negativity can affect our mood and shape the remainder of our day.  

This episode touches briefly on the topic of death and loss.

There are times when we are hit with situations that are difficult emotionally. Often, our first instinct is to fix the situation to alleviate suffering - either in the other person or in ourselves. What do we do though, when there is nothing that can be fixed?  

In this episode, Tamara and Nancy discuss their subtitle. Six little words that can be a reminder of pausing and taking a step back to look at any situation from a different perspective. 

Often when we hit an obstacle we think it's a sign that says - "this wasn't meant to be!" What if instead, we thought of this as normal; that obstacles are expected; and that they simply create another way to look at things. 

In this episode Nancy and Tamara discuss the key ingredients that may help in weathering through life's "speed bumps" that have the potential to slow us down, but with a splash of "cognitive flexibility" we are able to generate other possible paths to reach our goals.  

On this episode we talk about one example of lifelong learning. As we come to see using Tamara's example, lifelong learning isn’t about perfection. It’s about staying open, staying curious, and giving yourself permission to grow.

Pausing and taking in the significance of reaching milestones in life provides an opportunity to experience self-validation, self-acknowledgement and a sense of accomplishment whether that means graduating from high school or college, getting a new job or promotion or just getting through a particularly challenging year. 

Grieving the inevitable losses we do and will experience in life can occur in a variety of forms.  Sadness is only one facet of how grief expresses itself.  Grief can also come in the form of anger meant to transform or clear a way for something else to be there. And grief can  help us articulate feelings of loss for things we yearn for but never had. . . a lost childhood, lost innocence, lost opportunity.  

Playfulness is often seen as something children do. Somehow during the business and seriousness of adult life, playfulness seems to go by the wayside. In this episode, Tamara and Nancy discuss the benefits of playfulness throughout our lives.