Circumstances beyond our control

There are two mistakes people can make about their circumstances. The first is blaming circumstances for things that are actually under their control, and the second is denying the ways in which circumstances limit what they are capable of. I have written in past blog posts about freedom and free will. I generally follow the…

The magic of assertive communication

One often hears about “communication problems” and “communication skills” in regards to relationships. What is it that makes communication effective or ineffective? First, we have to answer, “effective for what?” All communication has a goal. What that goal is varies by situation. It could be to convey information, to seek out information, to make someone…