Susan Mary Malone

We think of anger as such a negative emotion. After all, we know the physical repercussions of that “fight” part of the fight-or flight syndrome:  Raised blood pressure from the surge of stress hormones, which do all sorts of rotten things to our bodies. So we know the downside, and why learning to manage anger […]

Well, that’s a bit harsh. But doesn’t it sound like something your grandpa would say?  I know mine would have.  Although he’da said it in his soft sweet voice, which tampers a bit the clanging sound that goes right to the gut. But grandpas tend to have learned a thing or two, and know that […]

I had the funniest thing happen the other day.   And funny odd, not ha ha. Have you ever had your buttons pushed and you didn’t even know they were still there to be pushed? Always so enlightening! I’d just had a great hunt with my brother, extended brother, and another long-time family friend (also male). […]

We all have those times where we’ve lost the fire. Whether we’ve been knocked to our knees by defeat, or caught in the slog of a seemingly endless grind, or the mountain just keeps being too high to climb, or despite all our best cajoling the muse has escaped into the ethers and refuses to […]

Love. That elusive beast.  We all rejoice when we feel its surge.  And fight it when it wanes. Of course, women at least want to believe that rush of loving feelings will remain—forever.  In the happily-ever-after vein.  Prince Charming will always be that hero galloping in on a white steed (with which of course Freud […]

We all know of Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.   On the bestseller list for decades now, it’s de rigueur for all business types.  And for people just wanting to better themselves and their lives. Although it has revolutionized the business world, the habits themselves aren’t that revolutionary.  I.e., you read them […]

Isn’t it just almost impossible to narrow it down to 3. Ah, the rich resources of the female persona that have made our world oh-so-much better. Not that men haven’t too, of course, but women in history tend to get less, let’s say, credit. And many of these females leaders in history, well, nobody knows […]

I just love myths and legends, don’t you?  But it took me a long time to get bitten by the wisdom within them.  Mainly because—all the ones I was exposed to featured men, dealing with men’s issues. Not that I haven’t gone back and fallen in love with those too!  The crux was I just […]

Do you sometimes feel that events have conspired against you?  That whatever evil force running amok in the Universe keeps shooting arrows into your back? When just everything seems to go wrong.  The car has a flat. The dishwasher breaks. The washer overflows.  Why does this all happen at once? Or, one big thing goes […]

Do you ever have one of those weekends that just feels like a reward?  When finally you get some rest and get to chill and just do the things you love? Okay, chores are always in there as well, but that’s normal day-to-day life. I just had one of those weekends.  Like you, my life […]

Or think positive?  Or vision, exactly, our successes? Isn’t this just mood making? Gabriele Oettingen, Professor of Psychology at New York University and the University of Hamburg, focuses her research on how people think about the future, and how this impacts cognition, emotion, and behavior.  Her book, Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation, debunks a lot of […]

And we all run into that brick wall of not wanting to. You know the feeling—when you’ve been pursuing some goal, chasing a dream, and it just seems as though doors keep closing in your face.  Or, you keep failing at whatever task you’re trying to master.  Or your competition, foe, antagonist, whatever lies before […]