COMMENTARY: Making the Best of Family Relationships

For most of us, there’s something both wonderful and worrisome about large family gatherings. On the good side, we often can experience real pleasure in spending time with relatives with whom we have so many common memories. What’s more, being with parents, siblings, and cousins who have known us since childhood often helps us see ourselves

QUOTE: How many times do you get to lie before you are a liar? How many times can someone lie to you before you start asking yourself: What else has he/she lied to me about?

The moral significance and real life impact of lies embedded in the concept of trust. Your ability to generate and sustain trust is not dependent on the frequency of lying but the capacity of the lie to damage or destroy trust. The best liars hardly ever lie, not because they are more honest but because they are more clever. They …

OBSERVATION: If you were given a wish from an all powerful genie as to one attribute for your children what would you choose. There are lots of candidate’s: honor, intelligence, perseverance, common sense, integrity – I want my kids to have all of this. But if I really could bestow on them one attribute I think it would be optimism.

Optimism is the most powerful of the children of positivity (experiencing the world and expressing oneself in positive  terms). Its siblings: gratitude, enthusiasm, cheerfulness, hopefulness are other attitudes that not only improve the way we experience our lives, they set into motion actions and reactions that dramatically improve the likelihood of success as well as happiness. People react positively to …

Recent Activities at Josephson Institute

What’s new and exciting at Josephson Institute? Here’s an update: Proposal for Colombia. I worked on a major proposal to the Secretary of Education of Bogota, Colombia. They are seeking bids on ways to help them initiate a comprehensive values education program in their 400 or so public schools. The idea is to integrate into their academic program the teaching …

MEMO From Michael

It’s been a busy month for us as we adjust to our new, very lean staff resulting from the downsizing last month. If you value what we do either personally or what we are doing for the world, please, please consider making a donation here. I know these are difficult times for everyone, but even $5 or $10 could make …

We All Need to be Appreciated

The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated. – William James Expressing appreciation with words, a smile, or a hug costs so little and means so much. It can make a day or even change a life. — Michael Josephson

The Myth of the Little White Lie

So-called “little white lies” are not so little. Anytime someone discovers that you lied to them, for whatever reason, they ask themselves., “What else has he lied to me about?” And this seed of doubt can grow big enough to destroy trust. The ultimate test

OBSERVATION: Ignorant people can be both wise and kind and they are worthy of respect for the qualities they have, not contempt for those they lack.

I was surprised how many people responded to the posting on my What Will Matter Facebook page. It was a picture and quote from Aibileen Clark, a black maid in the movie The Help: “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” I added this line: “Grammar doesn’t matter nearly as much as the sentiment – one that every parent and …

“You is Kind. You is Smart. You is Important.”

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