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	<title>GARCIAWESTBERG</title>
	<link>http://garciawestberg.com</link>
	<description>positive psychotherapy</description>
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	<item>
		<title>What is Your Quality of Life?  Or, How Happy Are You?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The following categories are generally used to measure quality of life:

Health
Self-esteem
Goals and values, or philosophy of life
Standardof living
Work
Recreation
Learning
Creativity
Helping or social service and civic action
Love relationship
Friendships
Relationshipswith children
Relationshipswith relatives
Home
Neighborhood
Community

]]></description>
		<link>http://garciawestberg.com/2012/01/01/quality-life-happy/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>The Past and Behavior:  Is There Something More To It?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have been functioning under the assumption that we need to understand our past in order to change our present.  It is common for therapist to agree that if someone isn&#8217;t aware of their &#8220;issues&#8221; in regards to their past, that we will repeat the same dysfunctional patterns of behavior.  If I tend to choose mates who are violent and I am not aware of the fact that it is partly because of my history with my over-controlling and critical mother, for example, that I will continue to choose violent partners.  
I&#8217;ve spent years upon years analyzing the influence of past behaviors on current behaviors.  I know that it is extremely beneficial to many, I am not arguing against it.  What I do want to challenge is our understanding that this is the &#8220;best&#8221; and only way to change behavior.  I think that everyone ...]]></description>
		<link>http://garciawestberg.com/2012/01/01/behavior/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>What is Happiness?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The dictionary definition of happiness is “a feeling of well-being and contentment.”[i]  Others define happiness as a state of being determined by how satisfied one thinks one is and how much one is growing.  Then again, others feel happiness is a decision &#8211; you can only be as happy as you decide to be.
Psychologist Martin Seligman provides the acronym PERMA to summarize Positive Psychology&#8217;s correlational findings: humans seem happiest when they have

Pleasure (tasty foods, warm baths, etc.),
Engagement (or flow, the absorption of an enjoyed yet challenging activity),
Relationships (social ties have turned out to be extremely reliable indicator of happiness),
Meaning (a perceived quest or belonging to something bigger), and
Accomplishments (having realized tangible goals).





[i] Retrieved from Merriam-Webster dictionary online www.merriam-webster.com on 1/15/11.



]]></description>
		<link>http://garciawestberg.com/2012/01/01/happiness/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>To Make New Ground or Refine What Has Already Been Done?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have always thought that the way to go about life was through innovation.  This interview makes me question, but I&#8217;ve resolved to believed that, as with anything else, it is a bit of both.  However, I am thankful that this short quote will make me stop and reconsider changing paths without contemplating refinement of what I have, or others, have already done.  From An Interview with Art Garfunkel:
I&#8217;m a mathematician who&#8217;s anal-compulsive. So I don&#8217;t want to freshen up the song each performance. To me, singing is execution. You don&#8217;t throw out what you&#8217;ve learned to execute. You refine what you&#8217;ve learned. And I run into a difference of opinion with Paul on this. When we tour, after the eighteenth show Paul invariably goes, &#8220;Now we know it. I&#8217;m tired of the show. Let&#8217;s move on to some other project.&#8221; And I go, &#8220;No. Now we&#8217;re ready to execute it.&#8221; ...]]></description>
		<link>http://garciawestberg.com/2011/12/22/ground-refine/</link>
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		<title>Thinking Too Much Leads To Unhappiness</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Researchers have found that people who think too much, or dwell, on the negatives in life, are less happy than those who do not[1]. So much so, that those who are prone to dwelling spiral downwards quicker when they face negative life stressors.
 “Ruminative, intrusive thoughts have been found to deplete people’s cognitive resources”
Having negative thoughts is not good for our happiness, but yet negative thoughts pervade our lives.  I find myself having negative thoughts several times a day. If you pay attention, you may find that you are having negative thoughts more often than you would like to acknowledge.
 Dwelling on the negative is like everything else in life, the more you do it, the worse it gets. Or, the more you hang around those who do it, the more you will do it. For example, if you come from a family that routinely sees the negative, you are more likely ...]]></description>
		<link>http://garciawestberg.com/2011/12/21/thinking-leads-unhappiness/</link>
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		<title>How To Survive Hard Times</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Everyone faces hard times at some point or another. Economic uncertainty, strained family relationships, or health problems, are just a few examples of hard times that come to mind. Hardships have one thing in common: they create a sense of desperation and uncertainty. Hard times can make most of us emotionally unstable and maybe even depressed. Depression is the last thing one needs when facing difficult times. How can we make sure we don’t make things worse by becoming sad, withdrawn, and defeated when we are faced with hard times?
Read More
]]></description>
		<link>http://garciawestberg.com/2011/12/17/survive-hard-times/</link>
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		<title>6 Ways to Conquer the Fear of Rejection</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Harvey Mackay from Inc. writes an inspiring article about conquering rejection!
]]></description>
		<link>http://garciawestberg.com/2011/12/16/6-ways-conquer-fear-rejection/</link>
			</item>
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		<title>The Key To Success</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Read this.  It will help you succeed in life.  The basic premise is that in order to become great at anything, you must put in 10,000 hours of practice.  And it must be deliberate practice, where you go beyond your comfort zone to make yourself better.  You also must have mentoring or coaching.  They dispel myths regarding those stories of people of made it overnight.  When they looked at this people, they found that they had practiced over and over again until their hands bled in order to make "overnight" success.  It's a good read.
]]></description>
		<link>http://garciawestberg.com/2011/11/06/key-success/</link>
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		<title>The Secret to &#8220;The Secret&#8221;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s taken me years, but I think I got The Secret figured out.  For those of you who don&#8217;t know, &#8220;The Secret&#8221; is a book/movie that advocates for the notion that whatever you believe and imagine about your life becomes your reality.  So, if you image that you own a beautiful mansion, you will eventually get that mansion. Their motto is, &#8220;ask and the universe will provide.&#8221;  There is one caveat however.  It works for things you think about not wanting as well.  Hence, if you imagine and believe you are a loser, that is what you will be.  Back to my discovery.  I&#8217;ve witnessed that the ideas behind The Secret worked but I couldn&#8217;t accept that it was simply magic or metaphysical will.  Today I spent the whole day thinking about this and found the answer I was looking for.  When we imagine something, we think about the details ...]]></description>
		<link>http://garciawestberg.com/2011/10/14/secret-secret/</link>
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		<title>Work Is Making Americans Sick</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Although the Declaration of Independence promises the pursuit of happiness as a natural and legal right, stress, anxiety, and depression kill more people in the United States than anything else. These emotional states lead to diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Most of the stressors involved are due to job related events. We are overworked and over-indebted. Our need and compulsion to work as much as we do is making us a sick society. &#8220;Depression affects more than 21 million American children and adults annually and is the leading cause of disability in the United States for individuals ages 15 to 44.&#8221; Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. &#8220;By 2020, Major Depressive illness will be the leading cause of disability in the world for women and children.&#8221;
I&#8217;ve studied most, and applied many, of the therapeutic models out there. Many of them are based on figuring out ...]]></description>
		<link>http://garciawestberg.com/2011/10/13/pleasure-2/</link>
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