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Every week, Dr. Justin Altschuler writes a post that provides new insight and perspective into the familiar parts of life, helping readers live a healthy, happy, meaningful life.
Doc’s Thoughts When we think of craftsmanship, we typically think of skilled trades that straddle the practical and the artistic– carpenters, tailors, furniture makers, jewelers, metal workers, bakers. While the craftsmen mentality is strongly focused on whatever the craft is, across crafts there is a devotion to becoming particularly skilled through repeated practice, taking pride in high-quality work, and a dedication to the craft. The joy derives from the process, from the making, rather...
Doc’s Thoughts Given my interest in growth and change, the New Year offers a natural segue for reflection. This year, my thinking about change centers on curiosity and experimentation. When we notice a gap between where we are and where we would like to be, the problem is rarely a lack of information. We generally know what to do. The difficulty lies in closing that gap—making time, setting priorities, finding the courage to face our fears, or even naming them in the first place. One way to...
Doc’s Thoughts This time of year, injunctions to be joyful are everywhere—on cards, lawn decorations, storefronts, and signs. We seem to treat joy as a switch to turn on– we were not so into it in October, and we’ll be over it come January, but now ‘tis the season. And yet joy often feels elusive. The irony is that this elusiveness is not a failure of effort, planning, or even intention. It is a consequence of how we relate to joy in the first place. The problem is not that we want joy, but...