Todd Smith

Like everyone else, I often feel like I’m facing a relentless storm of digital information. Excessive emails, social media, and instant messaging leave us overwhelmed and disengaged. Fostering hope may offer an answer. Psychologists have long recognized its power to build and maintain a positive motivational state that supports goal-directed determination and planning (Snyder, 2000). […]

Do you remember when you learned how to set goals? If you have trouble answering that question, you’re not alone! Most of us don’t spend much time thinking about how we set goals. In fact, many of us don’t even think of goal setting as a skill; rather, it’s just something we do without reflecting

Have you ever noticed your feelings? How often have you stepped into others’ shoes and experienced their emotions? How well do you understand what you feel and why you feel so? Emotional Intelligence is our mind’s ability to perceive, manage, and express emotions effectively in real life. Jack Mayer and Peter Salovey (1990) defined Emotional

Life is never perfect. As much as we wish things would ‘just go our way,’ difficulties are inevitable and we all have to deal with them. Resilience theory argues that it’s not the nature of adversity that is most important, but how we deal with it. When we face adversity, misfortune, or frustration, resilience helps

Grief is characterized by a contradiction. On one hand, it is a complex and painful maelstrom of thoughts and emotions triggered by the loss of someone precious to an individual. On the other hand, it is a natural and positive healing process that plays an essential role in helping us work through and let go

There is a buzz about resilience lately. Resilience is the ability to recover from setbacks and adapt to challenging circumstances and is required to thrive and flourish. It is a foundational psychological tool that empowers us to feel effective and capable of handling uncertainty. Despite this definition, there has been discussion about what the essence

Have you ever caught yourself replaying the same “what if” thoughts late at night, hoping that worrying might somehow prepare you for whatever comes next? You’re not alone. Worry often disguises itself as planning, responsibility, or even love; it’s a way to protect ourselves from disappointment or danger. But beneath its surface, worrying is less

Have you ever noticed how worrying can feel productive, like if you think hard enough, you can prevent bad things from happening? The truth is, worry may begin in the mind, but it certainly doesn’t stay there. Chronic worry impacts nearly every system in the body, linking mental stress to physical illness. From sleep loss

We’ve all been there: replaying a conversation in our heads, questioning a decision we made, wondering what could have been. The list goes on. We overthink things. Overthinking might start with good intentions. It can be the mind’s way of trying to create certainty or support in an uncertain and ever-changing world. But when our

Are you stuck in a chronic overthinking loop? Ruminating over past choices, words, actions, and outcomes? There is a way to get unstuck. Understanding the cycle and patterns of overthinking is an important first step. It gives us a way to start to change behaviors and work toward mental clarity. In our previous article, we