self-awareness

Feelings, Emotions, and Temperaments

Jan 27, 2020

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by

Ron Johnson

in emotional maturity, feelings, Personality, positive psychology, relationships, self-awareness

I remind our readers that we have written several blogs on “feelings,” noting that feelings erupt in four consecutive stages: first physical, secondly emotional, thirdly cognitive, and finally in some kind of action (which could be something said or done). Significant in the understanding of feelings is that feelings are undefined. Thus “feelings” belongs with…
The Narcissism of our Times

Jan 8, 2020

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by

Ron Johnson

in emotional maturity, feelings, grief, mindfulness, self-awareness

Deb and I have a general distaste for pathology-based diagnoses, like narcissism, as well as almost all the other diagnoses that are so popular these days. We have watched as society has come to frequently identify with ADHD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, learning disabilities, and various personality disorders. I hesitate to write this blog using…
Temperament IX: Opportunities and Challenges for Caretakers

Oct 5, 2019

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by

Ron Johnson

in emotional maturity, Personality, positive psychology, relationships, self-awareness

This is the last of nine blogs on “temperament,” the general approach that people take in life. We have previously discussed four “temperaments” as I have conceived of them for several decades beginning when I began to use the term “players” for people who seemed naturally inclined to excitement, adventure, play, and most of all,…
The I-You-We Approach to Relatiionships

Oct 3, 2019

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by

Ron Johnson

in emotional maturity, feelings, mindfulness, Opportunity, Personality, positive psychology, relationships, self-awareness

The I-You-We Approach to Relationships There are three main ingredients in any relationship, namely “I” (myself), “You” (the other person), and “We” (the combination of “I” and “You”). People tend to focus on one of these three elements, somewhat on a second item, and much less on the third item. This discussion is intended to…
Feeling, Thinking, Doing

Jun 24, 2019

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by

Ron Johnson

in emotional maturity, feelings, mindfulness, Personality, relationships, self-awareness, social esteem

This is what psychology is about, and as a result, this is what life is about for people, particularly as they engage the world of things, ideas, and people. We tend to be good at one of these, fair at another, but almost always less than good at the third. Let me explain the paradigm…
Grace and Gratitude

May 20, 2019

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by

Ron Johnson

in appreciation, emotional maturity, feelings, positive psychology, self-awareness, social esteem, Spiritual

Deb and I have a special procedure the very first moment of our entering out cabin “up north” as we say in Wisconsin: whoever is first in the cabin walks over to the light above a sign that simply reads “gratitude.” Gratitude We are grateful to have the cabin, grateful to come and to…
The Essential Ingredients of a Good Relationship

May 18, 2019

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by

Ron Johnson

in appreciation, emotional maturity, feelings, marital, positive psychology, relationships, self-awareness

I suspect you have some ideas of what a good relationship looks like. Certainly, you would identify love as a central ingredient, and perhaps things like honesty, commitment, trustworthiness, or family connections. You might think a good relationship should be composed of good communication, lots of play, or lots of work. I agree that a…
Feelings XI: Paradoxical Feelings

May 5, 2019

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by

Ron Johnson

in Discovery, emotional maturity, feelings, mindfulness, self-awareness

We have been studying “feelings” for some time now, and this is our latest edition. Readers may peruse the previous 10 contributions to the topic. Deb and I are furiously working on a book incorporating all what we have written about and more, but the publication of that work will be sometimes in the future,…
Temperament VII: Lovers: Challenges and Opportunities

Apr 29, 2019

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by

Ron Johnson

in appreciation, Connection, emotional maturity, feelings, marital, mindfulness, Opportunity, Personality, relationships, self-awareness, social esteem

This is the seventh of a series of nine blogs on “temperament.” Previously, I have discussed the four temperaments that we have used to understand people for the past nearly 50 years. As we have defined these four temperaments, we identify players, lovers, analysts, and caretakers. Briefly stated, players seek experience, lovers seek connection, analysts…
Left, Right, and Center

Apr 7, 2019

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by

Ron Johnson

in feelings, mindfulness, morality, political, self-awareness, Spiritual

I’ve had a bit of a difficult morning. I didn’t feel quite “right.” Know what I mean? This “not quite right” brought me right into what I’ve been writing about lately, namely the murky realm of “feelings”. In fact, Deb and I are furiously writing and re-writing our latest endeavor, namely a book tentatively entitled,…