by Steve Ritter | Nov 4, 2026 | Counseling, Wellness
While it’s admirable to have no ego, self-deprecation sometimes telegraphs low self-esteem. Though giving of oneself is a virtue, being a doormat invites others to take advantage of you. Handling a crisis with complete calmness can also appear like you don’t care. The most empathetic among us may also be intrusive. Even the most positive human traits can be under- or overused. When the expression of our personality falls outside of its sweet spot, the intended impact gets lost.
Sometimes a strength employed to its extreme becomes a weakness. An intense results-oriented leader might be impatient with team feedback or the benefits of a process that plays out over time. A wildly innovative creator may have trouble getting to the finish line of a project as he travels down one rabbit hole after another. A hungry and enthusiastic learner may be easily bored and distracted when unchallenged.
Being aware of our natural strengths allows us to be best aligned with our professional path. The career activities that engage these traits are energizing. Those that don’t match up are depleting. Compassionate people can thrive in the helping professions, for instance. Similarly, analytical people often find homes in research.
Yet, the compassionate people are at risk of serving from an empty vessel if they fail to counterbalance their giving with some self-care. Likewise, our analytical friends could suffer from social anxiety if they spend more time with their computers than their coworkers. Whatever the trait, too much or too little negates the benefit.
By all means, discover your strengths and find their sweet spots. But be aware of the symptoms of the extremes. What happens when you overdo it? What is the counterpart weakness that emerges beyond that threshold? How do you dial it back when the strength has morphed into a weakness?
Your best self is always within reach.
by Steve Ritter | Oct 15, 2026 | Relationships, Wellness
Think about the last few social or professional interactions you’ve experienced. Some people fuel you; others drain you. The ‘fuelers’ share energy in a mutual exchange. The ‘drainers’ take more than they give. Their neediness leaves you feeling depleted. It’s as if there’s a hole in their bucket. No matter how much you pour in, it never fills.
Needy people don’t have the energy to be curious about or interested in others. They’re too consumed with getting noticed, validated, or filling some eternal approval gap. Often attributed to self-esteem issues, ‘drainers’ find ways to nudge friends, family, or coworkers into feeding their needs. Yet, there’s little reciprocation, and the relationships weaken. To sustain the relationship, the giving partner must be willing to tolerate the imbalance.
This dynamic is psychologically dysfunctional unless you’re formally in a caregiving role. Caregivers are professionally trained to manage relationships designed to meet the client’s needs. Parents get a similar dispensation given the built-in prioritization of their kids’ needs. Outside of those arrangements, the expectation of a one-way give/take amounts to a demand for free therapy.
A comprehensive commitment to wellness includes choosing healthy relationships. Consider an audit of your inner circle. Life is short, so social events, family gatherings, and workplace culture matter. To the extent that you have a choice, choose wisely. Decline some invitations and fire a few clients. Reboot the social network or kick off a job hunt, if necessary.
Stanford University’s ‘life design’ model includes a ‘Try Stuff’ exercise. The idea is to track the things (or people) that either energize or deplete you. After about a week of tracking, patterns emerge. What you do with that information is up to you. Yet, filling the fleeting time you have left with draining people or activities is questionable.
Pouring time and resources into a bucket with a hole in it only ensures that you’ll spend the rest of your life pouring time and resources into a bucket with a hole in it.
by Steve Ritter | Sep 5, 2026 | Wellness
Lowering your heartrate by 7 beats-per-minute on demand is not a parlor trick. It is a coping tool and anyone can do it. Everyone knows that we process information more accurately and make more prudent decisions when not dysregulated. Yet, life’s circumstances regularly cause upset. Getting from anxious or mad to calm and clear is a universal human challenge.
Biofeedback practitioners have been teaching patients how to alter psychophysiology for half a century. These meditative mind-body techniques affect heartrate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and – most importantly – brain speed. Unfortunately, when we are in crisis mode and the brain is spinning at greater than twelve cycles/second, we lose access to memory.
Think of the proverbial ‘tip-of-the-tongue’ experience when you can’t retrieve an obvious nugget of information. The harder you try (the faster the brain speed), the further out of reach the nugget becomes. As soon as you stop trying to remember, the elusive piece of data comes rushing forward as you slap your forehead and call yourself something derogatory.
The technique is pretty simple and improves with practice.
1. Make sure you are breathing with your diaphragm (kids call it ‘belly-breathing’).
2. Inhale into your belly for about 4 seconds and let the exhale leak out slowly for about 8 seconds.
3. Bring a peaceful mantra to mind during each exhalation.
4. Repeat 3-4 times as your mind and body comes to rest.
In addition to simply feeling better, the ‘Instant Calma’ exercise brings immediate clarity. You regain access to memory which empowers the ability to weigh options when solving problems. You can retrieve the learning from similar past challenges that you have already solved. A previously intense focal point broadens to reveal context for consideration.
Give it a try. Grab your smart watch or any method for tracking your pulse. Mark your baseline and see how much change you can generate in a minute’s time. Poise under pressure – on demand!
by Steve Ritter | Jul 8, 2026 | Marriage & Family, Relationships
“Who would think THAT’S okay?” “When did THAT become acceptable?” “How could anyone possibly like THAT?” Technically, these are questions, but in actuality, they are statements. Each question is a judgment that anyone who thinks or acts differently than I do has it all wrong – because everyone is supposed to share the same opinions, like the same music, appreciate the same food, and make the same choices that I would make. Why would they not, after all?
I once joked with a friend who held different political views from mine that, if I had grown up with his circumstances, I’d be a jerk, too. Not exactly empathy, huh? Rather than seeking to better understand the ‘why’ behind his perspective, I labeled him. In doing so, I instantly cut off any dialogue that would make his choices make sense. I dismissed context with humor.
Fortunately, my friend found my joke funny enough to engage in a serious conversation about our differences – not just in our points of view, but in the contrasting background life experiences that shaped our distinct paths. We grew up in different neighborhoods with different family structures. Our economic situations afforded different levels of privilege. Our role models taught different lessons during our formative years. We had each experienced the lasting impact of different traumatic events.
We were wired differently. One of us was more cautious while the other more adventurous. Our tastes in art, music, and literature left us with few aesthetic treasures to share. We cheered for different sports teams. We voted for opposing presidential candidates. So, what was the foundation that held this friendship together?
It was the very differences themselves. It was the movement from tension to resolution that each interaction invited. It was the richness of a fresh view when you’ve been seeing something the same way for too long. It was the fun and excitement that arise from an edgy debate.
It was the depth of truly knowing someone deeply that comes from the willingness to see their world through their eyes. It was the satisfaction of being understood by someone who remained interested and engaged, despite being stirred up by controversy. It was the accrued years spent together that survived countless disagreements.
Neither side needs to come to the other to form a partnership. In fact, bringing both sides together enriches the alliance. Distance creates closeness. Dependency supports independence. Innovation arises from investment. Loss yearns for attachment.
Opposites attract.
by Steve Ritter | Jun 26, 2026 | Marriage & Family, Relationships
Sometimes the voice in your head is louder than the voice entering your ears. The brain’s input is filtered and categorized so quickly that the chance for an unbiased reaction disappears. Imagine if you could lean in and step back at the same time. You could keep the big picture in focus while zooming in on the detail. The greater the stress of the situation, the harder it is to do both.
Maturity and experience make it easier to keep perspective under pressure. When you’ve been through a few unexpected events, they seem less like a crisis. The typical symptoms of dysregulation are less likely to be triggered. In the absence of a fight, flight, or freeze response, information is processed more accurately, and problem-solving is enabled.
Lean in or step back.
This is difficult. Calm objectivity requires distance (spectator), yet emergent circumstances call for closeness (participant). One tends to switch off when the other switches on. The goal is not to have them both switched on at once, but to be able to toggle back and forth on demand.
Participate to stay engaged and spectate to gather context. Move in and out as needed. At any given moment, the voice in your head might have more valuable messaging than the noise on the outside. Likewise, tuning into the environment can pull you out of the rabbit hole when you’ve gone too deep.
Whether you choose to focus on the foreground or the background, they both exist. The trick is to not lose sight of one while you’re prioritizing the other. Over-attention to either is usually a signal to toggle.
Participate and spectate at the same time.
