Check Out These Blog Posts From Steve McEllistrem

My doctor told me I needed to get more exercise and she recommended I do some activity I enjoy so that I’d be more likely to stay with it. If you don’t like running, for example, you shouldn’t run as a form of exercise or you’ll soon quit. If you find some activity you like, you’ll be more inclined to stay committed to it. That’s where the trouble started. I’ve always liked digging holes. It gives me a sense of ...

As I age, I find myself becoming increasingly indecisive – two minds trapped in the same head. I still feel strongly about a great many things, but I no longer possess the certitude that my position on any given issue is correct. There are those who talk about old people being set in their ways, but I’ve noticed a lot of older folks who, while being rather sedentary and definitely creatures of habit, are not that rigid in their thought ...

I’ve been writing for a long, long time – many years. And there have been times when I’ve experienced writer’s block – many times. But lately I’m undergoing a new kind of obstruction, a kind of ennui born of futility. The more I study the world, the more I examine people, the more convinced I become that we really don’t want to change our minds about anything we hold dear. And that’s one of the things I most want to ...

I used to think that optimists were overly positive, putting a spin on reality to make it conform to their sunny dispositions. That used to frustrate me. At times, it still does. For example, when the boss tells you to improve your attitude and be a positive person at meetings rather than pointing out the flaws in management’s positions, I get annoyed. That’s not real optimism. That’s being a “yes man” or a sycophant or going along to get along ...