[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. Throughout The Daily Stoic, references to slavery are used. According to Merriam-Webster, a slave is thusly defined: Noun – 1. someone captured, sold, or born into chattel slavery (slavery in wh

[DISCLAIMER] Photo credit, fair use When attending United States Marine Corps Recruit Training aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego (1996), I received Linear Involuntary Neural-Override Engagement (LINE) training—a hybrid martial arts combat fighting system used by Marines from 1989 to 1998. Unlike the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) training which began in 2001, which focused on incapacitating enemy combatants, LINE training was mainly concentrated on ki

[DISCLAIMER] On his album Wednesday After Next (2019), rapper Chris Webby featured the song “Stuck in My Ways” in which he states, “While these minutes on the clock tickin’, either learn to love me as the man I am, or don’t, but I’m not switching,” and he continues on a chorus by admitting: I’m stuck in my ways, stuck in my ways They saying that I gotta grow up, and to start acting my age I ain’t saying I’ma never change But some things’ll always be the same I’m stuck in

[DISCLAIMER] Photo credit, Designed by Freepik, fair use I invite you to imagine that a current problem you’re facing is akin to a metaphorical cliff which you’re climbing. Other people are also ascending the rock face, as some individuals appear to have an easier time with the climb. What is it you tell yourself during this imaginary journey? One figurative tool you can use along your ascent, which relates to a form of self-narrative, is virtue (a quality or characterist

[ DISCLAIMER ] In common parlance, the term “realistic” relates to being able to see things as they really are and to deal with them in a practical way. For instance, it isn’t realistic to train (to make prepared , as by exercise, for a test of skill) in unrealistic settings (e.g., training to swim while lying in sand). As well, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines “training” as systematic instruction and practice by which an individual acquires compete

[ DISCLAIMER ] From what I was told, I sustained bilateral clavicle breaks during natural childbirth when I weighed 10 pounds and 10 ounces. Thereafter, I was said to have contracted pneumonia which required placement into an incubator. Also, I apparently had an allergy to dairy and breastmilk. Isolated from my mother’s touch and subject to incubation, I reportedly had a photo taken of me with a paragraph written about my case that was placed in a medical book. As the sto

[ DISCLAIMER ] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy , this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman . The authors quote ancient Roman Stoic philosopher Gaius Musonius Rufus who stated, “Indeed, how could exile be an obstacle to a person’s own cultivation, or to attaining virtue when no

[ DISCLAIMER ] When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs ). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness . For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable A ction occurs and you B elieve an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable a

[ DISCLAIMER ] When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs ). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness . For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable A ction occurs and you B elieve an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable a

[ DISCLAIMER ] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy , this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman . The authors quote Seneca who stated, “This is what you should teach me, how to be like Odysseus —how to love my country, wife and father, and how, even after suffering shipwreck, I migh

[ DISCLAIMER ] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy , this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman . The authors quote Epictetus who stated, “If you are defeated once and tell yourself you will overcome, but carry on as before, know in the end you’ll be so ill and weakened that eventuall

[ DISCLAIMER ] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy , this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman . It isn’t uncommon for people to reach out to me regarding care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “ mental health ”), as they seek advice . Regarding such behavior

[ DISCLAIMER ] By the time I attended United States Marine Corps Recruit Training (1996), I’d already been in a number of physical altercations. As my experience with fistfights began in elementary school, I had awareness of what it was like to get punched in the face. For instance, as a resident of a children’s home in middle and high school, I’d engaged in mutual affrays with various boys. On one instance, a school bus driver pulled me off of a boy who sucker punched me

[ DISCLAIMER ] Earlier, when looking through video content from my time in the Marine Corps (1996-2007), for a Veterans Day blogpost, I came across footage of my first time ice skating. In 1998, when stationed in Okinawa, Japan, I found that there was no exception to gravity’s force when on ice. The memory of that subjectively humorous event reminded me of a Passport Rav song from his 2021 album Sand in My Carry On , entitled “ Ice Skating ”. For those who are unfamilia

[ DISCLAIMER ] Photo credit , fair use Halfway through my fifth grade year, my mom sent me from Amarillo, Texas, where I lived with her, to live with my dad in Aurora, Colorado. I was an overweight, white-appearing, biracial (white and black) child with a thick Texas accent, and who didn’t know any other kids at school. When enrolled in Crawford Elementary School (pictured above), I was introduced to Crips who lived in the local neighborhood. This introduction was by way

[ DISCLAIMER ] In a blogpost entitled Practice How You Perform , I discussed a concept that I learned in childhood: Practice how you play and play how you practice. This expression was also reflected throughout my training when I served in the United States (U.S.) Marine Corps (1996-2007). For example, the above photo is the only image I have depicting my law enforcement defensive tactics training when becoming military police (MP) while stationed aboard Fort McClellan ,

[ DISCLAIMER ] When assigned to the Marine Security Guard detachment (det) in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (1999-2000), I was quite athletic...

[DISCLAIMER] Have you ever been exposed to a CS gas chamber? I have. In a blogpost entitled Resilience, I described my experience from...