© David Hogan: In memory of Shirley and Mom

An Encouraging Word: Dealing With Difficult People

Requests for training and consultation on dealing with difficult people are exploding, Normally self-contained people who have applied their communications skills of active listening, paraphrasing, and checking for understanding are now yelling "Enough already!" Their patience has eroded as they have exhausted their repertoire of skills.

Don't give up hope. As many have noted, civility and courteous communication at work may have diminished in the last few decades. However, there are resources to help us address the problem.

One desk reference that I and my clients have found useful is Dealing With People You Can't Stand by Rick Brinkman and Rick Kirshner (Revised and Updated Edition) New York: McGraw Hill, 2002. (Click for more...)

DOL K-9 Team Prevents Serious Injury    Article from U.S. Department of Labor, LaborNet

On the morning of December 13, 2006, K-9 Team Walter Feno and "Lotti" were conducting a perimeter patrol in the area of the 3rd Street entrance of the Frances Perkins Building...(click for more)

Preparing for the Unexpected

The horrors of Katrina and the problems faced by pet owners in natural disasters prompted us to explore suggestions for keeping dogs safe.

"When Disaster Strikes…" an article by Liz Palika in the February 2006 Dog World offers instructions from a seasoned dog trainer... (click for more)

To Know how to wait is the great secret of success.
~Joseph De Maistre

Transcendence is the power to be born anew, to make a fresh start, to turn over a new leaf, to begin with a clean slate, to enter into a state of grace, to have a second chance.

Transcendence makes no reference to the past, whether your past has been overflowing with victories or filled with defeats. When you enter a state of Transcendence, you are able to create a new life, unburdened by both the victories and the defeats of the past.

Transcendence is more than just the accurate realization that the past is over. It is also a realignment of all dimensions of yourself with the very source of your life.

~Robert Fritz

Box: Dogs versus Human Companions

This meditation is taken from The Couples Companion by Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt, New York: Pocket Books, 1994.

It is so easy to love our pets—they're so responsive, so grateful for our attention; they make no demands. Our partners are another story. They expect to be treated as equals. They want understanding and attention, they bore and anger us, they have the power to cause us pain. Why can't they just be as loving and grateful as the dog?

The wish for an uncomplicated, stress-free relationship is understandable, but it is a childish wish. Intimacy with a real, flesh-and-blood person is the product of intention and hard work. In the long run, it is only through mutually responding to each other's need for understanding and attention, only through resolving boredom and anger that we win our partner's love and gratitude. It is only through meeting each other's demands for time, and alleviating each other's pain through changing our hurtful behavior, that we can truly be best friends.

Pet your partner today: feed them something yummy: be best friends. Go for a walk together.

In my time of quiet today, I keep in mind that real love with a real person is achieved only through hard work. I give thanks that I have a loving partner who is on this journey with me.