by Joshua Hook | Jun 29, 2020 | Helping
One of our friends had a baby last week. They had just gotten home from the hospital, and Jenn and I thought it might be nice to see if they needed any help. I sent a text first: “Let us know if you need anything!” I didn’t get a response back. Jenn sent a second...
by Joshua Hook | Jun 15, 2020 | Anxiety
Often in life, we struggle with anticipatory anxiety. This is anxiety about something that hasn’t happened yet—but might happen in the future. The tough thing about anticipatory anxiety is you can’t really do anything to resolve the problem, because you haven’t taken...
by Joshua Hook | Feb 3, 2020 | Acceptance
The other day, I was feeling frustrated. I was dealing with an injury, and it wasn’t progressing as quickly as I wanted it to. I was going to physical therapy, and doing my exercises, but the reality was that I was going to have to accept a less than ideal situation....
by Joshua Hook | Nov 15, 2019 | Trouble
When something bad happens, we might wonder what we did wrong to deserve the difficult circumstance. If faith is important to us, we might bring God into the conversation. If good things happen and our life is going well, we think God is happy with us. If bad things...
by Joshua Hook | Nov 13, 2019 | Confidence
I used to get really anxious when something would go wrong in my life. I lived in “protection-mode.” I always worried about losing something, doing something wrong, or saying the wrong thing. Then I would beat myself up when I made a mistake (which we all do)....
by Joshua Hook | Oct 20, 2019 | Emotion
I got together with a friend not too long ago who was struggling. I knew he was having a tough time, but when I asked how he was doing, he just replied, “Fine.” I’m always a little wary when I hear someone say they’re fine. What does fine mean, anyways? FINE: Feelings...
by Joshua Hook | Oct 13, 2019 | Relationships
There’s a simple question I have started to ask people in my life, and it’s been very helpful for my relationships. Here’s the question: Do you want help or feedback? The Fixer In life, my tendency is to be a fixer. It’s just how I’m wired. When someone tells me about...
by Joshua Hook | Aug 21, 2019 | Support
My shoulder has been bothering me when I work out, so I scheduled an appointment to see a physical therapist. Here’s the problem: My shoulder has been bothering me for a while now—probably 2-3 months. But I just now booked an appointment to get some help. What’s the...
by Joshua Hook | Jun 9, 2019 | Time
Author Scott Peck tells an interesting story about a time he was taking a walk in his neighborhood and observed his neighbor fixing his lawn mower. Scott was impressed, because he had always struggled to do anything mechanical. Scott told his neighbor how impressed he...
by Joshua Hook | Mar 13, 2019 | Change
One of the things I’m most passionate about in life is transformation. I love to see people tackle their problems and make huge changes in their life. That’s why I became a psychologist in the first place. I love to help people reach their goals, whether it is a...
