Michael Mantell

By Michael R. Mantell, PhD SAN DIEGO — I’m convinced that if there was a drug that offered all of the benefits that play does, it’d be the biggest seller on the planet. But who needs to buy a pill when play is free, available 24 hours a day, and no prescription is ever needed? Plato […]

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO —  Want to get active and healthy while also improving your romantic life? That’s right. The two go hand in hand.  If you are concerned about your spouse’s/partner’s health, his/her weight or activity level, here’s a method for you to be a good role model for health, have

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO –Happiness, for many, is a serious life goal.  We “only want our children to be happy.”  People spend their entire lives “searching for happiness.”  We hear people declare, “You bring me so much happiness.”  Or worse, we hear people pronounce, “I’ll never be happy.” What’s all this business

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — Life, to many, seems like it is a series of popularity contests. The only people who don’t like popularity contests are those who either believe that they will lose them, or worse, do lose them. They hold their breath each time they walk into a room, get up

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — So you want to improve the way you and your spouse, partner, co-worker or friends at the gym communicate?  There probably isn’t anyone anywhere that believes there isn’t room to improve in this most fundamental skill of life.  If you disagree, at least do it agreeably. The

By Michael Mantell, PhD SAN DIEGO — “I’m so hurried at this time of the year, I don’t have time to breathe,” my Caffeinated Corner buddy spouted on and on. What’s a Caffeinated Corner? Oh, that’s the group I see nearly every morning at the local Starbucks where we sit and over coffee and a

By Michael Mantell, PhD SAN DIEGO — A client recently bought an expensive new car. He hasn’t been the same since. He’s been ranting about how expensive it is, how he shouldn’t have spent so much, and on and on. I asked him about what type of options he put into it and he angrily spewed, “A

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — You can tell a person by the company he or she keeps. Our friendships not only tell a lot about who we are – in many ways they actually make us who we are.  I’ve heard it said  that one’s peers create an environment in which the

Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO–In .28 seconds I found 18,900,000 results on Bing, and 61,500,000 results in 0.46 seconds—honestly—on Google on how to “survive the holidays.” Millions of tips on how to “survive” the holidays! What in the world has happened to us? Have we gone mad? C’mon now. We need more than these many

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO —  My family owned shoe stores in Newark, New Jersey, when I was growing up.  I worked in their stores from the time I was seven years old.  One day, my grandfather brought me outside to teach me an important lesson. He pointed out the competitor down the street

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — “Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must,” counseled Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. But what’s with the “must”, JW? When “must” we “endure”? By the time you finish this column, you’ll realize you don’t need to ever endure life, but rather you can find enjoyment in every