Mindful Mondays #9: Holiday Edition
A big announcement, how not to firebomb your 2023 goals, and advice from Merlin
Good morning, and welcome to the final Mindful Mondays edition of 2022. I hope everyone who celebrated Christmas yesterday had a wonderful time. Happy Kwanzaa and Boxing Day!
This week I’m sharing my most recent essay, a few thought-provoking articles to read before the New Year, and a big announcement—make sure you scroll down to Podcast of the Week to check it out.
Still need to sit down and do your Past Year Review for 2022? I’m offering a free online workshop at 4 PM Pacific time on Wednesday, December 28th. If you’re interested, hit reply to this email and I’ll send you a link.
Chris’s Writing
Insurance Companies Are Incentivized to Deny Mental Health Care
“I just told you this client attempted suicide a week ago, she has no coping skills, and nowhere else to go. Are you seriously suggesting that she’s ready to step–”
“ — My finding is that the client is no longer a risk and is ready to step down to intensive outpatient. Goodbye.”
Click. I looked down at my phone: Call Ended.
I’d been pacing back and forth in my office for the last 15 minutes, arguing with an insurance company doctor over whether a patient could stay at our treatment center. Their answer: no.
In this essay, I draw on my experience as the Clinical Director of a mental health treatment center and reflect on the impact that insurance companies and their profit motive have on patients who need care. Continue reading on Medium.
Articles of Interest
How To Avoid Firebombing Your 2023 Goals: In this article, my friend Clint Nolan (a Consulting Hypnotist and coach) argues that instead of shouting your goals from the roof tops, you should probably keep your mouth shut. By the way, Clint’s Substack newsletter The Elixir is a great read.
7 Habits to Live Better and Longer, According to Science: Looking to cut through the BS around wellness, and especially longevity? In this article, executive coach Brad Stulberg focuses on the highest-ROI lifestyle factors proven to help you live a longer, healthier life. If you’re looking for inspiration to make positive changes for your health in the New Year, look no further.
Remixing Religion: The Dawn of Personalized Spirituality: Do you combine a belief in a higher power with yoga, meditation, the Law of Attraction, and an occasional tarot reading? Tiago Forte’s review of the book Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World tickled my inner Religious Studies major and highlighted a trend that I see more and more, which is that many of us (especially Millennials and Gen Z) are picking and choosing the beliefs and practices we like from the religions of the world and creating our own spirituality.
Podcast of the Week
People of America #11: Chris Cordry: Okay, I admit that I’m super excited to announce this one. In my first ever podcast appearance, I talk with Nik Atanackovic about morning routines, meditation, therapy, coaching, and advice from Tim Ferriss. It was a great conversation, and Nik does an awesome job with his podcast. If you enjoy this episode, I encourage you to check out some of his other interviews and leave him a rating on Spotify.
Quote of the Week
“The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.”
—T.H. White, The Once and Future King
That’s all for this week! I hope you have some time to rest and reflect before beginning the next year.
If you’re interested in trying your hand at a Past Year Review, check out these two articles by yours truly:
If you want me to guide you through your Past Year Review, I’m offering a free online workshop to help. It’s going to be Wednesday, December 28th at 4 PM Pacific time. If you’re interested, just reply to this email and I’ll send you a link.
Cheers,
Chris Cordry, LMFT
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Congrats on the first podcast. I really liked the article about keeping your mouth shut with what you're working on, but it left me with some questions that I lobbed at the author on that post. I also commenting on your Medium article about the absence of humanity displayed by so many insurance companies. So sad.