Pete Michaud

Brand New Problems

“I’m sick and tired of these same old problems. Please universe, give me some new problems to deal with!” If you feel like you’re in ground hogs day, experiencing the same problems over and over again— distant lovers, lukewarm career, friendships in tumult—then those...

Fundamental Needs #1: Whipping the Ones You Love

Julie loves dogs. She is a member of PETA, and a vegan. When she was a kid she had a dog named Bella. Bella was her best friend because her mother resented her in a way that most children only think their mothers resent them, and her scam artist dad had pissed off years prior. Julie moved every few months...

Change the World, No Excuses

Thank you very much!! Your blog was a little spark that ignite a fire inside me. I don’t know if you remember, but my heart was destroyed, and the next day a I got an email from G8 (the best 8 universities in Australia) inviting me to apply for masters. It was something i have always wanted, but at...

The Art of Honesty

Honesty is something I’ve talked about here because being honest begins with self-honesty. You can’t “be authentic,” or build the life you want without self honesty because you’ll have no idea who you are or what you want to do if your entire mental life is walls and facades....

How to Choose Your Emotions

We think our emotions happen to us. The internal experience of an emotion makes it feel inevitable. Our language even tricks us: that phone bill made me angry. But that’s an illusion. To prove that our reactions and experiences are entirely within our control, I present one Thích Quảng Đức. ...

The Awesome Power of Forgiveness

I wept like a heart broken child just now. It’s not a cute and shocking metaphor. I was literally wracked with sobs, convulsing in the fetal position on this couch in the San Francisco Bay Area until about 30 seconds ago. This requires some context. I’ll tell the whole story some day, but...

The Psychiatrist’s Last Stand

The Last Psychiatrist is a blog I read because his way of thinking excites me and his way of writing impresses me. He recently wrote an article about Second Life, and I think it may be one of the last I read from him. Not because it’s bad, but because it’s so very good. There comes a time as a...

Words Have Power

“Tiff’s a chocolate whore.” Ben is Tiffany’s husband, and he’s a well-meaning guy. He has a bit of a way with words. The three of us are walking into a Godiva store to pick up a treat for Tiffany. Ben says “Tiff’s a chocolate whore.” “Aficionado?...

You’re Right

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry...

How to Break Your Limits

Gema is 23 years old and might be gay. She’s not sure. (Not news.) The problem about being maybe-gay is that Gema lives with her hyper-conservative parents, and has no legal rights as an unmarried Muslim woman in Indonesia. She was in a bind. Her parents expect her to find a nice boy (of their...