Too many people continue to dismiss the importance of mental health, despite societal discussions surrounding it. The conversations are moving toward a better understanding, but the implied disregard for the seriousness behind mental illness causes people who need treatment to go without it for fear of ridicule.Even worse, many people don’t recognize they have mental health issues because it’s something not discussed in their social circles. Therefore, my blog series for May will address the perceptions about mental health that impede the progress of those who need help.The reality is taking care of your mental health—and seeking treatment if it is not in tip-top shape—is just as important as taking care of your physical health.

I've talked a little about absent fathers in this series, but not much about how men who aren't fathers can still function as mentors. I've also not talked about how disengaged fathers affect the lives of their daughters. So—I wanted to tie up a few loose ends in this last blog of the series.

Who is your ultimate exemplary father? Do you look to a higher power for his main guidance? Even if you’re not a spiritual or religious person, or a member of a Christian denomination, the Bible is one source for guidance that still provides terrific reading, teaching tales of morality we should all follow. The most ardent atheist wouldn’t even disagree in principle with any of the Ten Commandments.

If there were a lottery for winning an exemplary father, I hit the jackpot. I'm here today because of my father. I don’t just mean physically. I mean everything that makes up my personality, my beliefs, my motivations, and my convictions; they are all a direct result of watching the hardest working man I’ve ever known make a good life for himself and his family.The word “exemplary” means “worthy of imitation or commendable.” We need more fathers in today’s society who live up to this definition, and we need to celebrate those who always have.

To seriously address the issues surrounding fatherhood in America, we need to understand what the statistics show. As I mentioned in the previous introductory blog, I don’t want any single mothers to take offense to anything that I’m saying. They do fantastic work and often raise amazing children on their own. In most cases, their man has left them. That’s a big reason for why I’m writing this series on fatherhood. We need to get men to stop leaving and live up to their responsibilities.

As we enter spring, a time of renewal, I thought it would be a good time to look at a topic that doesn’t get enough attention these days: fatherhood.It seems like we live in a world where the social climate lately is often anti-male which, unfortunately, spills over into the topic of fatherhood. Just look at almost any television show or movie made in the last ten years that features a family. The father is almost always represented as the dumb, irresponsible character.I have nothing but respect for all of the single mothers out there who have managed to put a life together with their children.

ver the last several weeks, we’ve learned how to embrace introversion by tackling different personality traits that some people mistake for personality flaws.

Before I talk about my favorite tips for embracing introversion, I want to drive home the point that there is nothing wrong with anyone that can’t be tweaked. Some of us are born with certain personality traits that make interacting with others easier, while some of us have to work on those skills.

Do you feel like you don't get noticed or receive the right kind of recognition in your professional and social life? Whether you feel like your life got off on the wrong foot or think you are one of those people who blend into the background, you’re probably wondering why more people don’t seem to actively like you. I’m not suggesting you’re shunned by fellow students, teammates, or co-workers; I'm asserting there is some kind of wall between you and the rest of them that you’d like to see crumble, but you’re not sure of the best way to break it down.

One of the biggest challenges for me in life is I’ve always been quite the introvert. I think the most wrongly labeled people in the world are introverts. We’re called things like shy or snobby when people don’t spend the time to understand that we’re just more quiet and inward than the extroverts of the world.

Find yourself engaging in negative self-talk? Feel like the dumbest person in the room? In this month’s blog series, we’re going to examine some of the negative self-talk we engage in and learn how it affects our success.