Archive | Mental Health

Thou shalt not smoke

Just when you think you’ve experienced it all…well, then, something new happens. Magnus moved into our current office a few months ago. We were in the old one for over 24 years and the new one is definitely an improvement over the prior office, in most ways. The new office is in a 2 story, […]

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Magnus’ former office building offered few opportunities for interaction with the other occupants of the building, which is a small, 1 story structure with 4 individual office suites.  Although the on site property manager smokes cigarettes, he is always polite enough to smoke outside.  For the entire time Magnus has been in business, we never […]

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The Destruction of Goodwill

Negativity bias has a long history of research within social psychology. Negativity bias refers to the tendency of many people to assign greater importance to negative information than positive information. Considerable research has revealed that negative adjectives and descriptions contribute more to people’s overall impressions of others than positive adjectives and descriptions. It is important […]

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Goodwill can be fleeting.  I am thinking about some other recent interactions and encounters where it has disappeared quickly.  A fast food restaurant which forgets to include the dipping sauces, or hands out sub standard (for them) food comes to mind.  Another restaurant which has great Vietnamese food but frequently gets the take out order […]

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Technology is Great…until it isn’t

We rely on technology in today’s world. Some tech is life or death; some of it just seems that way. After my last post, one might understand my frustrations with technology – the loss of data with a server crash is very painful. And, even after supposed recovery of the data, we find ourselves spending […]

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One of my friends recently asked me to fix her computer.  She was surprised when I told her I have absolutely no idea how to fix computers, phones, tablets, or any other electronic devices.  She remarked that, because I am so smart, she thought fixing a computer must be simple for me!  I wish!  Given […]

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The Middle of Everywhere

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 15, 2021

Category: Business Travel, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, RoadWarrior, Travel, Work-Life

David and I recently visited Solomon’s Castle, a quirky structure built entirely of junk. It is located near, but not in, Ona, Florida, which is near Wauchula, which is near Bradenton, which is near Tampa. (I placed as many points of reference as necessary to orient those who are unfamiliar with small towns in Southwest […]

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I’ll tell you what, driving to Solomon’s Castle did seem like the middle of nowhere in that we ended up on some roads which, though paved, were very narrow and if not “nowhere,” certainly they were out in the country.  That doesn’t mean they are bad roads, or the country wasn’t pretty – it was, […]

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Thanks Mindi!

Melissa and I had the pleasure to watch a live stream concert recently – a full band concert of Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers. They played Mindi’s new CD, “The Best of Mindi Abair.” We’ve had the pleasure of seeing Mindi in concert a few times. She puts on a great show! Mindi is a […]

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I share David’s sentiment: Thanks, Mindi!  And, thanks, Eric!  David and I have spent countless hours during the pandemic watching Mind Abair’s live streamed concerts.  Most of them involve her, solo, but others have included some of her famous and talented friends and band mates.  In these times when many musicians and other performers are […]

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Teresa

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 20, 2021

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Work-Life

Teresa is one of the few people I’ve ever met who became one of my best friends the first time I saw her. I’m not usually outgoing or particularly friendly when I am in the presence of strangers, but for some reason, I was really drawn to Teresa. Our story goes like this: In the […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 20, 2021

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Work-Life

It is interesting in life that we cross paths with many people, strangers, some of whom a connection happens.  Often these connections happen without any effort as they are random occurrences.  The Melissa – Teresa connection is one of those.  It occurred at a time in life when both of them were venturing into new […]

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Don’t greet guests in pajamas

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 13, 2021

Category: Common Courtesy, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology, Travel

Many years ago, I learned a valuable life lesson from my friend, the late Dr. Linda Foley. Linda lived in Jacksonville, David’s hometown and the city where his parents lived, such that we rarely stayed in her home overnight. She repeatedly invited us to stay with her and her partner, Roger, and finally David and […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 13, 2021

Category: Common Courtesy, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology, Travel

I never know what topic Melissa will come up with next, but she doesn’t know where I’ll be going next either.  Linda was the epitome of class in many ways.  Pre-dinner “snacks” was cocktail hour, for example, with unique serving dishes and glassware.  I guess I don’t have to worry about showing up in a […]

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Why ignorance and intolerance go hand in hand

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 6, 2021

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Giving Back, Jury Consultants, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology

Considerable social psychological research has demonstrated a link among ignorance, intolerance, and prejudice. Recent events have brought to light many examples of so called “average people” displaying overt signs of racism and prejudice. It seems that, at least in our country, the positive strides we have made in achieving racial equality have suffered a setback; […]

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Melissa asks “Why would anyone presume I, of all people, would ever agree with any statement that conveys prejudice and/or hatred of someone merely because of sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity, etc.?”  Well, because they are ignorant, they think their level of (in)tolerance for others is “normal” and that others must think the same way.  […]

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I’m a Professional Judge of Character – Trust my 1st Impression

There have been several notable examples of my, and others’, questioning my first impressions of someone. On all of these occasions, my first impression was correct and unfortunately, questioning it caused negative turns of events. In that, as a psychologist, I am what most people would consider “a professional judge of character,” I have tried […]

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One aspect of owning a business never gets easier – hiring.  I feel like it is always a gamble.  And, I’m apparently not a good gambler because I’ve taken chances on hiring people who turned out to be ill equipped to do our work, or worse, a really bad fit, a bad choice, maybe a […]

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Dr. Jack Snell

There are some amazing people in the world who, if we are lucky, we get to meet along the journey of life. I was thinking about one of them recently when I went to my family’s church of 60+ years in Jacksonville for Mom’s funeral. Mom worked at Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church (HABC) for about […]

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Thanks to David, I, too, have met 2 people who were self actualizers, Dr. Jack Snell and Dr. Fran Kinne.  Although most people have heard the term, “self actualization,” which is defined as the highest level of psychological development, in which a person’s full potential is achieved, few people have been fortunate enough to meet […]

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