This book, first published in 1989, outlines seven habits that are designed to help individuals become more effective in their personal and professional lives. The habits are grouped into three categories: Private Victory (habits 1-3), Public Victory (habits 4-6), and Renewal (habit 7). The habits include being proactive, beginning with the end in mind, putting first things first, thinking win-win, seeking first to understand and then to be understood, synergizing, and sharpening the saw. Covey emphasizes the importance of personal integrity, effective time management, empathetic communication, and continuous self-improvement[2][5][4].
This book, written by Dr. Rick Hanson and his son Forrest Hanson, focuses on developing inner strengths such as grit, gratitude, and compassion to enhance resilience. It draws on neuroscience, mindfulness, and positive psychology to provide concrete suggestions, experiential practices, and personal examples. The book helps readers overcome the brain's negativity bias, release painful thoughts and feelings, and replace them with self-compassion, self-worth, joy, and inner peace. It also includes effective ways to interact with others and repair and deepen important relationships, all grounded in the science of positive neuroplasticity[2][5][6].
Bearing the Unbearable is a deeply personal and professional exploration of grief by Dr. Joanne Cacciatore. The book is organized into fifty-two short chapters, providing a companion for life's most difficult times. It emphasizes the importance of facing and integrating grief rather than avoiding it, highlighting how this process can lead to deeper connections and compassion. Dr. Cacciatore shares stories from her decades of supporting individuals and families through traumatic loss, including her own experience.
We’ve received a substantial number of questions from our listeners regarding familial estrangement: when one family member distances themselves from the others, or chooses not to interact with them at all. It’s a common and extremely challenging situation, and the pain related to it can be particularly intense during the holidays.
Today on Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson discuss family estrangement, particularly between parents and children, and how the questions we engage in this territory apply more broadly to how we balance our own boundaries with the responsibilities we have toward other people.
Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.
From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Our holiday sale is going on now, and podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 for another 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.
Key Topics:
0:00: Introduction
3:05: Our framework for discussing estrangement in this episode
6:10: Joining and distancing
9:40: Duties in relationship between children and aging parents
15:35: Parents’ behavior then vs. now
19:00: Distinguishing family systems from parents as individuals
24:10: Functional forgiveness when someone doesn’t show remorse
26:45: Choosing the kind of relationship we want to have
31:45: Parents’ pain when children distance
33:40: How parents can consider the child’s perspective
39:40: Grieving an estranged relationship internally
45:30: Approaches to interacting with estranged children
52:30: How to decide whether or not to engage in a relationship
55:10: Awareness of cultural influences
57:20: Ownership and what parents can do to repair
1:03:00: The wide range of variables influencing family relationships
1:07:00: Wishing well regardless of circumstances
1:09:30: Recap
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Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson 
