The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By: Cara Griffin-Locker, IMH Why do good girls often flock to bad boys? Well, they are fun, adventurous, familiar and more often than not they need to be fixed.  What girl does not like a little project?  As women we tend to want to fix things and that may include the man in our life. How can a good girl avoid dating a bad boy? The answer lies in understanding herself as a woman, having expectations of what she wants in a man and being able to identify her value. A girl’s desire for the perfect man can lead to a fixation on finding a boyfriend. Having a boyfriend does not define you but your self-worth and spirituality do. Relationships experience intimacy when both parties can sacrifice for one other . By definition, a bad boy is unable to offer sacrificial love.  Women often fool themselves into thinking that they are immune to falling for a bad boy. The affection of a bad boy is always performance-based and challenge-driven. Here are four reasons why good gir...

By: Cara Griffin-Locker PTSD is an anxiety disorder that develops after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. PTSD is most commonly associated with those who have served in the war. However, PTSD can also be found in those who have suffered from sexual abuse. PTSD and sexual abuse are both sinister types of trauma that can affect anyone at any age from childhood to adult and often plays off the shame it instills in the victims. Victims of childhood sexual abuse are often too young to know how to vocalize or express concern, emotions or the need to seek help. Left untreated, PTSD can lead to depression, anxiety and a lifetime of agony. In the U. S. Alone, one out of three females and one out of five males have been victims of sexual abuse before the age of 18 years.    The trauma that results from sexual abuse is a syndrome that affects not just the victim and their family, but all of our society. Sexual abus...

By: Cara Griffin-Locker, IMH As children, thoughts of what we would do when we get older were endless. Our dreams, hopes and aspirations were as big as the world we live in. The desire and need to be successful were not yet as strong as our desire and need for adventure and fun. However, as we grew up, money became inherently more important than our childhood aspirations. It is the powerful tool for building empires and lavish lifestyles. Money can make some people happy and others miserable. For some, in today’s society, the pursuit of money can be directly linked to the pursuit of happiness. The idea that money is the key to happiness is problematic because it often leads people down a career path that may not be meant for them. They choose money over passion and childhood dreams. They choose the materialistic ways of the world, rather than a life of simplicity and passion. Whatever happened to the saying “choose something you like to do and you will never work a day in your lif...

By: Cara Griffin-Locker She sat with her breath held as the bills lay on the kitchen table.   She did not know how they were all going to get paid or how they would have anything left for food or daily essentials. She started to second guess her decision to leave the job that she had had for eight and a half years. She questioned the wisdom in losing the paid vacation and the health care benefits. Everything started to become overwhelming and the worrying was taking over. It was starting to consume her; what seemed possible now seemed so impossible and the thoughts of having to keep working was very unsettling.   The worrying started to take its toll physically, she found herself not being able to sleep and her appetite had decreased. She realized that she was losing control. Most of us can probably relate to this scenario - worrying about bills, wanting to be a stay-at-home parent, etc.. If we take a minute we will realize that life is full of things to worry about: w...

Anyone who is a parent knows it is the hardest job out there.   Being in charge of another human is the most terrifying yet rewarding experience. From the time they are babies, parents are the sole provider for this tiny life that they have created.   Being able to care for and instruct one’s children is a blessing, yet in the same respect can be a trial.   Parents are the ones they look to for guidance, the ones in control and who have things under control.   Parents control what they eat, wear and do from an early age.   That is until they start realizing that they have the ability to say yes or no and start challenging their parents’ instructions and decision-making.   The average child’s frontal lobe does not develop until they are 25 years old, so it makes perfect sense that parents would want to remain in control of the decision-making process. Ultimately they are trying to prevent their kids from making mistakes that may alter their lives in a h...

By: Cara Griffin-Locker What is Love? Is it an action? A thought? Or maybe just a feeling? According to the Bible, “ Love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast and is not proud.   Love does not dishonor others nor is not self-seeking. Love is not easily angered or keeps no record of wrongs.   Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth.   It always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres.” (1 Cor. 13:4-7) This is something to think about as we approach the famous Hallmark Holiday.   For most of us, Valentine’s Day is a big day that includes the red carpet treatment. From flowers to cards, chocolates and dinner it is the one day to go above and beyond to show the one you love that you truly care, right? Wrong. Many of us have the wrong impression of love.   Certainly it is nice to be showered with things on Valentine’s Day but what about the other 364 days? What about showing love without using material items? Now if you are a pessimist y...

By Cara Griffin-Locker It is a new year and a new you.   This time of year is a great time to embrace starting fresh and a good time to think about new aspirations and meaningful goals.   It is a time when we ponder on what our story will be.   It is also a time when many of us set the wonderful eagerly anticipated New Year’s resolutions. Sounds great, right? Maybe the part about the goals and aspirations and the possibility of writing a whole new story, but what about the resolutions? If you are like most people, you set the resolution knowing it is going to be broken or soon forgotten.   Or better yet, you set a resolution just because everyone else is setting one. Who loves setting a resolution that is often not kept and leaves one feeling discouraged, defeated and depressed in the middle of January? Why do we do this to ourselves? Is the societal epidemic of keeping up with the Joneses partially to blame? Or can we simply blame ourselves for the lack of t...

by: Cara Griffin-Locker, IMH We all have a desire and need for a sense o f control.   Having control gives us power and helps us predict and manage events in the world around us. However, the need and desire for control can be unsatisfying and eventually lead us to conflict with others. This is especially common in the workplace. How does one get control? They take it, makes decisions and then start to give commands. This is usually when conflict arises. Conflict occurs when others also seek control and the result is often a vicious cycle of fighting for power.   Ultimately, the greater the desire to control, the greater the fear of losing it. Unless we live as a hermit we cannot do everything ourselves. So how do we manage control conflicts in the workplace? Here are some helpful tips that you can utilize when faced with obstacles that create dilemmas. 1)       Define acceptable behavior- Having a definition of what constitutes acceptable beha...