By Troy Headrick About a week and a half ago, at the end of a two-hour bike ride around our neighborhood, my wife came running into the house and said, “Come out!  I found a little kitten!”  I was just about to step into the shower, so I put my exercise gear back on and... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick This past weekend, I watched a couple of episodes of Family Pictures USA, a great program where the host, filmmaker Allen Thomas Harris, travels around America asking people to share old photos and talk about their ancestors and family histories.  One of those who showed pics and was interviewed made an interesting... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick If you haven’t already done so, you might want to have a look at part one.  That one was mostly about work.  This second piece will be more focused on money; although, work and money really go hand in hand because without the former, the latter is hard to come by. In... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick These questions were inspired by “Self-Appreciation,” Betul Erbasi’s excellent blog.  In her piece, she tells the story of how she’s recently started giving herself verbal self-praise as a way of bolstering her self-love and self-esteem.  If you haven’t already read Betul’s article, I recommend that you have a look.  So, here are... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick Earlier this week I read “The Shame that Keeps Us in Our Jobs,” an article by Paul Millerd, one of my LinkedIn contacts.  Millerd’s piece, about work, work culture, and money, got me thinking about a whole bunch of topics.  This blog is the result of that rumination. I want to begin... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick Here’s today’s question: Who or what inspires you and why? It was hard to come up with an answer for this because I find inspiration everywhere.  After thinking long and hard, I’ve chosen my father.  He is getting up in age and has many health challenges, yet he continues to do wonderfully... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick Life is like a great meandering stroll through a vast wilderness of ever-changing scenery.  Such a long tramp is bound to change us, so it’s highly likely we’ll undergo one transformation after another as we travel. I was an only child during the earliest stages of my “journey.”  I spent the first... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick Earlier this month, I posted a “question of the day” in which I asked readers to reflect upon the biggest challenge facing humanity.  I got an overwhelming number of responses and am still in the process of responding to all those who left comments. In thinking about how I might answer such... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick Here’s today’s question: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever heard or been given? My answer:  Back when I was in graduate school, I did a big research project that brought me in contact with the ideas of the great Joseph Campbell, famed expert on comparative mythology.  Campbell, in his... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick If you’re a regular reader of my posts, you know that I’ve been a writing, literature, and critical thinking teacher for many years.  I mention this again because it’s going to be relevant to the topic of this blog. In recent decades, there has been something of a transformation in how college... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick I thought I’d go BIG with today’s question.  So here it is… What is the biggest problem facing humanity? You can’t get any bigger than that!  You’ll get extra credit for proposing a solution after you’ve named the problem. I’m really curious to see what people have to say, and I look... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick What is your “Achilles Heel” and what action might you take to strengthen this personal weakness?  My answer:  My Achilles Heel is that I’m quite anxious.  Physical exercise always helps me feel calmer.  Also, I’m working on taking things less seriously.  I’ve always been a serious person, and this can cause me... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick I’m getting older.  We all are.  Of course, as we age, we lose things.  For example, because I’m older and injured my knee playing competitive sports when I was a young guy, I can no longer jog without having significant pain afterwards.  That sucks, but I’m fine with that limitation and loss.... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick How would you describe yourself in three to five words?  I’ll go first.  I’m analytical, creative, adventurous, and introverted. I look forward to learning more about you! Troy Headrick’s personal blog can be found here.

By Troy Headrick In my previous blog, “The Peculiar Person,” I wrote about joining the Peace Corps and being sent to serve in the wonderful country of Poland. That was a magical time in my life.  I was seeing many things for the first time and learning a lot, every day, about this new part... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick One springtime, when I was a much younger guy, I found myself suddenly unemployed after a series of very unexpected events.  I then filed paperwork and went on the public dole for the very first time in my life.  I spent the next several months pounding the proverbial pavement, wearing my shoe... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick How would you define “the good life”? I look forward to reading your answers. Troy Headrick’s personal blog can be found here.

By Troy Headrick I was lucky to have been reared by interesting and intelligent people who taught me much about life during my earliest years. My maternal grandfather, a man I called “Pawpaw” when I was just a wee thing, was a rancher, and because I spent years living with my grandparents, I acquired much... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick I believe that we get from others what we give to them.  In other words, if you show others kindness, you’re apt to get kindness in return.  On the other hand, if you treat others disrespectfully, you’re likely to be disrespected quite frequently. What is one thing you believe?  I look forward... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick So, for a while now, my wife has wanted a cat.  We live in a typical suburban, middle-class neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas, and almost everyone on our street has a pet.  Even though my wife grew up in Cairo, Egypt, a place where far fewer people keep domesticated animals, being around... Continue Reading →