Two important principles can help you move on and create a life that is healthy instead of toxic. The first is to overcome the ‘slot machine syndrome’ left from years of emotional investment, and the second is to redirect investments of emotional energy and time away from areas we have no power to control.

The greatest threat to any country and its greatness lies not in the potential for violent attack, but in the gradual decline of individual character. With the anniversary of 9-11 approaching, let’s remember that you are the heart and soul of the nation, whatever nation you call your own.

Some of the longstanding and commonly accepted explanations we’ve been given about human nature are simply wrong. Worse, believing them leaves us vulnerable — both individually and as a society — to the manipulations of predators among us. And there are predators among us. They are not “sick.” They are just disturbingly different and unfathomably dangerous.

The digital revolution opens up difficult new choices for publishers and writers — new risks and opportunities alike. The same is true for readers: it’s a huge leap, after all, from the familiar feel of a paper book-in-the-hand to an electronic book. And what about the economy and the environment — is paperless technology really beneficial?

True psychopaths are neither as common nor as easy to identify as the popular media would have you believe. But many do go unnoticed or are totally misperceived. Avoid victimization by those devoid of empathy, remorse, and conscience by understanding more about this personality type.

As the latest media circus in the U.S. demonstrates, having some regret simply isn’t enough to make a person mend their ways; and important lessons can be gleaned by distinguishing between selfish, personal regret and genuine repentance.

It was only when I came to realize that the most traditional and commonly accepted approaches I had learned in training as a psychologist were not useful in helping people understand and deal with the disturbed characters in their lives that everything began to change.