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Josh Misner, PhD

Mindful Living in a Distracted World

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Mindful Reflection

Is Parenting Really Worth It?

I’ve been thinking lately (which usually gets me into all sorts of trouble). What I’ve been wondering as I spend probably more time in thought than I should (maybe I need a hobby), is whether or not being a parent is all it’s cracked up to be.

Every day, it seems like a hundred new parenting blogs emerge, all celebrating the joys of parenting and how wonderful being an engaged parent can be, complete with pictures of cheery families amid faux sunshine-induced lens flare, frolicking through meadows while holding each other’s hands.  Gosh, that looks swell.  I then wonder if those are staged ad campaigns for a household cleaner, because parenting, for the most part, is ugly. Continue reading “Is Parenting Really Worth It?” →

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Write Your Own Obituary

Deep in thoughtThe topic of death terrifies most of us. Facing our own mortality is neither a pleasant thought, nor is it one that most of us would choose to entertain on a daily basis. Even as I type the word “death,” I am suddenly reminded of the absolute truth that all of us will die, including myself and all of those whom I love — or not.

With this week’s passing of Westboro’s infamous Fred Phelps, I am reminded once again that death comes for us all. It matters not how we live our lives, for death is an immutable event and one of life’s few universal commonalities, though the chosen trajectories of each life may dictate the timing of our day of ultimate atonement. Continue reading “Write Your Own Obituary” →

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10 Lessons I Want to Leave My Children

Andy Smithson, at TRU Parenting, recently wrote an inspiring list, titled “10 Things I Need to Teach My Children Before They Leave Home,” and it got me thinking.

If I sat down to compile a list of the 10 most important things that I, as their father (not just their parent in general), would want to leave them, not just by the time they leave home, which would be ideal, of course, but as lifelong lessons that will stick with them and be passed on to the next generation as well.

So, I did.  I’m sitting here now, reflecting on those 10 most important lessons, and here they are: Continue reading “10 Lessons I Want to Leave My Children” →

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Accepting the emptiness that pride provides

When I was about six or seven years old, my dad asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  A harmless question for sure, but one nobody had ever asked me before.  No one had ever taken an interest in finding out what I wanted out of life.

I mulled the thought over as I cut my pancakes, and the first thing I could think of was, “A judge.”  The reason in my mind for such a goal was that I wanted to be in charge of everyone and everything.  I wanted things my way.

From this early age, I had a heavy-handed sense of ambition, which was really more of an unchecked ambition, run amok.  Without much in the way of parental guidance for the rest of my childhood, my ambition continued to grow without boundaries or limitations, so I found myself always wanting more.

I would set goals for myself, and once those goals were attained, I was done with them, moving on to the next goal.  Nobody, and I do mean nobody got in the way of my goals, and nobody told me where I should stop or worse, what I could not do. Continue reading “Accepting the emptiness that pride provides” →

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The Bus Ride & That Smile


At the risk of submitting student grades for the week late for one of the universities generous enough to continue to employ my services, I closed up the ol’ Macbook today in favor of taking my six year-old son and his cousin to a special event.

For the first time in many years, our community brought back the excitement of hydroplane racing.  If you haven’t seen these machines race before, it is truly something to behold, as these drivers harness themselves into a fiberglass and carbon fiber contraption with a turbojet engine strapped to it, searing ahead at speeds of well over 200 miles per hour.  The sound of them alone is well worth the trip.

 

Continue reading “The Bus Ride & That Smile” →

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A Lesson in the Importance of Failure

Thomas Edison once said: “I haven’t failed.  I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” 

I’m sure I could go on from here to recite the virtues of one famous sage after another, all of whom tried to convince people like you and I that failure is something not to be afraid of because it is inevitable, but let’s face it.  

Failure sucks.
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