You’re tired of seeing Facebook pictures of your neighbor’s successful spouse, charming children, and delightful dinner parties, so you:* post your best photos, including one of your dog jumping through a flaming hula hoop, and enroll your entire family in a ninety-day self-improvement boot camp. gush to your neighbor about her photos and thank her for being such a blessing in your life. feel guilty about being envious . . . and relieved that others can’t read your mind. notice your envy and take a break from social media. Before you were hired, your manager promised that weekend work wouldn’t be necessary, but today marks the fifth straight weekend he’s enlisted your help at the office. You:* decline and spend the weekend feeling guilty. show up to work, but quietly stew as you think of your friends having fun without you. process with a friend why you’re afraid to tell your boss how you feel. agree to work then drown your sorrows with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey. Over lunch with friends, a member of your small group tearfully shares that last night, her husband yelled at her and then spent the night on the couch. You:* politely excuse yourself. Public angsting makes you queasy. tell her what a jerk he is and say you’ll pray for her. share your sadness about what happened and notice what else you’re feeling. chime in with your own stories of marriage woes. Your mother-in-law stops by for a visit. After leaving the kitchen momentarily, you return to find her rearranging the art on the wall—again. You:* bite your tongue and complain later to your spouse. notice your anger, consider its origin, and come up with a plan for how to address future boundary crossings. covet your friend’s mother-in-law who helpfully babysits. say you love the rearranged art while she’s still in your home, but then return it to its original location after she leaves. You were passed over for a promotion you had been working hard to obtain. You:* tell yourself to get over it, even though you don’t know how to do that. feel sorry for yourself and wonder why things never go your way. pray with a friend about your disappointment. daydream about ways to undermine your new boss. You’ve spent too much money eating out recently, and you’re having trouble paying off your credit card debt. You aren’t sure whether to tell your significant other. You:* decide to face the painful feelings you’ve avoided by going on so many spending sprees. don’t bring up the issue. If he or she doesn’t ask, why should you tell? hyperventilate at the mere thought of your credit card bill. become depressed about your dwindling bank account. It’s day two of a weeklong vacation, and you’re struggling. Yesterday you completed your to-do list of relaxation activities. Today you can’t stop thinking about work. You:* call the office to check in. The team said everything will be fine in your absence, but you’ll feel better if you check. ponder why you feel anxious whenever you’re away from work. stay in bed with the shutters closed and fret about all you’re not getting done. refrain from calling the office, but thoroughly detail your rental car. You’re running late to meet friends for lunch when your significant other stops the car at a yellow light. You:* say, “Way to save money, babe! At this rate, we can skip lunch and arrive just in time for dinner.” educate your significant other that yellow means “Speed up!” kindly share that you’re feeling anxious. sigh loudly, hoping to be asked what’s wrong. Whether you would rather take your—lately, very unruly— kids with you to the grocery store or drink from your dog’s water bowl is a toss-up. Even so, the inevitable day has arrived. You:* stare enviously at others’ well-behaved kids quietly walking beside their parents’ carts. resolve to be gentle with yourself even if you lose your cool. mutter, “Who’s been raising these kids, anyway?” as the canned goods display topples. decide to bypass the mania altogether this month. McDonald’s isn’t looking so bad after all. Your big presentation is tomorrow, but it’s 10 p.m. and you’re still stuck on the first slide. You:* rework the color scheme again, hoping your seventh attempt results in perfection. condemn yourself for not starting the project until now. resolve to call in sick tomorrow, then spend the next four hours catching up on your favorite TV series. decide your presentation doesn’t have to be perfect—good enough will do. PhoneThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Δ