Claire Conger

Dear Reader,

After I read the comments on my post about Joan Didion’s migraines, I realized my approach had to change. I was stuck in the common trap of believing that what seemed right for me would be true for everyone, and I was stuck in the common trap of trying to appear perfect and knowledgeable. I endeavor to let it go, to be honest.

I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about relationships, sex, and money and trying to be intelligent about them. I suspect that you do, too. I’m interested in what drives me to act in the ways I do. I’m hoping self understanding will help me live a more skillful life.

So I’m always reading, reading, reading.

I am freed when I find an idea that expands my point of view. This happens often and it helps me improve my behavior.

Our world is constantly changing. Behaviors we learned may have been felicitous in their time and circumstance–or not! The trick is to figure out which behaviors no longer work, maybe never did, what you may want those behaviors to be, and how to change. This is a process that requires experimentation and repeated effort.

Barbara, our webmaster, will contribute her thoughts about money. Barbara holds a both a BA (Political Economy of Industrial Societies) and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. She worked 20 years at a super-regional bank, of which 5 years were in corporate banking and 15 in consumer credit. I’ll be looking forward to what she has to say.

We both would like your input, so please comment on our posts.

Thank you,

Claire Conger