Q & A with Dr. B.

Dr. Larry Berkelhammer

The purpose of this website, my book, and the Community Education course I teach at the College of Marin, is to teach people how to live a vibrant, meaningful life through the cultivation of self-empowerment and self-efficacy. In this weekly Q&A column, I post questions from students and from people who attend my presentations along with my answers.

Here is this week’s question:

Question: Can’t you fail at practice if you practice the wrong way?

Answer: The challenge is simply in remembering to practice. In fact, the practice itself is so simple you cannot fail at it. You can fail to practice but you cannot fail at practice. If you decide to not be mindful while practicing, then that is true; you could practice in the wrong way. But having your mind wander is not the wrong way to practice. As long as you keep returning your wandering mind to the practice, you are practicing correctly.

This website is offered as a free public service, supplying information that has been found helpful to certain people living with chronic health challenges or issues related to wellbeing. No treatment is offered on this website. The advice is general, and may or may not apply to your individual situation, and is not a substitute for psychotherapy or medical treatment.

If you would like to ask me something, you can type your question in the comment box below. An answer to your specific question may not necessarily appear in this column. The reason for that is I wait until I get a certain number of related questions, then I pick one that covers them all and I answer that one.