In the fall of 2016, I will celebrate an important anniversary: ​​25 years of work in the field of practical psychology. Sometime in 1991, while studying at Moscow State Pedagogical University. V.I. Lenin, my career began as an assistant psychologist in a private psychological center. However, the work, which was initially planned as a student part-time job, eventually became the work of a lifetime. In preparation for my professional anniversary, I decided to create a book that would include the most remarkable situations that I personally encountered during a quarter of a century of my consulting practice, or about those what my visitors said. If they carry deep meaning or just seem interesting and informative, I think it’s right to share with you. If you share my opinion with what you read, I will be very glad. And remember: the facts are completely real, but all the cities mentioned, the names of the characters and some details of the stories have been changed for confidentiality purposes. There were several such stories in my psychological practice. They are all very similar in essence and always brought a kind smile to my face. I’ll tell you one of them. At the very beginning of the 2000s, a couple came to me for help, let’s call them Igor and Svetlana. The girl stated that she was disappointed in her man and wanted to end the relationship. The man insisted that bright prospects awaited their couple and offered to continue being friends. An analysis of the history of this couple revealed the following. The man was thirty-two years old, the girl twenty-eight. The couple had been friends for four years. For the last two years, Igor and Svetlana have lived together in the girl’s apartment; the apartment itself went to her after the death of her grandmother. The man successfully developed as the head of a department in a major campaign, the girl worked as a fitness instructor. Outwardly, everything was not bad: the lovers were not in poverty, they traveled abroad every year, spent their leisure time cheerfully, and rarely quarreled. However, for some reason Igor was in no hurry to propose marriage to Svetlana, which extremely irritated the girl, who had long dreamed of a white bridal veil. Three days before meeting me, a remarkable event happened in the couple. Having made successful transactions, Igor earned a lot of money and decided to give his girlfriend a gift: he bought her a new car. His friends secretly drove the Mazda in the morning under the windows of the girl’s apartment and tied a beautiful white bow on the hood. Igor, looking like a conspirator, called the girl to the window, saying, “Darling, today is a very big day in your life! Admire what awaits you!” The delighted girl quickly ran downstairs to the car and began methodically examining all the pockets and glove compartments in the car. Having checked all the secret places of the car, even looking under the seats, the girl hugged her man and told him: “Okay, I give up! I’ll say in advance that I agree. But tell me, where is it hidden?” Igor did not understand the question and clarified: “What exactly is hidden? What do you mean?". The girl stopped short and asked in surprise: “What, what - of course, a wedding ring! Aren’t you asking me to marry you?” The man answered with completely unnecessary directness: “I’m not calling you to get married yet. This is just a gift for you! Sell ​​your old car and drive this one. Didn’t you like her?!” “You are a fool!” Svetlana said angrily, returning the car keys to Igor. - “And I don’t need your car! I have my own. Old, but original. Pack your things and move out of my apartment. You don't respect or value me. My time, and my feelings too. We have no future with you!” After which the girl slapped her friend, who was shocked by what was happening, and went home in tears. For the next two days, the man and the girl sorted things out. Svetlana stated that she urgently wanted to get married, and Igor referred to the fact that he did not yet have such a strong financial position to take responsibility for his family and children. Having come to nothing, the partners turned to me for advice. During a face-to-face conversation, Igor honestly said that he was stopping him on the way to the wedding. He was against Svetlana's work.