Part 1: From The Pandemic Lockdown, Day 159 How long have you been in lockdown, or working from home, or having to balance kids and job and worry about the return to school, or feeling separated from loved ones? Too long, right? I thought I was doing OK. Then two weeks ago (day 143, but … Read more
WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Since mid-March, every conversation touches on the pandemic, at least for a second. But the topic’s been consistently held as a temporary situation. Then last week happened. Plans for return to work in July shifted to year-end 2020. Conferences in 1Q21 started getting the “let’s go virtual!” treatment. Three months is temporary. A full year is, … Read more
Just For Fun A Few Resources For You You Can Do This Hard Thing. I really enjoy the “virtual choirs” that have existed in social media and on artist platforms for years. Physical distancing has encouraged more people to experiment with that art form, and I found this folk song by Carrie Newcomer hit just … Read more
Muck [muhk], noun, moist farmyard dung, decaying vegetable matter, etc.; manure; a highly organic, dark or black soil; mire; mud. From 1200–50; Middle English muc, muk <<Old Norse myki cow dung Say WHAT?? When we moved to a new home in 2016, we inherited a large, reed-infested marshy pond that had been neglected for 30 years. We mostly avoided … Read more
Stress is Mostly Self-Created Happiness Principle** #7 says, Choose to Respond: What happens is going to happen, regardless. Accept constant, discontinuous change as reality and instead of reacting, respond with curiosity. Wow, when I created these principles, I had no idea how useful they’d be 17 years later during a pandemic! Let’s take a moment to … Read more
Five Prescriptions for Happiness: Short notice, but if you’re up for a lunchtime (well, Cleveland lunch time) Happiness shot-in-the arm, I’m speaking in the Cleveland Society for HR Management series next Tuesday 26 May at 12 US ET, sharing some practical tips for nurturing resilience in Turbulent Times. Register here Happiness Practices: If you can’t make … Read more
It’s been a wet winter here, so our yard is a reeking mud marsh dotted with swampy pools deep enough that we’ve attracted nomadic geese. We are in COVID-19 lockdown (Day 7). Our internet is spotty and overloaded, and my nine-year-old iMac chose today to fully embrace dementia. Our sump pump is blocked. A skunk … Read more
Doctors ask us to keep two meters apart to reduce transmission of COVID-19. But don’t let physical distance lead to emotional disconnection. We need each other more than ever right now. Whether you are passing people in a hallway, sitting a safe space away, or speaking via video or phone, Smile. When you smile on … Read more
I remember when my children were younger and we were trying to get past the childhood disease phase, we’d send the boys to hang out with friends who had chicken pox, hoping they’d get infected. Emotions are more contagious than viruses. I’m sure you’ve had the experience of having a roomful of people shift within moments … Read more
There’s a moment in the movie Frozen 2 when Queen Elsa, haunted by a mysterious voice, decides to shift from ignoring it (out of fear) to pursuing it (out of curiosity). The song, Into the Unknown (watch it here), follows her transition from “I won’t” to admitting, “there’s a part of me that wants to go, … Read more