The focus of Act Happy Week is to educate the public about purposeful actions you can take to create chemical shifts in your body and new neural pathways in your brain to support more frequent experience of what we call Positive Emotions. When you “Act Happy” you train your mind/body/heart to find Happiness, Calm, and … Read more
What did you learn this year? In a normal year it is a common practice to look back to reflect on accomplishments before looking forward to plan for the next. Janus, the ancient Roman god of beginnings and endings, represents this duality. As this Dumpster Fire of a year blessedly draws to an end, I’m … Read more
I’ve traveled extensively in the past month, adding stamps to my passport from Netherlands, Czechia, Japan, and Singapore – and of course the US when I returned. The experience of passing through Customs and Immigration in those first four countries was fairly pleasant. “Hello, how are you? How long will you be in our country? … Read more
My focus on six-word wisdoms last month generated much positive reaction, quite possibly because our attention spans have shrunk to under nine seconds – less time than it’s taken you to read this sentence aloud! Here are a few more, for fun: Ask, “In what ways might I?” You’ve been trained your entire life to … Read more
Relaxation, Mindfulness, and Meditation Many of us suffer from FOMS (Fear Of Missing Something) so we approach life as series of manic, highly active episodes thinly sandwiched between inadequate layers of sleep. We continually pump our systems full of adrenalin and cortisol (and when those fail, more caffeine), and when those chemicals build to toxic … Read more
I love to play with tight language, which is why Haiku has always been my favorite poetic form (17 syllables and rigid rules, yet infinite possibilities). I also love the brutal simplicity of six-word essays, a format over which I obsessed in high school (see https://www.sixwordmemoirs.com for more) Since January I have attended 28 … Read more
Yes, You Can Get Ahead Without Losing Your Mind! I got this question from one client, but it’s a question I hear frequently. If this resonates for you, please share! Q: I want to move up in my organization, but in this culture you’ve got to move fast and always be producing. It’s very stressful! … Read more
Story: I’m sitting in a coffee shop, writing. Background music creates a white noise, masking multiple streams of conversation I only half-notice from within my envelope of concentration. Whenever a new customer walks in, the bright-eyed, caffeinated barista asks, “How are you this morning?” Most respond with a simple “fine,” or “okay.” Some brave a … Read more
In the past eight weeks I’ve spoken at conferences in six states, slept in ten different beds, flown four different airlines, negotiated three different time zones, and lived in two different homes. Yes, it happened. We finally moved into our new home… …and a new, multi-generational living arrangement. For over a … Read more
Are you already failing on your resolutions? Here’s why: The world often places obstacles on our path to happiness in life and work. But you know what? We often do a lot more to mess up our own happiness. I see this in my coaching clients all the time, and you are probably doing some … Read more