No one is their best or worst parts
Image by Placidplace from Pixabay It has become exceptionally easy and alarmingly acceptable to put each other into boxes. “You think this? So you must think that as well?” “That person is against this? Well then obviously they must be for that.” From there the natural next step is to sort each other into “good” and “bad” piles and then call it day. But who do you know (in real life) that is truly that simple? Isn’t there real harm in putting someone in a good or bad pile?
The Insidiousness of Tolerating...
Image by ASM Asaduzzaman from Pixabay One of my favorite books of all time is Peaks & Valleys by Spencer Johnson. It’s a parable about the ups and downs of life and how when we are on a peak we feel grateful for all we have and when we are in a valley we long for what’s missing, which can motivate us to climb to the peak again. Something he brushes against, but doesn’t really explore is the insidious place that is between the peak and valley. He calls it the plateau, and it
What if moderation were the new normal?
Image by fatii_010 from Pixabay Lately, I’ve been pining for and (sometimes) practicing moderation. Not too much. Not too little. Just enough. But it’s really hard. Most places I look I see a society of extremes. Extreme politics. Extreme wealth (and poverty). Extreme diets. Extreme sports. It’s extremely frustrating because for all the breakthroughs in human health and happiness…everything always seems to circle back to moderation. I once read that happiness doesn’t i
Finding Meaning in Pushing the Stone
Image by Xavier Turpain from Pixabay If you have had even a passing encounter with a professional development seminar, you have likely heard of S.M.A.R.T. goals. The purpose of a S.M.A.R.T. goal is to increase the likelihood that you will reach your goal by making it SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, REALISTIC AND TIME-BASED. But what about scenarios where the outcome is beyond our control and not guaranteed? Who do we become when we can’t be sure our travails will end the w
I’m changing my situationship with my phone
Last summer I came across a little paperback titled How To Break Up With Your Phone by Catherine Price. Intrigued, I read the first few pages, which are the author’s “Dear John” letter to her phone. I was inspired and thought, “Oh, I should definitely read this book,” and put it on my desk where it sat unopened for two months. Finally, for a number of reasons, I felt compelled to pick it up again. After her break up letter, Price spends the first half of the book sharing all
What I learned reading Richard Russo's "Nobody's Fool"
Last fall, I visited my parents in (not so sunny) California, and lived the retired life for a week. It was glorious. Since we all went to bed so early every night, I basically stayed on East Coast time, waking up bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 4am. I would lie in bed for hours enjoying the book I started on the plane. Richard Russo's 1993 novel Nobody’s Fool takes place in the fictional small town of North Bath in Upstate New York. It is economically depressed, and its re
What do you do when the end is inevitable?
Image by Eliza from Pixabay Here we are once again, wondering just where the year went. How is it already December? It got me thinking about endings and, more specifically, endings that we know are coming, but are inevitable none-the-less. The end of a season, end of a career (retirement), end of a relationship. Sudden endings can be disruptive, overwhelming and sometimes traumatic. But they can also be a psychological “Get Out Of Jail Free” card. There is no time to pr
Don’t let the “Blame Game” sour the “Desired Outcome”
Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay In the last month, I have been rewatching the 2015 film Spotlight about the Boston Globe investigative team that cracked open the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal in 2002. Throughout the film there is one question that haunts the journalists. “We had all the pieces. Why didn’t we see it sooner?” It comes to a head in a meeting just before the story goes to press, and they are all arguing over who missed what. Editor-in-Chief Marty B
We can’t all be AI specialists…there’s other work to be done as well.
If my career had been an investment strategy, it would be what they call “diversified.” I’ve dipped in and out of different industries...
Time is not a renewable resource.
Image by AVAKA photo from Pixabay When I was 24, I was working at a small newspaper company getting paid $20,000 a year and living with...