The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.       Socrates I was astounded to come across Burnout Research, a journal on the psychological response to chronic job stressors.  People experiencing burnout lose the capacity to meaningfully engage in their work or...Read More

What you don’t do determines what you can do. Tim Ferriss Feel like you are treading water to stay afloat? Are demands on your life leaving you feeling besieged and depleted? One remedy is the ‘Don’t List’.  Most of us need to say NO more (however, there are some of us who need to say Yes more. I highly recommend a TED talk on...Read More

Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.                      Goethe The 3 Things We Can Control In my coaching practice, I spend my days listening to people. Deep listening has taught me a lot about the human condition. When...Read More

The only way to reduce ugliness in the world is to reduce it in yourself -Bayard Rustin A few years ago I decided to challenge myself and complete a 100-mile bike ride. I had been training for months, outfitted on a new bike with a computer that tracks speed and mileage.  On the day of...Read More

According to a research study at Yale University it was concluded that continuous stressors and ongoing life problems intensify food cravings. Cravings are intense and specific desires to consume calorie-dense, non-nutritious, highly palatable food that is difficult to resist and is not related to hunger. There are many ways that food can temporarily relieve stress,...Read More

In a NY Times article, Barbara Ehrenreich suggests that claims attached to gratitude are hollow. Laying on a yoga mat feeling grateful doesn’t provide gratitude to anyone who deserves it such as migrant farm workers with aching backs. She questions the attitude of gratitude for the $8 an-hour Walmart employee who gets a raise to...Read More

Mistakes are the portals of discovery. James Joyce I came across an astonishing document published by Engineers Without Borders that applies to the human condition as much as engineering projects. The Canadian division produces an annual “Failure Report” in which they make clear that well- intended engineering projects go bad, often. The topics include forthright...Read More

Stay close to any sounds that make you glad you are alive. -Hafez (Poet 1325-1390) Noticing how a person smiles can give you great insight into the degree of authentic happiness a person feels. Duchenne smiles occur when there is genuine joy felt, the involuntary muscles of the eye crinkle (crow’s feet) and the cheeks...Read More

Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes” Walt Whitman Dealing effectively with difficult people is a life skill because without it, we can be robbed of our well-being, productivity, sleep, our kindness and generosity. By far, the most challenging kind of person to deal with is the A**hole, which has been...Read More

In a scientific dialogue amongst social scientists and the Dalai Lama, published under the title Destructive Emotions the notion of American compassion was raised. It was explained that in the U.S., many people have great compassion for others, yet suffer greatly with low self-worth and self-contempt. Our American understanding of compassion applies only to others...Read More