As the year draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on a dynamic and interesting year. Personally, culturally, and globally, 2017 has been a very active and change-filled year—to varied effects! I wonder whether, when you reflect on your personal 2017, you will also see parallels between your experiences and those occurring in the …
Career Coaching
What a gift it is to experience a shift in our perception, to suddenly see the beauty in something that used to seem less than lovely. I walked into my studio today and I saw a piece I’ve been working on over the last few weeks. I created the sculpture 25 years ago, and lately …
Do you ever notice yourself getting defensive? Here’s how I’ve seen it work in myself and others: Someone in either a social or a professional setting says something we perceive as critical. Maybe they feel we were taking the floor too often or directing a group too much. Maybe it’s not even a critical comment, …
We’ve all experienced highs in our lives as we reach the top of a big wave that may have swelled for a long time: winning a prize, securing something we’ve been working toward for years, getting married, having a baby, buying a house, going on a big trip, starting a business. I wonder if we …
One of the most important components of a healthy, functional workplace is trust. And yet in many ways, trust remains a little elusive. We all know what it is, even though we rarely put it into words. Allow me to try: trust is to believe in someone despite uncertainty. We can never fully know a …
Stories have always been a vital way for humans to communicate—across ancient campfires, in handwritten manuscripts, and now on television, in movies, and books. I wonder, though, if in our current age we’re missing opportunities to engage the full power of stories. I have been re-learning the impact of storytelling as I incorporate it more …
In our time of accelerated technological growth, it seems we’ve come to prize innovation above almost everything else, even in non-technological realms. I was recently reminded that striking a balance between bold innovation and existing wisdom is essential for organizational changes to succeed. This helpful reminder came to me at a community meeting, where we …
Lately I’ve been cultivating boredom. If someone had told me when I was eight years old that one day I’d make myself bored on purpose, I’d have laughed at them. I could never understand why my mother always said that being bored is good for you. When I came of age, though, I saw how …
How do we deal with thoughts and emotions we experience as we witness world events? Do we become bystanders and hope for the best, or do we find our voice through expression and action?
This week I’m thinking about how to work through sadness when our time with someone comes to an end. A very good friend of mine announced the other day that he was leaving North America to pursue a dream. I felt so frustrated at this news, and as I worked through my feelings, I realized …