Intellectual curiosity: the official excuse for going down the Wikipedia rabbit hole at 2 a.m. – Unknown The NY city school system had an established process to identify “bright” 10 – 12-year-old children in schools and place them in rapid advancement classes that would enable pupils to complete three years of schoolwork in two and … Read more
Here’s a quote from Audrey Hepburn on being alone. I have to be alone very often. I’d be quite happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That’s how I refuel. The year was 1960. As was tradition, almost three quarters of a million Americans were preparing to head … Read more
You are only as strong as your weakest link. A different kind of chip scarcity “The end of the world (as we know it) is here,” claimed a rather dramatic post in December 2021. The post wasn’t referring to the Covid-19 crisis, but instead was a response to McDonald’s announcement that they’d ration French fries … Read more
The “planning fallacy” is that you make a plan, which is usually a best-case scenario. Then you assume that the outcome will follow your plan, even when you should know better. Daniel Kahneman. Estimator: An individual who does precision guess-work based on unreliable data provided by those with questionable knowledge. In 1957, the Aussie government … Read more
Most of us don’t need more time. We just need more deadlines. On Sunday, April 3, 2005, Michigan State and North Carolina were battling out in the final four of the NCAA basketball tournament. The Detroit Free Press published an article about the game, in which columnist Mitch Albom alluded to the presence of two … Read more
Unlike self-criticism, which asks whether you’re good enough, self-compassion asks, “what’s good for you?” Dr.Kristin Neff Most of us, when we’re not trying to remember where we put our phones, or whether there’s spinach stuck between our teeth, are too busy berating ourselves for how inadequate we are and what we could have, would have, … Read more
The greatest enemy of good thinking is busyness. John Maxwell. I’m probably not too far off in my guess that a majority of us believe in the power of meditation to help us gain peace, focus, and contentment. Yet only a fraction of us actually take the time to actually sit down and meditate regularly—myself … Read more
Knowing is not doing because, as John Maxwell said, “The greatest gap in the world is the gap between knowing and doing.” We all have “reasons” for why we procrastinate on our most important tasks. Our pencils aren’t sharp enough to write, the installed software isn’t quite adequate to code, the weather’s too windy to … Read more
I won’t blame you if the title of this article turns you into a doomsday prepper and sends you scampering off to the office supplies store to stock up on bubble wrap. That’s not my intent. At least don’t bother with the bubble-wrap. The truth is, adversity isn’t just something that happens to others. It … Read more
Everyone from Aristotle to Homer Simpson to my neighbor’s cat has opinions on what “purpose in life” really means. The reality is the definition of a purposeful life isn’t as abstract as it sounds and, judging by what research studies have shown, it really helps us to have some purpose in life. Sorry YOLO’ers. Mrs. … Read more
It’s easy to look all around us, especially the online spaces we inhabit, and conclude that decency is dead. But the truth is, it’s possible to disagree with decency. Human nature is complex. Even if we do have inclinations toward violence, we also have an inclination to empathy, to cooperation, to self-control. Steven Pinker. Monkey … Read more
We overestimate what we can do in a year, but vastly underestimate what we’re capable of in a decade. Thanks to our inability to play the long game, we get disillusioned and quit before we start to see results. I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do … Read more
A muse is a reference to either a literal person or to a supernatural force that serves as someone’s source of artistic inspiration. For centuries, we’ve believed in the power of the muse to guide our creative pursuits. The question is: how far does the muse help us in our creative endeavors and is it … Read more
Move over, Tom Cruise. There are new superstars in town, or at least, in our imaginations. Us—You and me. Okay, we may not be shooting down enemy planes or blowing up restaurants and running out in slow-motion, but we still have central casting in the movies constantly running in our heads. Our ability to see … Read more
Behind every shine, there is a lot of grind. Everyone wants the shine. The grind? Not so much. What’s in a name? Parents name their child after a famous person or character sometimes as a tribute, but often hoping that simply by sharing a common name, the child will somehow inherit a few of the … Read more
People have a need for certainty – and that need for certainty is in every human being, certainty that you can avoid pain, certainty that you can at least be comfortable. It’s a survival instinct. Tony Robbins In 2020, after the pandemic hit, the NY Times published an article titled “The island brokers are overwhelmed.” … Read more
I’m going to go out on a limb and make a prediction. You, or someone you know well, would like to make at least one positive change this year. Maybe the goal is to get healthier/fitter/leaner/stronger. Or, maybe, you simply want to perfect your favorite celebrity impression (no one’s judging) by the end of the … Read more
According to a poll, a majority of Americans officially (whatever that means) quit their New Year’s resolutions on, or by February 1 of the New Year. The main reason for quitting is that most of us don’t fully believe in our own resolutions in the first place. We feel that change is only possible if … Read more
If it isn’t obvious by now, I like to read. Every time I pick up a new book, my heart and mind fill with possibility. I’m a firm believer that the written word has the power to speak to us, to move and inspire us in ways we can never imagine. And it doesn’t take … Read more
Jane Wagner said “Reality is the leading cause of stress for those in touch with it.” Sad, but true. Dreaming about a stress-free life is like hoping for our national debt to be paid off. It’s not going to happen. What we can do instead is to adopt some simple strategies to tackle the overwhelm. … Read more