I can’t seem to maintain my emotional balance. First the virus. Now the protests. I feel powerless and off-center. I am not in control of much. For those of you outside the US wondering what is happening: we have never examined the role slavery played in starting and building this country. Nor have we examined […]
What Do You Do When You’re Off-Center? Read More »
I’ve been thinking about how much power our elected officials have and how that varies by country. In the US, we grant power to the people we elect. And, we take back our power when we think they’ve gone “too far.” I live in Massachusetts, where we’ve had quite the outbreak of COVID-19. Our governor
How Do You Exercise Your Power? Read More »
We operate at various levels in our families, work, and society. We have shortcut names for these behaviors: the economic contract and the social contract. When we use the economic contract, we have a document that lays out our responsibilities and rewards. For example, at work, we have a contract for our job that discusses
When Do We Choose the Social Contract & When Do We Choose the Economic Contract? Read More »
We all practice being ready for our plans. For shopping, I make a list and decide in advance how I’ll pay. For travel, I plan when to make all the reservations and how I’ll get from one place to another. When I leave the house, I make sure to gather everything I need, especially now
What Do You Need to be Ready? Read More »
We’re in a new—and uncomfortable phase—of the COVID-19 crisis. We’re balancing these different decisions: Our individual decisions to limit our exposure to others. (A personal decision.) Our society’s need for us to return to work. (Our governor’s decision.) Assuming our work is open, our individual decisions to return to work. (A personal decision.) We’re making
How Do We Decide for Each Other? Read More »
We have some ideas about how to manage the coronavirus. We know that if we ask people to shelter in place—for a while—we can avoid overwhelming the local hospitals. Once we are past the initial surge of cases, we can begin limited reopening of our “common” areas. (Businesses, restaurants, parks, and more.) I see differing
Can We Choose for the Common Good? Read More »
As I connect with various colleagues and friends who now work from home, they all say the same thing. “I’m always working. I work all day and all night. The work never ends.” They pause. “You’ve worked from home for years now. How do you manage it?” I create boundaries for my professional and home-based
How Can You Create Boundaries? Read More »
I’ve seen many people say, “We need to reopen the economy, now. We can’t afford more people out of work. We need to get the economy moving.” I’ve also seen many people say, “We must not sacrifice the health of people to reopen the economy. If we do and many people die, we won’t have
How Can You Prevent Your Fear From Limiting Your Options? Read More »
Let me set the context: I’m writing this post in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. I don’t know how you feel, but I range between pessimism and optimism at any given time. I want to stay closer to realistic optimism at any one time. “We”—as in humanity will get through this pandemic. I’m optimistic
How Can You Find Your Realistic Optimism? Read More »
As we live through the COVID-19 pandemic, we see cracks in how we support our partners and loved ones. Some couples divide the work so that only one of the partners knows all the passwords. Or, where the important papers are. Or, the typical things that go wrong in the house. And, too few people
How Resilient is Your Family? Read More »