Rejection is a fact of life. We don’t get the jobs we want. Or the date with someone who seems attractive. Plenty of magazine editors reject my short stories, even when the editor says, “I liked it. It just doesn’t fit.” Those rejections feel personal—and they are in matters of the heart. But more often, […]
How Do Rejections Affect Your Ability to Be Resilient and Adapt? Read More »
Mark and I just returned from a week-long trip to Switzerland and Germany to explore some of my family’s origins. We had a great—and exhausting—time. I learned a ton, not just about my family’s past, but about designing for the entire experience, and how my perseverance interacts with my learning. Design for the Entire Experience
How Can You Integrate What You Learned from Traveling to a New Place? Read More »
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Every so often, the three indicators of low self-esteem rise up and kick us in the guts. That happened to me a couple of weeks ago. That’s when I spent a week in Las Vegas. I participated in an Anthology workshop where I experienced fear, uncertainty, and doubt—along with the reality—of
How Can We Move from Low Self Esteem to Recognizing Reality? Read More »
One of my rollator wheels broke this past week. After a few days of frantic searching, the vendor who sold me the rollator found replacement wheels. (I also have generic wheels coming, that might or might not fit.) I’m on another freaking change journey. While this change journey is relatively small, it’s significant. I have
How Can We Embrace the Change Journey Instead of Wanting the Direct Route? Read More »
In the agile community, we have the idea of “Yesterday’s Weather.” That means that what happened yesterday is roughly what will happen today and maybe tomorrow. (We expect small or no Foreign Elements. See Where Are You In Your Changes? for more details about the Satir Change Model.) As assumptions go, that’s reasonable for progress. However,
What Would It Take for Us to Embrace Continual Change? Read More »
Regardless of our age, we all need good friends. Good friends allow us to discuss issues in a safe way. But sometimes, we outlive our friends. (Several of my friends/colleagues are dealing with that now.) While we cannot “replace” a person, we can leave ourselves open to finding new people with the potential to be
How Often Can You Make New Good Friends You Trust? Read More »
Back when I was in school, my teachers suggested I was capable of much more. I didn’t live up to their expectations. Now, some people tell me my vertigo is the kind of challenge that fits into the category of: “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” Or, they say, “God doesn’t give us more than
Whose Expectations Do You Choose to Satisfy and When? Read More »
It’s that time of year again—resolution time. I have never succeeded with resolutions, so I abandoned them years ago. I like what Daniel does with words for the year. (See his newsletter, Reconcile, for his first word of 2024 and how he adopted this practice.) However, while I write a lot, three words don’t quite
How Do You Choose to Measure Success? Read More »
Professionally, I work in the tech sector. Right now, when tech is making money hand over fist, many companies are laying people off. Not one here and one there, but significant percentages of people. In my experience, companies do need to make rapid-enough decisions about when to lay some people off to save the company
Who Benefits and Who Loses from Other People’s Actions or Decisions? Read More »
I finished a book a couple of weeks ago. Except, it was only close, not completely done. A couple of days later, I thought I nailed it! Again, I was close but not quite done. Another day or so later, this time I really nailed it. Yes, you know the punch line! Almost—but there were
How Many “Once I…” Experiences Do You Need to Be Satisfied? Read More »