I look forward to fall every year. First, it’s apple season, with terrific, crunchy, and tart apples. Second, it’s the High Holy Days. I use the holidays to reflect on my life over the past year. Then, I can plan a little for the kind of person I want to be for next year. The
How Much (or How Little) Can We Do to Repair the World? Read More »
As I’ve challenged myself physically, I noticed I’m talking out loud, coaching myself. My most frequent word is “Okay.” Okay is short for: “Okay, you finished that piece. Now, it’s time for the next step so you can accomplish this entire thing.” I try to keep my self-talk positive because I want to reinforce finishing
How Do You Use Your Self-Talk to Finish Something You Want to Accomplish? Read More »
When you think about where to invest your money or time, what do you consider? Winning? Losing? Maybe reducing the chances of losing too much? Many of us do not want to lose, a classic case of loss aversion. Yet, that is not the same as playing or choosing to win. I’m not suggesting that
How Can We Play to Win, Not Just Manage Possible Losses? Read More »
This is Johanna Rothman’s March 2026 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. I’ve been drinking green tea in the morning since 1998, when a fellow workshop participant introduced me to it. It’s now part of my delightful morning tradition. Before then, I drank coffee or black
How Can You Create a New Perspective on a Problem? Read More »
It’s the “dark” time of year here in the Northern hemisphere. Especially for those of us in the eastern parts of our time zones, the sun is low in the sky much of the day. Sunset is quite early. It feels dark. (Worse, if you pay attention to the news, life seems quite dark.) We
How Can You Bring a Little Light Into Your World? Read More »
Last week on Mastodon, my friend and colleague GeePaw Hill wrote: “Music — art — is not a promise of perfection. It is a promise of effort, of risk, of commitment, to an unreachable ideal. Pablo Casals, in his 80s, asked why he practices every day. “Because I think I’m getting better.” If you create
How Often Do You Embrace the Joy of Practice, Not the Outcome? Read More »
So many of us see just one problem, and therefore one solution. Sometimes, our mental models or filters prevent us from seeing alternative solutions. But sometimes, I think it’s literally how we see the problem that limits our mental models. If we can’t see the problem in all its glory, how can we possibly offer
How Many Lenses Can You Access to See Problems and Solutions? Read More »
I learned a lot about my mental models last week. That’s when several people asked me “obvious” questions about specific software tools. I hope I was reasonable when I answered. But I assumed they exhibited learned helplessness. Wasn’t the answer obvious to everyone? Clearly not. Then, this week, I did exactly the same thing. Twice.
When Is the Problem Not Learned Helplessness or Confusion But Our Mental Models? Read More »
We have many so-called permanent records in our lives: school report cards, vaccination and health records, and, of course, those terrible performance evaluations at work. I do like having digital health records—they make it easy for my doctor to help me maintain my health. But the report cards? I distinctly remember one school year when
How Satisfied Are You With What’s on Your Permanent Record? Read More »
This morning, my husband Mark, strode into the bedroom while I was getting dressed. “Our dishwasher is broken! It’s not emptying the water!! I had to empty it by hand!!!” “I’m sorry the dishwasher wants to make your life miserable,” I said. “I pushed and nudged you to put everything into the dishwasher and stop
When Do You Reframe Challenges with Humor? Read More »