Once I learned to read independently, I read everything in sight. Cereal boxes at the breakfast table, books, anything with writing on it. And yes, I was the kid who used a flashlight under the covers to read after my parents thought it was bedtime. At the time, I thought reading was a guilty pleasure. […]
How Can Reading Help You Think, Live, and Solve Problems Better? 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 »
Many people use the new year to resolve something, those pesky New Year’s resolutions. I won’t bore you with the stats, but most of us do not keep resolutions. I never kept mine because they were too big, too vague, or just not achievable on my own. Resolutions don’t work for me. But projects? I love
How Many Ways Can You Prompt Your Starting Energy? Read More »
This is Johanna Rothman’s December 2025 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. Now that I’ve had this big birthday, people are asking me if I plan to slow down. As always, with these interesting questions, the answer depends on the context. If the context is driving,
How Does Our Reaction Speed Assist or Limit Our Best Lives? Read More »
I have not been regular with my posts on this site because I have been learning a ton. That learning created delays in all my work. But I needed to finish this work, a Kickstarter for Effective Public Speaking, because it might change how I choose to write and publish in the future. While I
How Do All the Delays Help Us Get Through Our Learning to Finish? Read More »
I always have an appetite to do more—more writing, more walking, more exercising. (You are not surprised, even if you are laughing at me. That’s fine. I can live with your laughter.) And I realize we are just six weeks from the end of the year. (Six weeks!) Originally, I wondered how I could fit
How Much More or Less Could You or Should You Do This Year? Read More »
This is Johanna Rothman’s November 2025 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. As a consultant, I use the value I offer to choose how to price my products and services. That’s how I know if a specific service or book will offer value to a client
How Can You Assess the Value You Make and Receive to Design Your Best Future? Read More »
I just had a”Big Birthday,” the kind that ends in 5 or 0. So now, I am in the midst of a “senior life” crisis. It feels just like my previous crises, where I search to find a new role that fits my life now. In Secrets of Consulting, Gerald M. Weinberg said: It may
How Can We See and Steer Through Our Life “Crises” to Find a New Path? Read More »
This is Johanna Rothman’s September 2025 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. Do you like uncertainty? I don’t, and I’m not alone. That’s because uncertainty feels as if it’s an unmanageable risk. We even have sayings such as, “Don’t rock the boat,” to explain why we
How Would You Act if You Optimized for Uncertainty to Gain More Resilience? Read More »
This is Johanna Rothman’s July 2025 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. Last week, Mark and I were on vacation in Key West. While we were there, we took several wind-and-wine sailing trips. At the end of each sail, the crew passes out dark Dove chocolate
How Can You Manage Your Feelings to Start a New Chapter? Read More »