The Anxiety Source Code: The Primal Learning Loop
As the car began to slip sideways down the slick, gentle slope, I realized I might have a rare opportunity if I survived. We began to spin, the driver made the mistake of turning away from the spin too soon – a common and understandable mistake, I thought to myself. First one concrete wall, then…
November 11, 2024
Adulting Better with Adult Development: See It, Feel It, Do It
“Adulting” is a silly but catchy term that means engaging in the behaviors of a responsible adult (holding down a job, making monthly payments, and overall physical self-care). The “Urban Dictionary” includes the following: “…responsibilities expected of fully developed individuals.” From this perspective adulting basically means maturity.
August 26, 2021
A Hiring Paradox for Leaders: Shamans Instead of Witch-Doctors
The hardest part of leadership is developing the so-called “soft skills.” That is the message we get from such diverse sources as Adam Grant (Give and Take), Amy Edmondson (Teaming), and Andy Grove’s classic for managers who have difficulty with the soft-side of leadership, High Output Management. Who has the time?!?
March 2, 2021
Procrastination Works (Which is the Problem)
We All Procrastinate for the Same Reason: Willpower Just Isn’t Enough Part of my “Fight/Flight/Freeze” series on brain & behavior. Freeze = Procrastination. I write about things like spectrums as a metaphor and the balance of forces in terms of polarities. But here, I want to discuss something that affects all of us: procrastination. The problem…
July 16, 2020
What to Do When the World is Falling Apart
What Should We Do? What Can We Do? What Will We Do? The world is grappling with invisible conflicts. Conflicting messages from global leaders about the novel coronavirus pandemic; disturbing videos of police brutality that conflict with official reports; and conflicting protocols about returning to whatever the “new normal” will be. This is the state…
June 25, 2020
Find Your Voice Using the Spectrum of Assertive Speaking
Speaking Up Spectrums are common in nature, of light, of consciousness, and of political views. But I have yet to come across a spectrum of assertive speaking. Here, I use the notion of a spectrum to showcase an effective coaching process for people who want to speak up for themselves more at work, or to…
May 15, 2020
The Spectrum of Mindfulness Practices
Paying Attention Mindfulness is about paying attention, as experts both East and West will tell you. Another way of looking at this is: Mindfulness isn’t free – you PAY attention. Is the opportunity cost worth it? In most cases it is worth it. If you are depressed, you should not engage in mindfulness practices; but…
May 14, 2020
Integral Bypassing 2
Integral Bypassing is when you falsely believe that you are “2nd Tier” because you have read the books of Ken Wilber or of other integral authors. One easily risks arrested development when engaged in Integral Bypassing, as Wilber discovered when he began getting letters and other forms of feedback (see “One Taste”) that revealed a…
July 17, 2013