Each of us struggles with maintaining balance in our lives. The ancient chinese symbols of “Yin and Yang” represent the balance that is inherent in the nature of all things; passive and active, female and male, receiving and giving, soft and hard. Each day, we are given the opportunity to ...

One of the most powerful capacities we have is the ability to truly hear and listen. I’ve learned over the years that listening is not passive—it’s an intentional practice. Today we often refer to it as “active listening,” but at its core, it is the discipline of staying present with ...

“Try not to be defensive.” It’s advice we hear often, yet it can feel nearly impossible when we believe we’re being unfairly blamed. I learned an important lesson about this during my time on a human resources management team at a fast-growing start-up. The company had expanded rapidly—from a dozen ...

I don’t think we emphasize the importance of attitude enough. It’s easy to have daily experiences wear us down. We might wake up with a positive attitude and have it easily turn into a negative attitude by lunchtime. I find that daily reminders to adjust my attitude are helpful. A ...

This past week, I’ve been practicing not complaining. I’ve noticed that I never feel better after complaining, so reducing the habit felt worthwhile. But before I could change the behavior, I first needed to become aware of it. It’s impossible to stop doing something you don’t notice yourself doing. I ...

Have you ever been in a meeting where everyone is acting as if they’re in agreement, but you know they’re not? Have you inquired into the health of a good friend and when they told you they were fine, you knew they were not? Have you known the phone was ...

One of the most insightful books on decision-making is Don Maruska’s How Great Decisions Get Made. In it, Maruska writes, “Be a mirror, not a sponge. Many hard feelings arise and decision-making efforts derail because people absorb what they think others said and meant without checking it out first. It’s ...

Here some more advice on the importance of asking good questions. I love this quote from Abraham Lincoln about this subject. He said, “You can tell whether a person is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a person is wise by his questions.” How often are we willing ...

Let’s consider the power of turning adverse situations into breakthroughs. When circumstances spiral out of control, it’s natural for fear, confusion, and frustration to arise. In these moments, the instinctive human response is often to assign blame—to identify a scapegoat for what went wrong. But focusing on fault during a ...

Let’s explore what it’s like to create an extraordinary experience for your customers. Let’s face it, we are all in the customer service business at some point in our lives. I don’t just mean our external customers; I mean anyone we serve at any time during the day. If you’re ...

I’d like to examine what it’s like to experience fear and some good ways to deal with it. Here’s some of what we know about experiencing the state of fear: First, something happens that scares us and this stimulus activates our adrenal glands and a chemical reaction occurs in the ...

What does it mean to practice mindfulness? Here’s a recent definition: ‘The practice of focusing your full attention on the present moment, including your thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surroundings, without judgment.’ Upon further investigation, we see that mindfulness is not a product of the mind. It is the awareness ...