Insights

Right now reminds me of my freshman year of college. That fall, my family learned that my dad had reached the five-year cancer-free mark. It was over 30 years ago, and Dad had had throat cancer, so there had been a lot of fear and anxiety for a long time. What reminds me of now […]

When you think of the voice of the inner critic, maybe it takes you to the times you’ve been terrified, with shaky legs, before starting a presentation. Or maybe you remember the higher salary you kicked yourself for not negotiating, or the time your pushy colleague asked the boss for your big project right in front of […]

On my morning walks in Riverside Park, there is a homeless man who kneels in meditation, his shopping cart next to him full of his possessions. This man is so perfectly still. His energy seems to emanate so that when I walk by, I automatically slow down like I’ve entered some energy vortex. Around the […]

Here’s something ironic.This year the safety of home actually messed up the safe space of the office. What I mean is that we’re all a bit out of shape when it comes to office dynamics. I’m starting to hear anxiety about how things will go when we all go back. SNL even did a funny skit about […]

A couple of weeks ago, I was in my third session with a large corporate team. I asked how things were going and whether anyone could share how they were using the tools I’d been teaching.   A lot of silence, then one guy shifted in his seat. But a big, floppy, slightly angry shift. […]

From Horatio Algers to some of our recent presidents, the idea of starting life in adversity and reaching the heights of success is at the core of American mythology. So what do you do if you grew up in a stable home with parents who had a successful life? I was thinking about it recently […]

Last year I worked with a team that was burnt out. Their business was seeing double-digit growth. They were viewed by the larger organization as one of the star accounts, a desirable place for new hires to learn excellence. But where the burnout showed up was in their turnover. They kept losing their best talent. […]

Last week I told my husband that I was bored out of my skull. It’s not that I don’t have things to do. Most days it’s hard to get through my To-Do list. As I thought about it, I realized it’s that I’m uninspired. Why? Because right now most of us aren’t getting to do […]

Last week on a Zoom call, I noticed that the speaker had the camera above his head. We’ve been told it’s a more flattering angle. But this time I noticed that it can also make us look lacking in authority. And that brought me to the question, “Is your Zoom body language making you show […]

Last week a client shared that even though she knows what she wants, and knows what she has to do differently to get there, when push came to shove…she caved.   And she got the same old outcome.   Her anger with herself was heartbreaking. It took me to a scene in the Odyssey. Odysseus […]