Pursuing Growth, not Perfection

Occasionally my youngest child asks me to send her a poem. It can be for any number of reasons. Typically, it is a quick text poem to hopefully brighten her day. In this case, she was challenged in a new role while working with colleagues who were 30 years her senior and feeling like she…

Give a Compliment to Connect

Building human connections starts with one small act of reaching out. You must go first to take that action. Ask a room of 1,000 people if they like being complimented, and you will get 1,000 hands raised (if they are being honest with themselves). That’s because receiving a compliment primarily triggers a dopamine release in…

The Loneliness Epidemic

The loneliness epidemic is not isolated to the United States. It is global. The World Health Organization revealed that 1 in 6 people worldwide are living with loneliness. That’s over a billion people. Further, loneliness is linked to an estimated 100 deaths every hour—more than 871,000 deaths annually. Your heart doesn’t know the difference between…

Human Connection and Your Health

Social isolation is an objective condition, and loneliness is the emotional state that arises from it. According to the Surgeon General’s report, the lack of social connection poses a significant risk for individual health and longevity. Loneliness and social isolation increase the risk for premature death by 26% and 29%, respectively. Further, lacking social connection…

Best Weekend To-Do List Ever!

Hammock

If you’re like us, you have more "to-dos" than time. So, here is one to-do list you probably rarely think of but is vital to our sustained personal effectiveness. It’s simple: Play, Rest, and Think. Play It’s easy to disregard playing as trivial, especially when there are so many “serious” things we need to do: problems…

Modern Day Pacifier

We have a design conflict. Humans are designed to connect for survival, and ultimately, to thrive. Technology, particularly social technology, is designed to keep you engaged with your full attention on the screen. As a result, you cannot pay attention to or connect with anyone around you. This is most evident with children. The handheld…

Quotes from a Champion

With Wimbledon in the rear-view mirror and the U.S. Open in the windshield, here are nine quotes from tennis trailblazer Billie Jean King. “Champions keep playing until they get it right.” “Tennis taught me so many lessons in life. One of the things it taught me is that every ball that comes to me, I have…

The Connection Conundrum

You wake up, roll out of bed, brush your hair so you look presentable for your first video meeting with your team, and you pop in a Keurig pod of Starbucks coffee to get your morning started.You jump from one virtual meeting to another, only turning your video on if absolutely required. You have lunch…