How have we been so easily persuaded to abandon our livelihoods and embrace isolation with barely a question?
No one enjoys a holding pattern. Not when planes circle and wait to land and not today, while we wait for a virus to pass. Yet this is exactly the place most of us have found ourselves over the past six weeks. We’re restlessly awaiting the moment when health and political authorities loosen restrictions and…
Don’t let your concerns about COVID-19 create blind spots and unnaturally tighten your focus
Plenty of uncertainty is tugging on our thoughts these days. We’re distracted by social media rants, relentless death counts, conspiracy theories and challenging financial situations. During these days of sheltering in place, what’s compelling your focus? What’s increasing? The reality is there are some real threats related to COVID-19 to be concerned about. These threats…
Don’t let physical distancing make loneliness worse. Here are three tips to reduce isolation and increase connection
The message is simple: Work from home, don’t meet in person – or if you must get together, keep your social distance! But as we increase our efforts to fend off the spread of COVID-19, we need to watch that we aren’t worsening another threat to public health: loneliness. The ‘loneliness epidemic’ has seen rates…
Sometimes technology allows us deal with our challenges and sometimes we need to ask for help from our neighbour
I often tell my students that there are more ways to be smart than how we’ve traditionally measured intelligence in the classroom. If you’re good at reading, writing and mathematics, you generally have little difficulty effectively navigating our education system. The problem is that many of us struggle in these areas. But that doesn’t mean…
Your brain has a funny way of making dreams come true. Be careful what you wish for
I frequently ask my clients: What would happen if you got hit by a bus? I mean it hypothetically. I want to know if they have plans for their business, how they would take care of their family, what would be the result if they couldn’t work for a while? Often when I ask this,…
We live in a world of failed and successful social experiments. Repeating patterns tend to reveal deeper truths
The great German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, “By seeking and blundering we learn.” How true this is. If we take the time to understand our mistakes, life is rich on so many levels. No individual is immune to error. When we examine why things didn’t work out as we hoped, can find new…
But before we find compassion for others, we need firm personal boundaries and strong self-respect
Compassionate people are happy people, and compassionate people understand that everyone is simply doing their best. They acknowledge there are those who do rotten things to each other, but we have no idea of the internal torment these individuals struggle with. This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t have rules in our society or that…
Self-regulation puts us firmly in the driver’s seat of our own life. But it isn’t easy
Recently, I was admiring a burst of tulips in the back garden. I commented on how striking they were. My husband commented on how they were ill-placed. Irritated by his lack of appreciation for the riot of colour, I grabbed a pair of scissors, snipped them off and announced he would no longer need to…
How do you deal with unhappiness at work? You find meaning and value in what you do
A recent study said 47 per cent of Canadians are unhappy in their jobs. Many cite lack of pay as the main reason but it’s not the only factor. Many find the work environment difficult or say their work lacks meaning. Of course, leaving a job isn’t necessarily a good thing. It can take significant…
Although he’s incredibly bright, he can require a bit of retraining daily and some consistent preparation before he goes to work
It’s January and a lot of us are talking about goal setting and getting healthy. But for many of us, stuff gets in the way of our priorities. Some of us want to avoid alcohol for a month as we renew our commitment to overall well-being. But we can easily be tempted to skip a workout,…