General George Patton said, “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.” As a recovering perfectionist, I’ve seen how striving for perfection in everything—plans, work, relationships—once fueled my success but came at a cost.
This past Friday was Quitters Day—the day by which many of us abandon their well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions. Maybe the goals were too big, too small, too vague, or too rigid. Whatever the reason, they’re now abandoned, left as refuse in our psychic landscape.
Over the past few weeks, professional and personal development blogs have been inundating me with messages about the superiority of intentions over resolutions. Resolutions, it seems, are considered passe, while intentions are hailed as the new standard.
This month of December felt a bit dark and heavy for me. I love Christmas and have several traditions that bring me joy. That didn’t change. But there was an overall heaviness and some underlying sadness. So what’s been going on?
The guidance out there for those of us in the solopreneur / teaching / speaking / writing space is to frame topics provocatively, in ways that run counter to popular wisdom. With that in mind, I’ve delivered talks on embracing your inner imposter, befriending your fear, and the new workout of doing nothing.
I am almost finished reading a stunning memoir entitled Dying to Be Me by Anita Moorjani. As the title suggests, it’s about a near-death experience (NDE) the author had after fighting cancer for four years. No spoiler alert needed—she clearly lived to tell the tale.
Between new shows (like The Agency), my husband and I often revisit old series we enjoyed but haven’t seen in awhile. Recently, we returned to Get Shorty, a dark comedy about Miles, a hitman-turned-Hollywood-producer.
In a recent meditation training on empathic communication, Tara Brach shared a humorous story about Franklin D. Roosevelt. During a long receiving line at a White House event, FDR, suspecting most guests weren’t truly listening, decided to test his theory.
It’s the time of year when we are confronted with the pressure to be cheerful. No matter what you celebrate (or don’t), the onslaught of holiday décor, songs, recipes, gift-exchange rituals, holiday parties has begun!
For my entire academic and professional life I have been fascinated with psychological safety. Research on high-performing teams, including my own, shows it is a key driver of team learning.