I recently participated in a personal development session. At the end of the session, we went around the room and talked about what we do when we feel stressed and/or overwhelmed by work. Many of the people in the group said things like “take a walk”, “listen to music”, and…
Leo Babauta is one of my favorite bloggers, and has been for many years. Before I found his blog, I read his 2009 book, the Power of Less. Leo wrote a post on habits I want to share. What he writes is closely aligned to what I espouse about breaking…
With summer upon us, I wanted to write, as I did last summer at this time, about the importance of taking time off from work. I was fortunate to have participated for many years in Strategic Coach, a personal and professional development program where I learned, among many other things, the…
Health recommendations can be daunting. For one thing, they often mean not-so-easy habit changes. For example, if you are told a certain food is not good for you, it’s not so easy to cut back or stop eating it: It’s likely a food you have enjoyed eating for a very…
As reported by Dr. Gabe Mirkin, the American Cancer Society estimates that more than 40 percent of cancers are associated with modifiable lifestyle factors, such as: • Smoking • Alcohol • Chronic inflammation • Obesity • Lack of exercise • Cumulative lifetime exposure to radiation • Cumulative lifetime exposure to…
Last year, I published a piece about leaders being followers—following a cause bigger than themselves. A reader wrote to me with some of his leadership experiences: Another thing when I think of a leader is someone who empowers and assists others to live up to their potential. During my career, this…
As I have written and spoken about many times, including earlier this year here, if you are looking for a new healthy eating habit, eliminating soda from your diet is a great place to start. To be clear: this means all kinds of soda, including diet soda, and there is…
For several years, I have been a regular reader of a newsletter written by James Clear. Clear publishes a great deal of personal development content and recently published a book, which I enjoyed, Atomic Habits. Clear has read many of the same books I have on the subject, and shares…
I don’t like wasting resources. Money, food, and time come quickly to mind as the most obvious examples. Recently, I realized I have learned how to make better decisions by understanding the interaction between these resources. The net result is a positive impact on my happiness. For example, last summer…
Last year, I wrote about a webinar on emotional resilience that was part of our company’s wellness program. In a follow-up e-mail sent out by the leader of the session, Jen Arnold of Redesigning Wellness, Inc., she made suggestions of Ways to Practice Gratitude. Here, again, are a couple: Three…
A New York Times article last year caught my eye with its summary: “For lifelong heart health, start exercising early in life and keep exercising often. But even if you have neglected to exercise and are now middle-aged, it is not too late.” As the piece explains, “By the time…
I recently happened upon this Mark Twain quote: “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small, manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” I like to take it back a step. The first step to…