Month: September 2016

Headlines Got You Down?

Despairing businessman at his desk
Despairing businessman sitting at his desk in his office resting his forehead in his hands as he considers the hopelessness of the situation

So it happens. I click on the news channel and hear headlines like:

Somewhere there was a mass shooting; a police officer killed someone; someone killed a police officer; a politician did something unfavorable; people were killed in a terrorist attack . . .

What? That’s a depressing start to the day. The problem is this is nearly every day. How on earth am I supposed to keep up on all of these happenings without feeling hopeless and depressed? I’d love to say it’s as easy as stop watching the news. HA! Doesn’t work. I still see it. I read the headlines in my news app. Plus, I can’t exactly Continue reading “Headlines Got You Down?”

Try Try Try Again … Wait, What?

Photo Credit: IceSabre via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: IceSabre via Compfight cc

“If at first you don’t succeed, try try try again.” This saying is fundamentally flawed, and here’s why.

The other day my toddler was getting frustrated because she couldn’t get her puzzle piece to fit. She was furiously trying to shove the piece into the wrong place. To try and help her I quoted the age-old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try try try again.” After saying this I realized how ridiculous that is! After all, don’t they say the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again expecting different results? The saying should go more like, Continue reading “Try Try Try Again … Wait, What?”

Secrets of Empathic Leadership

img_2488

It’s late in the day on a Thursday. You’re already running late for your umpteenth meeting of the day and your employee walks into your door with another problem. Great. Just what you need and don’t have time for. You try and brush your assistant off by telling him you have another meeting but he hesitates. So you ask “what is it?” He tells you he has a problem with the copy vendor. You say, “well, deal with it!” and storm out. As similar encounters happen, you continue to blow him off getting frustrated that he doesn’t know how to problem solve these issues. After a few months you notice his performance is slipping, and he’s reserved and hesitant around you. You get more frustrated wondering whether he’s going to get with it or if you’re going to have to let him go. Maybe. Or maybe Continue reading “Secrets of Empathic Leadership”

Keys to a Problem-Solving Mindset

img_2484

There’s no questioning that problems cause some level of unhappiness in all of us. However, I challenge you to question whether it’s the problem that’s the issue, or your mindset about the problem. When presented with a brick wall, what do you do? Do you grab a chair, look for a box of tissues and an audience to cry about your brick wall to? Or, do you look for a sledge hammer, a climbing rope, a ladder, a shovel, or start walking alongside it until you find an opening? Whatever you do, you need the right tools for the job. This starts Continue reading “Keys to a Problem-Solving Mindset”

How to Succeed When Your Boss Doesn’t Play Fair

Photo Credit: Paul Wicks via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: Paul Wicks via Compfight cc

In the beginning, you got along great. Your boss had this way about him, a gregarious personality that drew you into his stories, ideals, and goals. Yet, as time went along, you began to realize something. Everything was about him. You noticed he shut down your ideas only to present them two weeks later as his own. When things went right, he took all the credit and when things went wrong, he threw you under the bus. Continue reading “How to Succeed When Your Boss Doesn’t Play Fair”

The Hardest Person to Forgive

Photo Credit: rumpleteaser via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: rumpleteaser via Compfight cc

Sometimes the most important person you need to forgive for past mistakes and hardships is the most difficult. Forgiveness is directed at the person who created the problem. What do you do when the person who created the problem is you, when the one you need most to forgive is the person in the mirror? Continue reading “The Hardest Person to Forgive”

Create Your Own Peace in a Noisy World

Photo Credit: TP studio via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: TP studio via Compfight cc

I’ve learned that being a parent is a noisy job. I’ve been a mom for nearly three years, and most days the noise doesn’t affect me. The toys, the banging, the laughing, the screaming, the crying. I’ve become immune to it to a certain degree. Then there are other days I feel like the Grinch complaining about the Whos and all the noise, noise, noise, noise, NOISE! I feel like I must put a stop to all the noise. The popcorn popper, the V-Tech toys, the tantrum screams, the thuds as thrown toys hit the walls, the dog barking, seemingly endless cries of “Mommy!” Continue reading “Create Your Own Peace in a Noisy World”