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The problem with fear is, it tricks me into making a giant leap to global negativity.  It sells me on the story that when I make a mistake or miss the mark or get a bad result, it’s proof that I’m not good enough.  And so, when a coworker tells me that my idea doesn’t work, or when my client sends back a draft covered in red pen, I…

I recently met the coach of the women’s national soccer team.  He made an interesting point about player behavior.  He said that the women loved to beat the other teams, no doubt about it. But the fiercest competition was internal.  “They’re not just playing for the win, they’re playing to keep their spot on the lineup,” he said It’s a helpful kick in the ass for anyone working towards…

Lundholm is a former criminal, mental patient and homeless alcoholic uses stand up comedy to help addicts thrive in recovery.  One of his most well known mantras is, first thought wrong.  It pertains to individuals suffering with the disease of addiction and their impulsive mindset. The people who rarely take the time to filter through their thoughts that lead to inappropriate responses and behaviors.  The theory is that recovery is not the…

Rumi said that our task is not to seek love, but to find all the barriers within ourselves that we have built against it.  What’s interesting is, so much of life works the same way.  These things that we deeply desire, like happiness and joy and satisfaction and fulfillment, they aren’t so much pursued as they are allowed. They show up in our lives because of the permission we…

Thank god other people can’t hear the screaming inside my head, because the thoughts that seize me upon awakening are relentless.  Sometimes I feel like I need a defense team to fight the sea of voices clamoring for a hearing. Racing to keep pace with my own neural impulses, it’s like a second job.  But that’s okay. I accept and understand that I have been endowed by nature with…

Phelps is the most decorated olympian in history.  After twenty five years of work, he’s earned all the medals, shattered all the records, won all the awards and secured his spot in the history books as one of the most elite athletes of our time.  Mission accomplished.  And yet, that doesn’t mean he’s finished swimming. Far from it. Even in his retirement, the guy still shows up to the…

After a certain point, I don’t need any more me.  It’s one thing to care deeply about enhancing my relationship with myself, it’s another thing to disappear down the rabbit hole of my own mythology.  That’s why it’s so delightful to ground myself in the material world. It forces me to express fascination with something other than my own worries. It tests me to overcome my antisocial tendencies, get…

In the recovery world, addicts learn that healing is a byproduct of learning to embrace their own history.  That’s the beautiful thing about the past. We don’t have to let go of it, we only have to own it. To change our relationship with it. To look back at an outdated version of ourselves with a forgiving heart and accept that we were merely acting on what we believed…

Each of us must know when to use our voice, and know when to use our silence.  Because on one hand, silence can be a profound relief. A place of peace where we don’t have to perform or be anyone or do anything. And in a noisy, crowded, over stimulated world, that almost sounds like a luxury good. An act of useful employment.  That’s why I accept what comes…

Woody was once asked if he ever read stories about himself in the tabloids.  To which he responded, never, ever, ever.  In his younger years, perhaps, but the filmmaker said that now he scrupulously avoids any self preoccupation. His true enjoyment comes from project itself. And when it’s over, when he’s made his movie, he moves on. He never looks at the film again or reads anything about it. …