Blog
Take what you got and fly with it
Most video games offer something called unlockable content. Through various achievements or codes, players can access everything from a single weapon to a secret character to enhanced graphics to a tidal wave of sorcery and swords. For those who play regularly, unlocking content absolutely transforms the gaming experience. The genuine exploration is enjoyable, the discovery process is rewarding, and every time something new gets introduced, it feels like you…
Why did the codependent call a taxi?
Onion reporters recently found that nine of every ten purchases from small businesses are driven by a customer’s guilt at exiting the store without buying anything. According to their research, ninety percent of all transactions at independently owned shops throughout the nation are motivated solely by intense pangs of guilt experienced after making eye contact with the owner and realizing you’ll have to walk past her at the register before you…
Deepen our sense of awe for our own existence
Rogers first developed the concept of unconditional positive regard for his psychotherapy clients in the fifties. It’s defined as the basic acceptance and support of a person regardless of what they say or do. The encouraging part is, we don’t have to pay two hundred dollars an hour to benefit from this experience. Each of us can deepen our sense of awe for our own existence. We can learn…
Shedding off my anxiousness like old skin
The label of my chamomile tea claims that the taste is like landing gently on a carpet of rose petals and lemongrass, weightlessly waiting to be steeped into a cup of serenity. Compliments to that marketing copywriter. Who knew tea bags were so eloquent? But as enjoyable as chamomile is, it’s still not a sustainable strategy for promoting calmness. Some research has shown modest benefits of the herb. Like the one study that helped sleep…
Smaller, simpler, saner and slower
The pandemic has been economically devastating, but here’s one of the glaring upsides to our society’s transition to a more remote workforce. Individuals and organizations were suddenly required to eliminate millions of non value added activities from their daily existence: Attending wasteful, boring meetings. Planning expensive and exhausting events. Enduring stressful and uncomfortable travel. Managing annoying and absurd office concerns. All gone in an instant. When you do the…
Winning approval from people who aren’t even born yet
Legacy is people pleasing for the afterlife. If we’re so focused on making sure that people are still staying our name after we’re gone, then we’re not champion, we’re codependents. If we’re so insecure about our own value that we need a pat on the back, a word of praise and a nod of approval from people who aren’t even born yet, then we are not living today. And…
The call has to come from inside the house
Every one of us possesses an unquantifiable component of human value. There is no algorithm and there is no scoreboard. Simply being alive is proof enough. It’s a choice we can make every day. Instead of desperately treating approval as a scarce commodity, we can stand firm in our own worthiness. Instead of living through our false persona to gain love from strangers, we can remove uncertainty about our…
Disqualifying has officially become our national pastime
People put their romantic projections on everything from relationships to careers to life in general. Now that we live in a world of infinite choice, if we don’t get exactly what we want every time, we peace out and move on. But this romanticism is not based on any kind of reality. Romanticism may be superb for idealizing what we think things should be, but it sucks at taking…
No strings attached except the ones you choose to tie
Koontz makes the point in his spooky bestselling novel that trees are so majestic, so noble. They give and give to us, fruit, nuts, beauty, shade, lumber, oxygen, and take nothing in return. What a lovely example of nature’s generosity. Because trees don’t keep score, save for the rings in their trunks. They don’t get all cagey and chintzy when people seek their gifts. Abundance flows freely in all directions….
Playing the game to wait out the world
Nothing is more powerful than our willingness to be misunderstood for long periods of time. It’s that rare combination of patience and faith. If we’re willing to follow our inner guide, even if we look like an idiot and risk alienating those who don’t get the joke yet, it’s amazing what kind of magic we can ultimately create. At my first few agency jobs, getting executive and team buy…
