Awe is a complex and multifaceted emotion. It often arises in response to something vast, transcendent, or beyond our normal understanding. Monica Parker suggests that the last two stages of wonder – wow and whoa – produce awe. On Robert Plutchik’s wheel of emotions,...
When you look up the definition of wonder, there are a couple meanings. Wonder is a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration or awe. Wonder is also a desire to be curious or know something. This second definition creates the drive behind intellectual exploration....
Back in the spring, my sister gave a commencement speech at MIT. In this speech, she talked about the problems the world is facing. And how the graduates should focus on solving big problems. We have talked about this before. She is at her best when she has a...
Today marks two years of writing a blog post every day. I write 7 days a week and post 5 new topics a week. For 2 years. 104 Weeks. 731 Days – we had a leap year. 😊 Looking back, I’ve dug into many topics and learned a LOT about things I didn’t know. Topics...
For most of my career, there have been conversations about “going down the rabbit hole”. What is a Rabbit Hole? At work, this often refers to the experience of becoming deeply absorbed or distracted by a task, topic, or series of tasks and topics that take you away...
The dance between inspiration and motivation is dynamic and full of collaboration. Inspiration sparks us. Motivation drives action. Inspiration sets the stage. Motivation keeps the momentum. When our motivation wanes, inspiration can get it back on track. They...
We live in a world where there is content everywhere we turn. With all the information, we can be faced with too much of a good thing. The result – Information Overwhelm. Inspiration can be a double-edged sword. It propels us to reach for the stars. It can also lead...
Sometimes we need a creative spark, and the inspiration just isn’t there. Our brain is making many connections to enable the experience of inspiration. Combining brain science with inspiration techniques can provide the space for ideas to flow. What happens in our...
Inspiration is a muse that can strike at any moment. We feel invigorated, motivated, and ready to take on the world. We have a burst of creativity to create art, solve complex problems, or make life-changing decisions. Understanding where and when we’re most likely to...
Inspiration often conjures up images of creative geniuses, artists, and visionaries. This can make it feel like a rare and elusive force that strikes like lightning. What if we, normal, everyday people, could harness and nurture inspiration? Today, we’ll delve into...
I’ve covered the concept of planting seeds twice in the past – here and here. The first post was when I was introduced to the idea and the second tied to our careers. These followed the philosophy of this quote: “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by...
Today is set aside for love and appreciation. Many focus on their special someone. Yet, this is also a great opportunity to express gratitude for anyone in your life. This leads me to you. I want to thank each of you for following the blog. Knowing you are reading...
We are starting this week with the fourth dimension of wellbeing – intellectual. On Thursday, we talked about occupational wellbeing. Many are curious about the difference between occupational wellbeing and intellectual wellbeing. We can think of it this way -...
Cal Newport is working on his next book titled The Deep Life. As a fan of Deep Work, I look forward to this next book. His podcast occasionally covers ideas he is working on for the book and one of those is below. Five Laws of Less by Cal Newport Accomplishment is not...
The other day, a comment on TV caught my attention. Lil Jon, the rapper, was talking about feng shui. Seeming out of character, my ears perked up. His next comment was “every home has a vibe”. Apparently, I’ve been out of the loop as his HGTV show now has two seasons!...
Sometimes mashing ideas together creates a technique that works. I think I’ve found one of those. Lisa Woodruff of Organize 365 talks about “pink” folders in her organization system. She describes these folders as the place to keep ideas before they become projects....
In 2009, Paul Graham coined the difference between a maker and a manager schedule in a blog post. In the world of work, these schedules are quite distinct. The manager schedule is the more traditional schedule seen in corporate environments. Managers...
As we continue to see more hybrid professionals in the workplace, they will be creating careers that satisfy all their passions. Some of those may be passions described as more analytical or technical. Another side of their interests could be creative and...
Many individuals have multiple interests. Some they are trained on or went to school for, while others are learned through self-discovery. Personally, over the years, it has been difficult to sort out where to put my focus and understand the relationships between my...
Companies are looking for more creativity and innovation. This creativity often comes from looking at problems through different lenses. At the team level, this can be fostered by increasing the diversity of the team members ensuring there are varied...
The latest book by Gretchen Rubin, Life in Five Senses, was recently released and I highly recommend. I’ve been hearing about the development of the book on the Happier podcast that she hosts with her sister Elizabeth Craft. As you might imagine, I was excited to...