Loneliness is detrimental, destructive, and sometimes deadly. Loneliness has the same impact on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, more than even obesity. Different than depression or feelings of solitude, loneliness is more about the quality of a person’s social relationships. The workplace is not immune, and everyone pays the price when loneliness strikes.…
There’s no better time than a new year for reflection and renewal. After all, how can you recognize and celebrate your growth if you don’t look back to honor what brought you joy, the challenges you overcame and the connections you claimed? Without contemplation, how can you shed light on what you truly want or…
The holiday season is chock full of additional, and often unrealistic, expectations around entertaining relatives, parties, decorating, shopping, wrapping, cooking, cleaning and traveling. All this activity fills what little whitespace remained on your already-crammed calendar. Emotions run high filled with seasonal stress, as well as crowded mall parking lots, airports and freeways. If you prefer…
From my window seat on a Coach bus bound for Chicago O’Hare Airport, I watched the bus driver hustling below to load passengers’ luggage in the berth, in an attempt to make up for arriving 30 minutes late. Tension permeated the air as aggravated riders worried about possible missed flights. As the driver rushed back…
No matter how much you enjoy spending quality time with family and friends around the holidays, tensions and stress inevitably escalate as different personalities and preferences collide. Perhaps you have a politically passionate or pushy relative who excels at making you uncomfortable with their opinions or overly-personal questions. Even under the best of circumstances, with…
“Envy is the art of counting the other fellow’s blessings instead of your own.” ~ Harold Coffin Connecting with others often brings warm, fuzzy feelings of affection, mutual understanding, and inclusion. But let’s face it, all that can go out the window quickly when someone you know gets something you want—like that promotion, that new…
“Look at all the sugar in these cereals,” the shrunken, 85-year old man said aloud at my local CVS drugstore. As he reached for the Cheerios off the shelf, our eyes met. “I’m down to one teaspoon in my coffee, instead of three. Heck, during WWII I was happy if the coffee was even hot.”…
On a recent trip to Washington DC, I made it a point to visit the National Mall, specifically to visit the memorials. Seeing the reflection of a Korean War veteran as he observed the Korean War Veterans Memorial wall moved me to tears. As I turned to gain composure, my eyes caught the wall behind…
What overworked, overwhelmed parent hasn’t said “no” repeatedly, only to give in to a whiny, persistent child? After all, pick your battles, right? Not so fast. Saying one thing and then doing another can set you and your child up for a lifetime of unintended consequences. What to do instead? Speak Your Truth. Get your…