At age 17, Kirstie Ennis enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, following in her parents’ footsteps. On tour in Afghanistan in 2012, enemy fire shot down her helicopter. Six people died. She barely lived. The physical and emotional pain got so intense in the years that followed that she attempted suicide. Then, in 2016,
In the movie Invictus, national rugby team captain Francois Pienaar faces a challenge shared by most South Africans: He’s asked to change his beliefs and his ways. Newly elected president Nelson Mandela has set bold objectives for racial reconciliation after years of apartheid. The movie beautifully depicts the true story of how Mandela influenced Pienaar
In 1985, Charles Hummel wrote a pamphlet suggesting that most people’s lives are ruled by things that are urgent. He added that most people don’t do enough of the things that have delayed gratification because there “isn’t time” or they “couldn’t get to it.” Like for the past three weeks I’ve been trying to do
In my last post I considered how predictable emotional regulation contributes to trust and influence, especially under stress. Here we’ll look at how effective interpersonal interpretation, especially under stress, further contributes to trust and influence. Let’s face it, even the smartest humans aren’t capable of processing all the data around them at any given time.
Here’s an obvious truth worth contemplating: Many times a day, you and I experience emotions while we’re interacting with others. We feel frustrated, annoyed, anxious, angry, nervous, excited, jealous, resentful, disappointed… The way we act and communicate amidst our emotional states will impact our trust, influence and wellbeing. It Can Be HARD to Regulate Emotions
I recently joined one of my clients for a Zoom meeting with participants from three departments in their organization. As discussion of the topic got underway, it quickly became apparent to me from my vantage point as an outsider that one department had the power, one felt marginalized, and one didn’t really care. In fact,
I think you’re being overly sensitive. You took it the wrong way! Well, I only said that because… I’ve already apologized. What else do you want from me? Why do you have to be so critical? That’s not really what I meant. Ok, maybe I shouldn’t have said that, but… That IS what I said!
In any leadership role, whether you’re running a family, a team, or an organization — or even in running your own life — there are three inevitables you’ll encounter: Difficult people Stressful events Hard choices As you face each of these, you have a choice: You can either respond or you can react. Responding is
We all face setbacks at some point or another. The true test comes in how we handle them. I’ve been thinking about Sgt. Earl Plumlee, who received the U.S. Medal of Honor last year as part of the 1st Special Forces Group in Afghanistan. From the citation: “While deployed to Afghanistan, then-Staff Sergeant Plumlee instantly
Do you remember the scene in “Back to the Future” where George McFly musters the courage to punch Biff the bully? He’d just pulled Biff out of the car to stop him from assaulting Lorraine Baines. George and Lorraine’s future son, Marty, had inspired him to take that stand against Biff. Marty knew what was
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE