In August 1921, an athletic, healthy 39-year-old man awoke at his family cabin in Maine with a strange ache in his back. Despite trying to shake it off with a swim and a jog, the pain and fatigue increased. Within 48 hours, paralysis set in across his arms and legs. He lost all control of
How often do you have intrusive thoughts? Perhaps they come from: Your inner critic: You’re such an idiot! Catastrophic worries: What if I get sick and die?! Self-consciousness: What do they think of me? Comparison: I don’t measure up. He makes more money than me. Over-focus on the result: I must win! Temptation: Should I
Nine years ago this week, I wrote my first post on this site after declaring to my wife in the stands at our sons’ hockey practice that I would become a regular writer. It was a goal that seemed absurd at the time: young kids, busy work schedule, and no strong background or training in
For many organizations, hybrid work is not going away any time soon—if ever. Hybrid can come in all kinds of configurations. Two team members might work from their house while three will work from offices…and all in different cities. This means most leaders have become remote leaders even if they still maintain the corner office
This morning I woke up feeling run down and unmotivated. It was cold, dark, and rainy outside and all I wanted to do was stay curled up under my warm blanket and sleep. But I denied those inclinations. I got up, read, prayed, and exercised. And now, several hours later, my body feels strong, my
“I yam what I yam and that’s all what I yam,” Popeye sang. Seems so accepting and healthy, doesn’t it? Yet it’s tempting to expect more from ourselves than we really are. It’s like when I took my son to play golf the other day. After he saw me beautifully hit the first three shots
According to research, one of the reasons for Forrest Gump’s emotional resilience was his metaphor for life: “My mama always said life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get!” This finding was reinforced by a fascinating experiment involving 50 participants who spent five minutes each day writing about their
Jennifer began her day with a well-crafted to-do list and good intentions. She ended her day exhausted and deflated. If she worked in a vacuum, maybe she’d have gotten through the list and felt accomplished. That’s not real life for her though. Too many things come at her during the day — email questions, childcare
Recently, I wrote about the value of mantras and shared a few of the mantras that help me stay focused on what matters most. After that post went live, a number of you shared your mantras with me — and they were too good not to share with the world. Consider taking a breath right now,
John recently had a high-stakes meeting that did not go well. He became flustered and defensive when the CEO hit him with unanticipated questions and ideas about his team’s status. John admitted that he didn’t have good answers to the questions. But he also insinuated that the CEO’s questions weren’t relevant (after all, John had
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