When I left you last week, I was standing in the basement of my 200-year-old house, with water falling through the floorboards after a pipe above my dining room ceiling burst. Waves of panic, fear, and anxiety rose as rapidly as the water dancing around my ankles. A decision is required, but which path […]
Earlier this week, temperatures here in Maine dropped into the negatives, with air temps landing around -20 with wind-chill dropping to -30 and beyond. My home is almost 200 years old, and while in remarkable condition, frigid temperatures require specific attention. Books, blogs, and YouTube were each tapped, and as the thermometer dropped, my checklist […]
An Interview That Changed His Life It was late in the 1950s, and a Navy officer, fresh out of Annapolis, was hours into an interview with the admiral who single-handedly created the world’s first nuclear Navy through sheer willpower and determination. No one worked on one of his atomic subs who had not survived one […]
I have read that the nightmare of standing on a stage, under bright performance lights, as the curtain rises and realizing that you are stark naked is more common than people imagine. Realizing the shared nature of that horrible dream should ease my shame around the stupid mistakes dotting the landscape of my life. But […]
Adults, who have returned to their parent’s home for any length of time for any possible reason, may resonate with this little story. On the surface, it’s simple, but the current of its implications runs deep. I was a fat kid. No getting around that. Eating my feelings was my standard approach to life going […]
The funeral would start in about an hour. We need to leave the house in 10 minutes. Dad, moving toward the garage in his walker, announces that the toilet in his bathroom is overflowing. I sprint into action. Ten towels are needed to sop up the water sloshed onto the floor before I reach behind […]
A New Year, A Little Confusion, and Some Positive Intelligence Big questions and some confusion as the new year lifts off. It’s Monday morning, 02 January 2023, and I’m writing this before joining my family to watch the Rose Parade, something we look forward to every year. Before leaving the guest bedroom at the family […]
What Are the Benefits of Mental Fitness? Mental fitness is coping with stress, thinking positively, and responding effectively to challenging situations. It’s also known as emotional intelligence or resilience. Mental fitness has many benefits. It can reduce your risk of developing depression and anxiety, improve your self-awareness and help you make better decisions. It […]
Last week I wrote a few words positioning forgiveness as a starting point in my journey from a catastrophic face-plant to a fresh, new chapter in life. And this week, in both my work with coaching clients and in comments shared from readers, the topic of failure recovery has been top-of-mind. Then the Olympics kicked […]
Ever heard the axiom “if you want something done, ask a busy person”? My experience says it’s true. Busy people know how to manage their time and, when asked, can often squeeze one more thing into an already busy schedule. I have discovered something similar in my coaching work that is often equally true. People […]
