My dad likes to tell this story from my childhood: I was three years old, we were eating dinner and my mom chastised me for chewing with my mouth open, saying…
Posts Taggedemotional control
The Four-Letter Word Slowing Down Your Success
We say it all the time: “This is hard.” “This sucks.” “I hate this.” “This.” Sounds innocuous. But using it as a vague catch-all when we’re under emotional duress keeps…
How To Stop Being A People-Pleaser (and Take Back Your Power)
“This feels too nice and polite to come from a ‘mental toughness coach,’” was my coach’s feedback when I asked him to review an email I had sent introducing myself to…
How Much of Your Life Do You Want To Spend In Survival Mode?
In The Art of Possibility, Ben Zander tells this story: Inscribed on five of the six pillars in the Holocaust Memorial at Quincy Market in Boston are stories that speak…
How To Outsmart Your Fight-Or-Flight Reaction
A few months ago, around the holiday season, a friend and I walked into a wine bar on the Upper West Side. (Sounds like a bad joke.) Sitting there at…
The No-Resolution Approach to 2014
Okay, confession time: It’s 4:00 pm on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve and I’m alone in my sister’s dangerously well-stocked kitchen (think two refrigerators full of holiday leftovers and a…
Two Words That Are Music To Everyone’s Ears
Leo, a super-smart consultant, had a prickly relationship with his boss. Conservative and extremely process-oriented, his boss invariably found some detail to criticize in Leo’s presentations and proposals. It was…
‘Tis The Season to be Emotional, Part II: What To Do When Things Get Tense
A few days ago, I gave you the first part of a step-by-step training plan that lays out exactly what and how to practice managing your emotions. Now that you…
‘Tis the Season to Be Emotional, Part I: How To Stay In Control (And Avoid Regret) – Part 1
RIDING THE ROLLERCOASTER Ah, the holiday season. That time of year when we experience those delightful emotional extremes — from the joy and exhilaration of spending time with people we…