“Between stimulus and response, there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” — Viktor Frankl Many of you who know our work know of our passion for the Fundamental Pause. We call it the Fundamental Pause because it is indeed a business fundamental. In the world of work, the ability to interrupt our typical reactions so that we can respond is profoundly powerful. But as Frankl…
Have you ever had the feeling that you cannot do one more thing, think one more thought, or respond to one more request?
On April 20, 2015, we shared with you Daniel Goleman’s list of the 4 traits his research has shown are essential to emotional intelligence. Each week, for four weeks, we are going to operationalize, or bring to life, each of these traits so that you can increase your emotional intelligence, and thereby increase your effectiveness at work and at home. Many people have told us that they read Goleman’s 4 traits but get stuck trying to figure out what they…
One of the things we hear over and over again from clients, colleagues, and friends is that it’s challenging to use The Fundamental Pause when they have a strong physiological reaction. They describe the experience of flashing with anxiety, anger, and fear so powerfully that they simply “need” to react. We understand their experience as we have seen it in many clients over the years and have experienced it ourselves. There are those times when the physical nature of a…
Last week we asked you to notice the different ways in which you pay attention to others. We asked that you watch how you show up in person as well as when reading notes and emails from people in your life. The choice to bring a deep, focused attention to others in your life is an important one. It’s not that we think you need to bring this same level of attention to all situations, but we do believe you…
One of the ways we support people is to help them see just how capable they are—even when the chips are down. You see, none of us lives a charmed a life. That is the stuff of fairy tales. Real life means having to frequently navigate obstacles: some related to our inner messages and beliefs, some related to health, some related to work, some related to family, and some related to world issues. Personal agility is required to respond effectively…
While we know that January 1st is simply the day after December 31st, we love that so many people pause around this time of year to reflect on where they have been this past year and where they want to go in the next. For some people, this is a celebratory time of vision and excitement, for some it’s facing upcoming grief or loss, and as we saw last week, for many it’s a time to start anew and create a…
This week, we have asked a dear client, friend, and colleague to share her experience and her strategies for finding her way back to herself after a layoff. We know that life offers us many opportunities to find ways back to ourselves and she has much to teach: Moving Forward After a Layoff by Heather Stewart For the past 5 years, I worked for an incredible little company that makes creative products for creative people. I first joined the company…
We were recently at a meeting where the presenter asked these questions: Who in the room has read an article on time management? Everyone raised their hand. Who has taken a class or webinar on getting more things done? Almost everyone raised their hand. Who feels great about their ability to prioritize their key imperatives and get them done in an efficient and timely manner? Only about 11 people raised their hands. Despite all of the reading and classes, it’s…
Last week we talked about the difference between using your emotional response to gather data about what is going on for you and creating emotional drama. We defined drama as the uncontrolled or unconscious expression of emotions, often in ways that exaggerate the importance of what has happened. Drama is the antithesis of healthy emotional expression; it’s the seeping of emotions into the workplace, through covert means, as a result of people not believing they have been heard or understood…