Posts Tagged ‘emotions’

Presence is a practice.

Presence and mindfulness must be cultivated. There are nerves and muscles to be trained for creating space within yourself. Here’s an exercise you can do. It is best enjoyed with a loved one, even if that means looking yourself in the mirror. Sit across from your partner. Take one bite of dark chocolate. And get…

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Loss

Amidst the steady nature of life, we all inevitably experience the time-stopping moment of a loss. We lose material items that we thought we needed. We lose jobs that we thought defined us. We lose loved ones who we thought we couldn’t live without. Then here we are… without them. In the first moments, it…

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The hierarchy of mastery

Like progressing through Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs toward self- actualization, a professional ascends a hierarchy of skillsets on their way toward creating their works of art, sharing their masterpieces, or delivering their unparalleled service. As it goes with Maslow’s needs, mastery of the lower fundamental levels unlocks and sustains possibility to perform at higher…

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Nobody can make you feel

Nobody can make you feel wrong. Nobody can make you feel stupid. Nobody can make you feel. You’re more powerful than that. 1) You notice someone do something. 2) Your mind gives meaning to what they did and determines if it contributes to your life, or doesn’t. 3) Then you feel. When you take ownership…

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The Weak End

When starting a new diet, the easiest part is typically the first few days that lead up to the first weekend (aka the “weak end”). This is when you start to think, “this diet is hard.” In the days leading up to the ” weak end”, we have the structure and routine of our work…

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Contribution

When your ancestors traveled in tribes, it’s hard to believe that the equivalent of the modern day couch potato would have been allowed to suck up resources without contributing to the lives of the other tribe members. Multiply this over millennia and you have the need for contribution built-in as a survival mechanism to the…

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Thr heroics of empathy

Two people in a conversation are standing in almost the exact same place in the world with almost the exact same set of environmental influences on their internal experience of the moment. Both people are looking into the other person’s eyes. Both of them are squinting. Both have a furroughed brow. One of them has…

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The 90-second phenomenon

A three-year-old throws a tantrum about not wanting to go to sleep. He lies in bed wailing about wanting to do a laundry list of other things instead of getting rest. Each time the thought of sleeping re-enters his mind, a new emotional action potential spreads throughout his physiology. The boy’s dad lies with him…

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You’re doing it wrong.

That’s how people let their loved ones know that they care, of course. That’s why so many people have a hard time maintaining new habits that they know are healthy when they are around their oldest friends or family. Culture that has developed over a long period of time within a peer group or a…

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The Nows: Part 1-The Now-Now

Presence itself is vast. To make the concept of presence more manageable and practical, break “now” into ranges that more readily guide your thinking, planning, and action. Here are the Nows: The Now-Now The Micro-Now The Meso-Now The Macro-Now Today, let’s dive into the Now-Now. It’s easy, and even fun, to get carried away in…

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