Reader Do you meet new situations with trepidation or elation? As much as I want to be the latter, when I find myself out of my comfort zone, anxiety accompanies me. Thanks to my friend Laurie, I have just wrapped up my first three-week session of pickleball lessons. I'm feeling pretty green, but I understand the game's rules, and I know I need to practice to keep improving, so I decide to join my husband at neighborhood pickleball. I walk into the gymnasium at 10 a.m., the appointed time for...
12 days ago • 5 min read
Reader, thank you for welcoming me back to your inbox. I spent the last week of March on vacation with my husband at the beach. This is his last month of work before he retires. Our youngest daughter leaves for college this fall, and I'll be the primary household income again, which hasn't been true since I left my corporate job in 2006. I'm not going to lie; it freaks me out a little. I've even thought that maybe I should retire, too. Yet, the truth is I wanted to work during vacation two...
19 days ago • 2 min read
Reader I was floored to read this in the latest report from Gallup? Across 52 countries and territories -- accounting for 76% of the world’s adult population and 86% of global gross domestic product -- Gallup asked two questions: What leader has the most positive influence on your daily life?Now, please list three words that best describe what this person contributes to your life. Four words consistently emerged: Hope was a theme of the World Happiness Summit (WOHASU) earlier this month. This...
26 days ago • 1 min read
Reader Did you know happiness isn't a feeling but a state of being? My youngest is about to step into adulthood, and despite my best intentions, I'm screwing it all up. 🤦♀️ Last weekend, for the second time, I saw Dr. Arthur Brooks present this pivotal idea: If happiness is a feeling, then it comes and goes. It is ethereal. Happy feelings are evidence of happiness, not the whole thing. Being in a state of happiness results from the presence of these core elements in your life: enjoyment,...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Reader, how do you feel when you walk into the airport, it isn't even 5 AM, and TSA looks like this? TSA in the middle of March It is college spring break, a major cruise ship is leaving Miami, and I am headed to Miami Beach for my favorite annual conference (the World Happiness Summit, aka WoHaSu). My flight is sold out, and boarding begins at 5:41. It is 4:45 a.m., and I'm joining a line that is so long I cannot even see the entrance to the TSA area. I have all the WTF feelings: 🫨...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Reader, I brought people to tears. They were in a meeting with me at work, and I made them cry. 🫢 Seriously, the leader of the organization had to leave the room to get tissues. At this point, I bet you want to know what I said that was so upsetting.😬 I actually didn't say anything. I asked them to say something. 😲 Last week, I facilitated over 40 members of an organization through a series of conversations inviting them to examine their purpose, disappointment, missteps, contributions,...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Reader, if I were a superstitious person, I would have already given up. Instead, I'm choosing the 'let them' strategy. 🧘♀️ I am a morning coffee person. From 6 a.m. until 10 a.m., you'll find me sipping steaming hot coffee from my favorite insulated cup, which I received for delivering the keynote address at the National Association for Press Women conference last year. I love this mug because the coffee stays hot for hours and has a flip-top that seals tightly. So imagine my surprise last...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Reader, I'm over here trying to look like the cool cow girl, only I just stepped in a big pile of manure while the cameras were rolling. 🤦♀️ Last week, episode 9 of 'the story i'm telling myself' didn't happen because my guest didn't show. A couple of minor bumps had caused episodes to start late, but this was the first time I had been a complete no-show. At two minutes past the start time, I texted and emailed. Crickets. As three minutes became four, I started thinking about what I would do....
2 months ago • 3 min read
Reader, have you ever lost your sh*t at someone? Last week, my seventeen-year-old broke up with her boyfriend the day before Valentine's. I found her in her bedroom, so sad and upset. I thought it was typical teenage relationship drama, but it was so much more. I said, "I'm so sorry. It can be so hard to end a relationship, and the timing sucks." My daughter said, "You don't understand. It is all my fault. I am so mean. I was so mean to him. I caused this. I felt so anxious and unhappy and...
2 months ago • 2 min read