Reader warning, this might be TMI This weekend, I gave in to my chocolate craving and bought a slice of "death by chocolate" cake. Four layers of moist chocolate cake are separated by luscious chocolate frosting, almost the consistency of ganache. It is so decadent, I'll need a week to eat it all. I am out running from meeting to meeting with no time for lunch, so I grabbed a plastic spoon on my way out of the store and treat myself to several bites. About 90 minutes later, the gurgling in my...
11 days ago • 2 min read
temper tantrumReader can you relate? I really want to make VP before I turn 35. There aren't that many positions. Someone has to leave or die. So when a VP position opens in the distribution center in Ohio, and my boss says I should apply, I do. A few weeks later, I am flying to Grove City to interview. I am introduced to my male counterpart within the distribution organization, who is also a candidate for this VP role. Immediately, I know this guy already has the job on lockdown, and my...
18 days ago • 3 min read
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...
25 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...
about 1 month 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...
about 1 month 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 2 months 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 2 months 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,...
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...
2 months ago • 4 min read