Not surprisingly, much of the stress we create each day is self-imposed and it may not be just the negative thoughts that ramble through our minds. Much of the daily angst we experience may be related to the inefficiencies we put in our own way. In The Resilience Advantage we discuss the idea of “focused capabilities” and why it is important to develop skills in identifying and acting upon what is important for our success every day. Creating focused capabilities...

One of the themes we discuss in my soon to be released book, The Resilience Advantage may surprise you. It’s good to think bad. It can be a dangerous world out there and part of our biological tendency is to be vigilant against any and all dangers that ranged from walking on the Serengeti during primitive times to driving defensively on today’s interstates. We want to get away from the rubric of “stop thinking so negatively” when it is only...

In visiting with some family members this weekend they were telling me about the swimming classes their daughter took as a child. It seemed that she was a good young swimmer but lacked confidence in letting go of the wall to swim out into the pool. Her mom and swim instructor eventually recognized that she really did know how to swim but she was still afraid to let go of the wall. They gave her an important message — “You...

A whopping 73% of employees surveyed by MetLife reported that they are expecting to be stressed out when they return to work this week. Adjusting from their time off, trying to get caught up with work missed during their holiday, and addressing financial problems caused by Christmas spending constitute the three biggest issues identified in the survey. Interestingly, people often get themselves into a frenzy expecting their world to be stressful before they even discover whether it is. Pretraumatic stress...

Every thing I read about resilience tells me how its most important quality is the ability to bounce back from tough stuff. That is definitely the traditional definition of the term but in my book, The Resilience Advantage and for other resilience thought leaders the idea of resilience is now expanding to focus on how we prepare for these challenges, navigate them in real time, and use those experiences for new learnings or how we “bounce forward.” As you begin...

We’ll be travelling this holiday season visiting family in the Motor City. Our bags will be packed with gifts and our hearts will be full of love as we celebrate our time together. While I am excited to connect with family and share greetings of the season, I am also aware of my wanting to take some time to decompress from my daily routine and use these 2 weeks for some fun, recreation and rejuvenation. Maybe that will translate to...