My June Swoon

I've turned to this bit of Glennon Doyle's writing from Love Warrior almost every day during the last 6 weeks: Crisis means to sift. Let it all fall away and you'll be left with what matters. Every day, I take stock and consider what is essential right now. What feels essential every day changes. June…

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Chelsea’s Three Lists

My friend, Chelsea, is keeping lists on her fridge throughout this crazy, shifting crisis to reminder her what she is looking forward to and what she wants to take away from her family's experience. It's such a smart idea that I'm a) doing it myself, b) adding a third list and c) sharing the idea…

Celebrating the smaller wins: Merit Badges

Two things happened in the last week that resulted in a gift for you: A wise friend wrote an article this week on "How to Make the Most Uncomfortable Comfortable." One of her tips is to celebrate small wins. I am 110% onboard with that recommendation! A virtual happy hour with friends included a discussion…

“True Leaders Are Story Writers, Not Storytellers”

Nick Craig dropped that quote during a Leading from Purpose virtual town hall via Zoom. Nick is President of the Core Leadership Institute and author of Leading from Purpose. As alums of Nick's Leading from Purpose program, we each shared how we are working to live our purpose in our current realities. As others shared…

I’m still planning*

I've gotten a few "how's your planning going now?" and "what are you doing with your planner these days?" messages from well-meaning friends with gentle attempts to be poke fun at my commitment to having a plan. The joke may be on them, since more than ever, I'm leaning in to my planning rituals as…

Pile of Good Things

My all-time favorite TedTalk is Drew Dudley's Everyday Leadership. I love the idea that something we may not even remember can change the trajectory of someone's life. I can think of examples where someone has done or said something to me that I continue to carry with me: good and bad. Along these same lines,…

commutes and context-switching

My commute is now a flight of stairs rather than an almost 30-minute drive. I find myself rushing to transition from being Mama to being a good employee. I've been late to work when work is in my own home more than once in the last month. Sometimes, I'm playing both roles simultaneously, like when…

Going Small

In this week's newsletter, I wrote about going small when things feel big and overwhelming. The smallest thing I can think of to do in any moment is to take a breath. And then another. Since my mind is running in a hundred directions these days, I'm also increasingly turning to mantras to help me…

Plans Shift (Understatement of the year)

"In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but that planning is indispensable." ~Dwight D. EisenhowerTweet Now, more than ever, I am turning to planning-as-my-wellness practice. Every day brings new information: It's Monday, and social distancing just turned into official stay-at-home orders here in Massachusetts. My wife is one of those…

Sending You Pink Light

For as long as I can remember, my mom has "sent me pink light" when things were hard. Pink light is our proxy for "thoughts and prayers", a woo-woo version of good vibes and positive energy. How to send pink light? Sit still, take a deep breath and imagine sending a stream of pink light…