Be a catalyst for moral change.

As we focus on our Black brothers’ and sisters’ achievements during Black History Month, I’m left to wonder why the f*ck we only spend one month—and the shortest month of the year!—talking about Black history. There’s so much we need to learn about the Black experience in the United States and about the people who…

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ACT FAST, FAIL FAST, LEARN FAST? SCIENCE SAYS WE LEARN FASTER WHEN WE ARE FREE TO CHOOSE.

A recent study in Scientific American showed that people learn faster when they are free to choose which action they make, even if the choice initially leads to a negative outcome. The concept, “choice-confirmation bias,” produces “stabler learning over a wide range of simulated conditions than unbiased (no choice) did.” Researchers also believe that choice-confirmation…

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Mindset 3: Embrace the Mess and Enjoy the Reward

“Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves.” That’s what Cheryl Strayed concludes in her best-selling memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.  After her mother’s death, Strayed made a string of bad choices that led to a failed marriage and substance abuse. With nothing more…

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Mindset 2: Authenticity Before Action

In August, astronauts safely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, completing NASA’s first successful mission in partnership with a commercial space flight company, Elon Musk’s SpaceX. It was a bright spot for all of us worried about what shoe might drop next in this year of disasters. And it offered a lesson in a…

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Blow In, Blow Up, Blow Out

Close your eyes and imagine this with me: There’s a guy on the stage playing his heart out on a piano and he’s delivering a sermon with his music. I guess you could even say he was on fire (like Jerry Lee Lewis). People in the crowd are standing up, waving their hankies in the…

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Finding Joy in the Yuck

Thirty frickin’ more days of social distancing. Really? The other night, we learned that we were going to have to live in our new norm of social distancing and shelter-in-place for at least another thirty days. I have to admit, these were not the words that I wanted to hear. Stress is getting higher in…

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