Categories
Current events Musings

One of My Favorite Coping Mechanisms

How do I deal with stressful current events beyond my control?

One of my go-to coping strategies involves humor as “Laughter and tension cannot exist in your body at the same time.” Izzy Gesell

It’s the reason I typically respond to this “What in the hell?!” world by finding and sharing funny images, cartoons, jokes, etc., with people I’m comfortable with. Depending on my mood, my humor ranges from snark to just plain silly, and it’s never mean.

One funny meme I found helps explain my state of mind these days: “Finding humor in every crisis is either a sign of deep inner peace or a warning that your last marble has left the building.” [Source unknown]

Here’s why I depend on humor as both a coping and defense mechanism:
“In today’s world … the news can feel like a relentless tide of grim stories, leaving our spirits heavy and our sends of hope threadbare. Yet laughter has a way of slipping through the cracks. Humor can be an important antidote: a shared joke or a sudden flash of absurdity reminds us that life is larger than its cruelties. [This is why] laughter matters: not as an escape from hardship, but as a quiet act of resilience, and a small, necessary rebellion against despair.” Manfred Kets de Vries

[Image credit: photo by Hannah Popowski on Unsplash]

Categories
Marketing Training & Development

Picasso on Pricing?

Whether you’re just starting a business or a seasoned entrepreneur, you’re not alone in questioning how to price your products and services.

How do you price for value beyond calculating costs of materials, development, labor, delivery, etc.?

Here’s help from an unlikely source: Picasso.

The following story, an often-cited urban legend, is instructive and worth repeating.

Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him.

“It’s you — Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist.”

So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the women his work of art.

“It’s perfect!” she gushed. “You managed to capture my essence with one stroke, in one moment. Thank you! How much do I owe you?”

“Five thousand dollars,” the artist replied.

“But, what?” the woman sputtered. “How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it!”

To which Picasso responded, “Madame, it took me my entire life.”

[Source: attributed to Ellen Rohr, best-selling author of “How Much Should I Charge” and other business books.]

[Image by Peter Lomas from Pixabay]

Categories
Engagement Training & Development

Are You Ready to “Play” with Your Career?

If you love team and strategy development and want to take your skill set to the next level …

If you want to engage groups in a most meaningful way …

If you want to learn a powerful facilitation approach that’s also fun but never frivolous …

Then this training in the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) Method is for you!

I’m proud to be part of this global community of LSP facilitators – it’s one of the best professional development decisions I ever made.

Engaging teams with LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® is so gratifying that I’ve decided to push full retirement aside for a while longer.

So if it’s time for you to do something different, something fun AND meaningful, consider getting trained in LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® by the Association of Master Trainers like I did. Training sessions are held worldwide throughout the year.

Categories
Engagement Training & Development

Foundation for a Decent Workplace

Whether you’re building a new organization or fixing a dysfunctional one, here’s a good place to start.

Bill of Rights for the Ideal Workplace

  1. You have the right to be treated with respect and the responsibility to respect others.
  2. You have the right to be treated fairly and the responsibility to treat others fairly.
  3. You have the responsibility to respect the rights and needs of others.
  4. You have the right to a work environment that is free of distractions.
  5. You acknowledge that change is difficult and necessary.
  6. You acknowledge that errors are often the symptoms of a larger problem, and not the problem itself, and work to find better solutions.
  7. You acknowledge that employees are part of the solution, not the problem.
  8. You acknowledge that while blame is easy, finding the right answer is hard.
  9. You acknowledge that finding the best answer often requires everyone being involved.
  10. You acknowledge that while customers come first, they may not always be right.

Adapted from The Three Legged Table: Why Every Employee Matters by Brian James.

[Image credit: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash]

Categories
Current events Engagement

Remember

… what life was like five years ago when the pandemic started?

In a very short time, our lives changed forever.

Here’s one important lesson I learned from the experience: “A crisis can be very clarifying. When you have emerged from a crisis you learn to cherish what really matters.” Scott Cochrane

While we’ve learned to live with COVID-19 (thanks to advances in medical/pharmaceutical science), we continue to face challenges in our chaotic world.

That brings me to another important lesson I learned during the lockdown: the importance of self-care that’s reinforced in asking these questions:

  1. What am I GRATEFUL for today?
  2. Who am I CHECKING IN ON or CONNECTING WITH today?
  3. What expectations of “normal” am I LETTING GO of today?
  4. How am I GETTING OUTSIDE today?
  5. How am I MOVING MY BODY today?
  6. What BEAUTY am I either creating, cultivating, or inviting in today?

These questions are helpful in reinforcing what matters: caring for one’s self and others who may be struggling these days.

Originally posted online during the pandemic as “Daily Quarantine Questions” (source unknown), the questions are timeless.

[Photo by Anastasiia Krutota on Unsplash]

Categories
Current events Engagement

News Got You Down?

Photo by 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash

“What fresh hell is this?!”

That’s what I ask myself almost every day when I wake up to devasting news.

Airplane crashes, wildfires, floods, mass shootings, economic challenges, job layoffs, fears for personal and family safety, government upheavals, wars, etc.

How are we supposed to cope with so much grief and anxiety?

What I’ve found helpful, besides surrounding myself with supportive people, is revisiting “A Guide for Emotional Recovery: Fifty Things You Can Do When There is Nothing Else to Do”? It’s the subtitle of “A Light in This Dark Valley” by Gilbert Brenson-Lazan and Maria Mercedes Sarmiento Diaz.

Initially written to help victims of a catastrophic event, this invaluable guide was updated several years ago and is useful for anyone in need of “survival, recovery, and growth.”

The article, available in English and Spanish, can be found in GFSC’s free online library. I’m proud to be a part of GFSC (Global Facilitators Serving Communities), a volunteer facilitator network that provides materials, methods, and mentoring to help communities in crisis.

When you’re on GFSC’s library web page, check out other helpful articles in the library that includes emotional first aid; resilience; anxiety, stress, and grief management; and crisis intervention and leadership.

[Image credit: photo by 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash]

Categories
Engagement

How to Improve Your Workplace

It’s easy and something anyone can do: bosses, business owners, co-workers, colleagues, partners; etc.

It can be used with any employee, whether they work remotely, at a company locale, or in a hybrid situation.

And it’s applicable any time, any season.

Are you ready?

Here it is:

“Tell someone how grateful you are that they took something annoying off of your plate, stepped up when you needed them, or just made work a little better. Whatever it is, be as specific as possible. It might feel small, but this tiny nudge towards gratitude is incredibly powerful. It will ripple throughout your organization. And it will make work better for you and for the people around you.” Laszlo Bock

[Image credit: Photo by Ava Sol on Unsplash]

Categories
Engagement Tribute

Two students decide to start a nonprofit …

No punchline … just an amazing and inspiring story of two young people who could not have imagined how successful they’d be with their shared dream.

In 2012, cousins and fellow Moravian College students, Shane Burcaw and Sarah Burcaw, co-founded Laughing At My Nightmare (LAMN), a nonprofit with the same name as Shane’s popular humorous and poignant blog about living with a severe form of muscular dystrophy. Their goal was “to spread laughter and provide support to others living with similar conditions.”

I was initially drawn to LAMN because I had a cousin who had muscular dystrophy, and I’ve fallen in love with how this nonprofit evolved to honor disability and inclusivity. It does so by providing free adaptive equipment and assistive technology, as well as college scholarships, to members of the disability community — “empowering abilities and transforming lives.”

LAMN recently reported it earned the 2024 Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid (formerly GuideStar), the highest level of recognition for nonprofit accountability and impact.

According to Shane and Sarah:

“Twelve years ago, when LAMN was just a dream, we knew little about running a 501(c)(3). But we were determined to create an organization that would change lives through laughter and empower people with disabilities by restoring comfort and independence through equipment grants.

“The Platinum Seal represents our commitment to transparency, financial responsibility, and measurable impact. It reflects our mission, strategies, and the incredible work we accomplish with your support.”

Congratulations, Sarah and Shane!

[Image credit: Ian Schneider on Unsplash]

Categories
Training & Development

“Flawsome” is Awesome!

I admit to being a perfectionist.

The good news is I’m getting much better at reviewing my workshop feedback and no longer stressing over the occasional 1/2 to 1 percent of participant evaluations that have been mediocre or less than favorable.

This is partly due to allowing myself more grace when I know I’ve done my best to prepare and deliver a session for a client.

It’s also due to learning about the Japanese practice of kintsugi that my friend and former publisher, Tom Collins, introduced me to several years ago. This art form involves “repairing broken pottery by sealing the cracks with lacquer and coating them in gold dust. As a result, the repaired piece becomes more beautiful and valuable than the original.” In other words, Tom helped me to understand that being “flawsome” is awesome.

That’s why I’m happy to share the new book, “I Am Perfectly Flawsome: How Embracing Imperfection Makes Us Better” co-authored by Tom Collins and Michele Molitor.

Their book explains the basis of perfectionism and explains how it endangers our mental and physical health resulting from living with self-imposed pressure and anxiety, depression, feeling “less than” when not meeting expectations, and low self-esteem, etc.

Building on this foundation, the authors offer practical tips to address perfectionism, fear of failure, and imposter syndrome so that we can embrace the benefits of being flawsome. Its valuable content is formatted with margin space for side notes, references, quotes, and the reader’s notes. Each chapter also ends with questions for consideration “to help you start living Flawlessly.”

“I Am Perfectly Flawsome” is worth reading and sharing. It’s also the perfect gift for any student, co-worker, or family member struggling with perfectionism.

“Perfection is merely an illusion, put forth by those trying to achieve it.”
Michele Molitor

[Image credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay]

Categories
Engagement Tribute

Coping with Grief?

“I believe we are alone in our pain but never in our suffering, as long as we connect with caring, compassionate people.” Sybil F. Stershic

I learned a lot about the grieving process via special counseling after losing three immediate family members in a short time, and I’m still learning.

Since losing another beloved sibling a few years ago, I found an online support group that’s helpful. It takes place in the form of an Unhurried Conversation hosted by Grief Support Specialist, Kathy Murri.

Note: an Unhurried Conversation is a safe “go-with-the-flow” organic conversation in which people speak uninterrupted in a safe space and listen without judgment. Participants take turns sharing what they want, when they want, and if they want.

In her Unhurried Conversation on Grief and Loss, Kathy welcomes anyone who:

-has lost someone close

-is taking care of someone with a terminal illness

-finds themselves out of a job or relationship.

We share struggling with feelings of sadness and anger … dealing with anticipatory grief, ambiguous grief, and/or grief-shaming … navigating new identities as a result of loss, etc. Kathy reminds us that grief involves adapting to a change in expectations: who are we now and what do we do as a result of our loss? We hold space for compassion for ourselves and others in this process.

People from all over the world share their struggles and find comfort in this open, compassionate community Kathy has created. Some participants are new and some are semi-regulars like me, who attend as needed.

If you or someone you know is trying to cope with grief and loss, please consider attending one (or more) of Kathy’s monthly Unhurried Conversations on Grief and Loss held the first Saturday of the month.

[Image credit: Pexels from Pixabay]