Play nice

Communication4 Comments

You heard it from both parents and playground supervisors, “Play nice!” This was often followed by, “If you don’t, no one will want to play with you.” You got this warning not because someone else took your ball or called you a poo poo head. You got this warning because of the way you reacted.…

Joy and pain

General, Motivation19 Comments

These are basic human instincts – to maximize joy and minimize pain. It sounds very simple when you say it out loud, but it is not simple at all. For example, is it OK to maximize your joy if it causes pain to others in the process? Is it possible to avoid working through pain…

Extremely average

Motivation1 Comment

I loved the Guinness Book of World Records when I was a kid. We would flip enthusiastically through that thick paperback and read out loud about the extremes in our world. We were amazed at the fun facts… from the unbeatable long jump of Bob Beamon to the world’s fastest guitar player doing Flight of…

No decision IS a decision

Communication, Motivation2 Comments

Elderly guidance counselor Eloise Warren looked at me across her long desk through impossibly long eyelashes and said, “It’s time to declare a major.” I had selected the no-pressure “Undecided” for my entire freshman year at Purdue and was getting almost straight A’s. I was succeeding at Undecided! Now she was pushing me to declare my…