A mirror for larks
How often do we walk into the trap? How often do we get lured into fighting the wrong fight? I thought about this when I came across an old Italian phrase, “specchietto per le allodole” – a mirror for larks….
The light in front
What’s the one thing you’d most like to achieve in life? I don’t know how you have answered this question, but I’ll tell you something. It’s a question most of us never ask ourselves. Of those who do, most get…
Is this how it ends?
Imagine you’re a woman. (If you’re a woman, please disregard this preliminary step.) We’ll call you Rachel. (If Rachel’s your real name, then here’s something else you needn’t imagine.) Five years ago, you married your high school sweetheart. Last year…
Comfortably Numb
What is it about comfort that has most of us addicted? We want a comfortable bed to sleep in and a comfortable chair to sit on. We want to wear comfortable shoes. Some of us want a comfortable bra. In…
Your chaotic brain
Have you heard the phrase, “She has a mind like a steel trap”? If not, it’s a compliment. It describes someone with the ability to grasp complex ideas quickly. There are two ways to grasp complex and unfamiliar ideas quickly….
Thank you for thinking
In most jobs, you’re not paid to think. Yours might be an exception. It’s not just jobs. Throughout our lives, thinking has rarely been encouraged or rewarded. From a young age, what was rewarded was obedience. Eat your food. Stop…
Bend me, shape me
I want to take you back to 1951. I want you to imagine you’re a student at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania. You have been invited to participate in a study about perception. You and 7 other students are shown 2 cards….
Unruly Behaviour
In what has become a famous speech1, Neil Gaiman addressed the University of the Arts class of 2012. He had this piece of advice for students: “When you start out on a career in the arts you have no idea…
Invisible Failures
The average entrepreneur believes that her new venture has a 60% chance of success. Four out of five entrepreneurs set their odds of success at better than 70%. A third of all entrepreneurs reckon they have 0% chance of failing….
Say, do
What we say and what we do aren’t always the same. Sometimes our words mask an underlying, unexpressed discomfort. We say we don’t like something, when the truth is that we don’t understand it – but can’t admit it. Many…