DRIVEN Blog
Finding The Trigger: On Releasing Anxiety
Anxiety can be thought of as doubly deadly. Sure, it spikes at times, but for many of us, it’s an ever-present undercurrent to life, especially if we work in non-inclusive environments. This makes it even…
The Golden Road To Productivity: Start Releasing Stress!
Everyone experiences stress, even amoebas! Stress is an important emotion to feel; without it, you’re at risk of becoming a zero-energy couch potato! However, too much stress or stress over…
On The Road To Release: How To End The Blame Game
“Don’t be afraid to remind yourself that you are resourceful and resilient. With a little ingenuity, you will make progress towards managing the challenges of shame.” That was the central…
Your Control Freak Solution: Build Trust With Your Team!
Have you earned the label “Control Freak”? There are more than a few ways you can be sure, and they’re staring right at you in the workplace. I’m referring to your colleagues, who bear witness each time you dominate a project, shut…
It’s All About Perspective: Making The Jump From FOMO to JOMO
OMO, or Fear Of Missing Out, is easier to manage when you have a clear sense of what’s important to you– what aligns with your values, your priorities and your energy. In such an environment, you can achieve JOMO, or the Joy Of Missing Out, because you are truly where you want to be. There are, however, a couple…
The Beginning of The End of FOMO: Your Values-Alignment Practice
“You can’t dance at all the weddings” is what my father used to declare almost daily when I was starting out in business. But how was an ambitious and socially-involved young lady like myself supposed to make a decision, especially when it’s crucial not to make the wrong choice: Suzie invites me to her party…
Re-Leasing Your Life: The 2 Greatest Strengths You’re Not Embracing
As part of DRIVEN’s yearlong exploration of my 2019 Word of the Year— “Release”, we’re ExperiMenting with a special blogging format. At the beginning of each month, I’ll offer a thought, feeling or behavior that makes sense to release. Later in the month, I’ll dig into how to reframe the thought, feeling or behavior in order…
Perfectly Human: Evading The Trap of Perfectionism
The word “perfect” is a superlative. When it’s not being used to describe the ultimate in sophisticated cocktails— the Perfect Manhattan, it translates to “second to none, ideal, flawless, impeccable, the ultimate”. As such, the word can never (another superlative) be used in reference to oneself. This is…
A New Lease On Life: Discover My 2019 Word of the Year!
Before my 2019 Word of the Year is revealed, give yourself a gift: Take a momentary tour of your consciousness and assess your emotional state. Start by inhaling deeply. Go on. Pull the air through your nostrils. Does it tickle a bit? Is the air cold or warm? Feel how the air fills your lungs. Notice how…
A Well-Oiled Mind, Part 2: More On Emotional Wellbeing Through Self-Compassion
Plain and simple: A functional mind equals a sharp and creative professional who’s prepared to meet the challenges of a multi-dimensional career. Such a professional is experiencing a high level of emotional wellbeing with a strategy of compassion at her core. In my recent prequel to this article, I illustrated…
Cracking The Kindness Code: The Quest To Define Self-Compassion
In our exploration of emotional intelligence, the big questions lately have been, “How do we develop compassion?”, and more specifically, “What is the magical ‘fourth step’ that bridges us from empathy to the mutually beneficial state of compassion?”. In a past article I offered you some insight into the first three…
High-Stakes Perspective: How To Stay Self-Regulated When It Counts
In European art during the Renaissance, the concept of “perspective” was finally established, and was perfected by some of the master painters of the period. This was a breakthrough and meant that creating the illusion of depth and space on a flat canvas now had a formula (those of you who took a junior-high art…
Practicing Perspective: Life’s Curveballs vs Your Self-Regulation
If you’ve been taking on the challenges proposed through this written journey toward enhancing your emotional intelligence, I’m betting you’re already beginning to feel more capable in your life and career. My two recent articles hopefully pushed you over the self-regulation threshold by demonstrating how to…
Escape Gravity: On Confronting Workplace Fears And Soaring Beyond Your Comfort Zone
Keeping your cool under high-stakes career situations can be challenging, but only if you let it be. Many of us professionals sometimes feel like we’re having an outburst on the inside, but kindly let it go unnoticed by our colleagues (which can be doubly frustrating for us). Worse still, when we do spin out, it can have the…
Your Saving Grace: Self-Examination And The Science Of Redirecting Your Emotions
Sometimes, a little brainwashing is just what the doctor ordered. Of course, I would never endorse the surrendering of your better judgments to a person or a cause that attempts to keep you under a spell. Instead, I’m referring to a constructive type of brainwashing— an intentional carving out of your brain’s…
Rewiring The Brain: How To Use Habit To Regulate Your Emotions
It’s undeniable that your Response Flexibility, which results from strengthening the homeostasis of your nervous systems, is your ticket to Self-Regulation. As I laid out in my recent article Let’s Get Flexible…
Let’s Get Flexible: How To Self-Regulate by Building Your Response Flexibility
The science is out there, and to our advantage, it’s becoming more refined with each passing year. I’m referring to brain science— particularly the type that explains Emotional Intelligence and illustrates why Self-Regulation works. If you’ve read my recent article Don’t Flip Your Lid, you earned yourself a little…
Don’t Flip Your Lid! The Simple Brain Science Behind The Workplace Spinout
Self-Regulation, an essential tenet of EQ and the secret ingredient of executive presence, is your intentional ability to stay cool under social fire. In any workplace, Self-Regulation can be a challenge if you’re…
Cool Under Fire: Sketching Out The Basics of Self-Regulation
I hope you’ve been tagging along on our EQ journey through Self-Awareness this year. With just a little attention, you may have afforded yourself some valuable attributes for pulling ahead in your…
What, Me Worry? The Impact of Stress on Self-Awareness
Keeping up with all the nuances of Self-Awareness can seem intimidating to anyone who is just discovering the importance of this EQ tenet. If you’ve read my recent article But Now I See, you might…