Tag: stress

If your business is struggling, is it possible that it’s because you know your financial statements better than you know your people?

If, as a therapist and former business owner, I could make just one recommendation to owners of struggling businesses it would be this; knowing your people and letting them know you is likely the best and fastest way to solve your problems. It’s difficult to build a winning team without really knowing the players and developing a strong relationship with and amongst them.

But it’s scary right? Maybe not the part of you knowing them, perhaps you already do, or think you do at least.  But letting them know you; being honest, open and vulnerable can only get you in trouble, right?

Don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying that it’s appropriate to share all the details of your life, or the precise impact the business struggles are causing to your health, mindset or family life.&n ...

For one full calendar year today, life as we knew it, has been on hold.

On March 11, 2020 local news stations began announcing the first big changes due to COVID-19. Colleges would begin the transition of classes from in-person to online learning or suspension of classes entirely. News of colleges plans spread among the state, and shortly thereafter K-12 schools followed suit. By March 13, it was no longer safe to visit residential, health care or juvenile centers. Shortly thereafter, restaurants, gyms, coffee shops, hair salons, and many more small businesses were closed. And on March 23, 2020 the first statewide stay-at-home order for all non-essential workers was implemented.

As I write this blog on March 11, 2021, exactly one year since this pandemic struck our mitten state, Nation, and globe, I noticed the presence of one of my first deep exhales since this halt on “real life” h ...

You board the flight, stow your carry-on luggage, and settle into your seat. Maybe it’s because you’re queueing up a few podcast episodes for the trip, taking care of a few last-minute emails that can’t wait, or distracted by your 3-year-old who is already making a valiant attempt to lick every surface within reach, but you’re only faintly aware of that worn-out phrase drifting over the cabin intercom: “In the event of a sudden drop in air pressure...secure your own oxygen mask first before assisting others.” If the announcement registers at all, it may even provoke a hint of annoyance!

To be fair, the oxygen mask phrase and the idea behind it is so commonplace that most of us have probably often heard it used as an analogy for responsible caregiving. “You can’t care for others if you don’t care for yourself.” On its face, it’s a pretty simple concept. Both on airplanes and in life, we assume we’ll have the presence of mind to secure our own ...