If you told my mother you were about to share something with her that you wanted to be kept just between the two of you, my mother would smile and look at you in the eyes and say, “I won’t even tell myself”. That was her guarantee of confidentiality and it reminds me of two […]
funny phrase, secret, secrets, telling secret
There was a study years ago that found that when people looked at images in color versus black and white, they remembered those images much more readily. But even further, that if they saw images of nature in the actual natural colors of that scene versus something that was enhanced, they remembered that even better. […]
black and white, color, nature, nature walk
On my way into work every day I pass under an arched underpass and there’s a railroad track that goes across it. I’ve always noticed a bright yellow sign with the height of the underpass shown on it, but today I noticed something that I’m sure has been there for years. There’s a little tiny […]
fine print, sign, signage
I saw a video recently by a home organizing expert who was suggesting that if people want to reduce clutter, they and their family mementos or things that are important to them, that they’re not sure if they should let go of, to take a picture of that item and that way you know they […]
keepsakes, mementos, throw away
One of my favorite songs is by the legendary Willie Nelson called “Nothing I Can Do About It Now.” It’s a song about letting go of past regrets because there’s nothing that can be done about those things. The lyrics capture an important truth—not everything from our past is within our power to change. This […]
I was listening to a recording of a relaxation exercise the other day and near the beginning, the facilitator said, “See if you can make yourself 10% more comfortable.” I thought that was an amazing suggestion. Most of us, upon hearing that, try to figure out a way to make ourselves 10% more comfortable. Not […]
When I was in high school, the cafeteria staff would take the leftover peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from one day’s lunch, toast them, and serve them as toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the next morning at breakfast. It was an amazing treat, and thinking about this recently made me realize that sometimes a […]
There was an article recently about a business owner who found that people in meetings were spending more time looking at their smartphones than they were around the room at one another and paying attention. And he had two solutions. One was they put a shelf outside the conference room and people were expected to […]
One of the legendary stories in our family is my older brother Robbie coming home from his first day of elementary school and my mother asked him “Where’s your seat in the classroom?” And he said, “I sit right behind the kid in front of me.” It’s a funny story, but it’s also interesting how […]
In David Brooks’s excellent book ‘How to Know a Person’ he tells a story about perspective. A man is standing on one side of a river and on the opposite side there’s a woman who sees him and yells, “How do I get to the other side?” The man looks at her and yells back, […]
