Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. 

--Thomas A. Edison

I wanted to send a heart-felt thank you to everyone who was so kind to me during my leave of absence this past winter for back surgery on a herniated disk (see also one of my Soapbox articles ). Feel free to contact me to share experiences or tips for recovery!

The Boston Globe recently published an article entitled Hearts & Minds in its Ideas section of the April 29, 1997 edition of the Sunday paper. It summarizes a recent shift in cognitive science away from the idea that "emotions cloud your thinking" to "you can't think straight without your emotions."

 

One example cites the work of Antonio Damasio, a neuroscientist at the University of Southern California. In the study of patients who suffered brain damage that resulted in their inability to perceive their own emotions, he found that these patients could no longer make effective decisions (going bankrupt, or pondering trivial decisions such as "where to go to lunch" for hours).

 

For more detail, see also my Soapbox write-up about this newspaper article. As a Life Consultant, my area of expertise is in helping people to manage the delicate interplay between emotions and thinking; although emotion is required in order to think straight, too much negative emotion can interfere with thinking as well. I teach my clients various techniques for shifting their emotional state away from the negative and toward the positive. Contact me for information about how my approach can assist you or your loved ones. 

In the April 8, 2007 edition of the Boston Globe, an interview with Marlene Zuk (The upside of disease) provides a provocative, intriguing perspective on a huge aspect of human experience: disease. Her new book is called Riddled with Life: Friendly Worms, Ladybug Sex, and the Parasites That Make Us Who We Are .

 

Zak states: "The world is full of books that I summarize as 'Ebola's Coming: We're All Going to Die.' But there's another side to this. Disease has been incredibly important in shaping everything about us...In fact, there's a reasonably well-supported theory that our cells initially evolved with tiny parasites that eventually became the organs...."

 

Zak goes on to discuss the "delusional" aspect of using anti-bacterial wipes as much as we do ("...a lot of scientists...think that keeping too clean makes your immune system malfunction"), attitudes about sexually transmitted diseases among ladybugs, cricket studies, and parasites.

 

As a Life Consultant, I am not invested in you having a particular point of view about disease or any other topic; I care only that your point of view is flexible. Zak is engaging in a skill that is essential in emotional well-being: the ability to "reframe" life, see it from various points of view ("disease is bad" AND "disease is good"). Feel free to contact me to object to me talking about ladybug sex, to discuss reframing with me, or to make a good joke from this provocative material!

The April/May 2007 issue of Scientific American Mind published the results of a survey of business students about the strengths and weaknesses of their former colleagues and bosses. The researchers concluded that bosses who "get it right" generate no comments from employees; employees squawk only when bosses get it wrong. 

 

In response to their surprise at finding very little about the lack of discussion about assertiveness in previous leadership studies, social psychologist Daniel R. Ames of Columbia Business School and organizational behavior expert Francis J. Flynn of Stanford University conducted this new survey. Upon follow-up analysis, the pair declared that a boss who is too assertive steps on toes, which results in poor morale, poor work, and retention problems. A boss who is not assertive enough may not make all workers pull their own weight or may not get the team all the resources it needs to do the job.

 

Next to relationship issues, workplace issues are the second most popular area of work for my clients. I blend strategic knowledge gleaned from decades of work in the high tech industry (including my experience as a manager), with my expertise in emotion management.  Contact me  for more information about my method of career consultation.

Freedom from the desire for an answer is essential to the understanding of a problem. 

--Jiddu Krishnamurti

The February 4, 2007 edition of the Boston Globe Magazine published an interesting point of view about post-divorce dating in its Coupling column, written by Betsy Gitelman. Although the author's point of view is not identical to my consultation approach with clients, several of her remarks were very compatible.

 

First, in her discussion about dating men who were not necessarily "good catches" from a "settling down and getting married" stand point, she refers the importance of being clear as to why you are dating at this time.  For the author, affectionate companionship was her goal, not re-marrying.

 

Second, the author makes the statement: "I love being on my own, because I know the compromises that can come with being married. Those are compromises that, at this point, would have to be a pretty big payoff for me to make them again." In my approach with clients, it is important to enjoy and appreciate yourself before you attempt to enjoy and appreciate a partnership. Also, if the partnership does not give you sooo much more than solo life, then the partnership is not worth it.

 

My clients appreciate my structured approach to dating. It makes finding a compatible partner feel "do-able," and helps them to relax and have fun along the way.  Contact me to find out how my approach can assist you in your quest for a relationship.

In the Balancing Acts column of the April 8, 2007 edition of the Sunday Boston Globe , author Maggie Jackson provides solid guidance for people who have periods of non-employment in their resumes.

 

First, the author emphasizes that the same approach to resume gaps can be taken regardless of the reason for the gaps: staying home with children, caring for an elderly relative, or having been downsized by a corporation. She states that careers for both women and men are more fluid, but also more insecure than in the past.

 

Second, here's the advice: Never apologize for taking time off (instead, communicate how you used that time wisely), highlight use of skills instead of glossing over the break, do not emphasize or brag about having taken time off, emphasize a readiness to return to work, and use networking to seek out new employment.

 

Contact Maggie Jackson directly for more information about her work and her article. Contact me for more information about my approach to work and career consultation.

The May/June 2007 issue of Spirituality and Health magazine published a summary of some very welcome news about (are you ready for this?!) placebo exercising.

 

Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer announced that people can benefit from placebo exercise. She studied 84 female housekeepers from 7 hotels; women in 4 hotels were told that their regular work was enough exercise to meet the requirements for a healthy lifestyle, and women in the other three hotels were not given any information about exercise. Four weeks later, the women who were told about exercise lost an average of two pounds, lowered their blood pressure by almost 10%, and were significantly healthier as measured by body-fat percentage, body mass index, and waist-to-hip ratio than the control group.

 

Harvard's Ann Harrington, after searching the archives of research, summarized that placebos tend to work better when given as big, red capsules as opposed to little white pills, that the doctor's level of confidence is critical (not the subject's level of confidence), and that environmental cues such as a doctor's white coat can trigger a person's natural healing response.

 

Well...I don't wear a thin, white doctor's coat. However, I specialize in using the power of thinking, emotion management, strategic thinking, and belief shifting to create an environment that is optimal for you to reach your goals.  Contact me to discuss further how my approach can assist you.

Half of life's ills come about because men are unwilling to sit down quietly for thirty minutes and think through all the possible consequences of their actions.

--Blaise Pascal