Have you ever known someone who, just by appearing before you, annoys the living daylights out of you? Every time she opens her mouth you cannot fathom what confluence of thoughts could have led to her inane statement. When he comes up with what he believes to be a brilliant idea, you realize in just…
Yesterday, I met with colleagues to facilitate a conversation about how we deal with difficult people. We could have talked for hours. This blog begins a series addressing the different types of difficulty we may run into when dealing with people. So what is a difficult person? The answer does not actually exist. Difficult…
Well before I was married, actually even before my first real boyfriend, a very wise man told me something about his marriage. At first I was surprised. This man was my rabbi and I didn’t quite expect him to utter, “In my marriage there are three people.” We have since become friends. And while I…
I love to run (and though I recently shared publicly for the first time the unfortunate reason running entered my life, I am so very grateful for the experience that brought me to running). Though my hips, knees, and back are aging with me; I still get a runners-high when I’m out. I enter a meditative state…
Recently, as I sat in an outside cafe, I overheard a conversation between two women who I gathered to be sisters. They were deciding where to eat lunch before each returned to work. They got into a bit of an argument. At the height of it, one sister snarled, “You don’t really care, you just…
When my son (we’ll call him Speedy) was 4, my husband, Jon, took him to the Oakland Zoo. It was supposed to be a nice father/son-bonding day. But, due to a common miscommunication, which occurs when questions are answered, it was traumatizing for both. After gawking at the various animals, they went to the area…
In 1969, Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull wrote a book. It was meant to be funny. Though, with most things humorous, its hilarity rested on its truth. The book conceptualized the “Peter Principle”. In many organizations, those who are good at what they do get promoted. And they keep getting promoted. In fact, they get promoted until they…
Throughout my career, I have taken training after training in a myriad of subjects, all of which begin with a lesson about ‘active listening.’ This makes sense, as active listening is the foundation on which most of what I do professionally is based. But, I have found these trainings to be quite elementary. To me…
In today’s climate, with war raging and tensions rising in the middle-east, the Ukraine, South Sudan, Iran, Syria, Korea, Iraq (to name a few), we have a heard a great deal about what is needed for peace. These conversations bother me even when I believe the political strategy is correct. It is not peace we…
My son has his best friend over (we’ll call him Andy). We adore Andy and love how much both he and my son share with us. I was talking to my husband about transition. Andy overheard the conversation and said, “it makes you sad.” He’s right! But, how did this child know? Every year, thousands,…
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