HEALTH

Fear seems to be a constant companion for every human being. We quickly learn to fear physical pain and almost as quickly, we start to be afraid of social pain: loneliness, ostracism or banishment. However, 95% of our fears are not sensible. We fear them for the sake of […]

After 20 years as an investigative agent, I found myself in a comfort zone. Safely ensconced in familiar territory, I balked when asked to be the spokesperson for the FBI in Northern California. It sounded like fun and even a little glamorous because I would be interviewed by local and national news media. So why did I hesitate when offered the job? I would move from being the senior agent on my squad, where I knew everything about my job, to a new situation where I knew absolutely nothing. None of my former skills as an investigator prepared me to handle probing questions from reporters. Over the years, I’d worked counterintelligence, espionage and terrorism cases. But the only time I felt truly terrified was in front of a live TV camera. The FBI needed someone who could come across as witty, credible and polished. I’m the type of person who comes up with the best retorts about 20 minutes after the question is asked. I needed to learn how to think quicker on my feet. I had to learn the ropes from the bottom up. I was tempted to feel humiliated by my lack of experience; instead, I felt humbled […]

There are habits you can develop that impact nearly every aspect of your personal and professional success. Running is a great example, because people who run regularly see powerful benefits, like having more energy, thinking more clearly and getting sick less often. I am a runner and a huge proponent of running, but I realize that for many people, regular running will never become part of their lives. It’s a habit that requires a lot of effort, sweat and sometimes even pain. Fortunately there is another habit that impacts nearly every aspect of your success, as well. This habit requires about as much effort as remembering to look both ways before you cross the road and definitely doesn’t require sweating. In fact, it doesn’t even require you to add anything to your schedule. It’s the habit of being mindful. Mindfulness is often described as sitting still, breathing deeply and paying attention to your breath. Although that certainly can be a mindfulness practice, being mindful is simpler and can offer a wider array of benefits. Being mindful is a shift from “being our thinking”—being that blabbering voice in our heads—to being aware of our thinking. This subtle inner shift allows us […]

Carlson School of Management at University of Minnesota recently sponsored a study that examines how job loss and the hunt for a new job impact the job-seeker’s mental health and well-being. Perhaps the study’s findings don’t come as a surprise; job seekers often experience an emotional low following the loss of a job, feel better when they begin searching for new opportunities, and then experience another decline in mental health when they haven’t found the right position 10-12 weeks later. This predictable shift in mental health is often referred to as job search depression: the hopeless feeling that settles in when you want or need a new job and can’t seem to land one. What makes everything worse is that the job search process is like an emotional rollercoaster, filled with ups and downs and sudden glimmers of hope only to be followed by disappointment – just check out the typical emotional stages of the job search: While there’s no simple solution to the inevitable ups and downs of a job search, there are some things you can actively do to keep your mind and spirit in good shape no matter what the job hunt throws at you. The first […]