I’ve been pretty sad lately. A smile feels forced, I’m tired, and my chest feels heavy and aches. I don’t want to look people in the eyes because I know they’ll see it. Some of my sadness can be explained by recent experiences with loss, disappointment and the passage of time. Most of it, I
We were in a meeting when people started whooping and screaming. In the middle of a weekday, in our office lobby, one of my teammates had gotten engaged. Her boyfriend had borrowed a car identical to the one in the movie Sixteen Candles—her favorite movie—and had dressed up like the boy in the movie. I
In recent posts, I’ve explained the importance of valuing ourselves and others for who we are more than what we do. In fact, who we are is at risk, but we do everything possible to minimize it. And the harder we try, the more anxious, bitter and tedious we get. In attempting to minimize all
I learned to dance Salsa in a university class called Bailes Latinoamericanos. Having an analytical mind and a Lutheran heritage didn’t set me up as a natural success. But thankfully, I had a good instructor who helped me move my hips to the even beats with the characteristic pause on the fourth beat. While I
My nerves have been frayed. Not sleeping soundly. My breathing has been shallow and my body has felt unsettled. In moments of calm, I search my iPhone for an email, a text, a photo, a song, I don’t know what. Anx-i-e-ty: a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease, typically about an imminent event or something
I caught myself telling a lie this week. Not only that, I realized something: I lie constantly. Oh, not to other people. With them, I usually tell the truth. But in my head, to myself, I’m often a liar. And I’ll bet you are, too. Here are some lies I was telling myself this week:
You see the giant and the shepherd in the Valley of Elah and your eye is drawn to the man with the sword and the shield and the glittering armor. But so much of what is beautiful and valuable in the world comes from the shepherd, who has more strength and purpose than we ever
Does your mind sometimes have a “mind of its own”? Last Thursday night mine thought obsessively about work while I wished it would think of questions to ask my kids about their day. On Valentine’s Day, it wanted to stay up late watching a movie that I knew my wife wouldn’t enjoy. My mind is
This week is Halloween, but last week was full of terrors both large and small: A flight crashing A client rejecting a new business presentation A run in the country cut short by the accidental shot of a hunter A late night car ride with my kids ending in a wreck A headache turning out
As his kindergarten classmates were selected to receive stickers for their behavior that day, my son waited with anticipation. Name after name was read. The group he sat with on the floor grew smaller and smaller. When there were just eight of them left, his heart sank as he realized it: He would not be
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE