I worked with a client recently who, by almost any measure, was doing exceptionally well. Senior role at a Fortune 50. Strong reputation. Financial stability. Highly respected by leadership. The person people relied on when things became difficult or politically complex. From the outside, nothing looked wrong. But within the first fifteen minutes of our conversation, they said something I hear more often than most people realize: “I don’t think I know who I am outside of bein

There is a version of being stuck that does not look like a lack of options or motivation. It looks like responsibility. A client I worked with described their situation very directly. They were the primary earner in their household. People depended on their income. On paper, they had done everything right — built a stable career, taken on increasing responsibility, remained reliable in their work. Yet they felt constrained and unable to move forward. The issue was not a lack

Where Narrative Solidifies — and How to Influence It The brain does not treat all moments equally. It gives disproportionate weight to transitions. The first minutes after you wake up. The seconds after an aggressive comment. The drive home after a tense meeting. The final stretch before sleep. Not just time markers, these are state shifts when the brain updates its internal map. In earlier pieces in this series, I described how the brain “flickers” between present experience

Why What You Dwell On at Night Carries Forward You’re in bed. Your brain is replaying the meeting: The comment that didn’t land. The opportunity you didn’t get. The moment you hesitated. The thing you should have said differently. You know it isn’t helpful. You tell yourself to stop thinking about it. But the replay continues. That replay is not neutral. In the first article in this series, I described research from Yale showing that the brain constantly flickers between new

Why the Brain Turns Experience into Narrative Templates There’s a past moment most professionals can point to: A promotion that didn’t happen. An interview that felt strong, followed by silence. A meeting where your idea didn’t land. A project that lost funding. You move on, at least outwardly. You review the feedback. You adjust your strategy. You refine the plan. You tell yourself this is good learning, not who you are. And then something else begins. In the first article i

And What the Brain Is Actually Doing As computers were introduced, intelligence came to be associated with storage capacity, processing speed, and computational efficiency. The more advanced the machine, the more data it could hold, retrieve, and apply toward solving problems. That model explains computers well. It has also shaped how many of us believe learning, growth, and success are accomplished: We aim for a goal. We drive toward it. We assess the outcome. We analyze

In today’s corporate world, even high performers are learning a hard truth: loyalty no longer guarantees stability. Companies restructure, pivot, and automate — sometimes while posting record profits — leaving people to wonder: What happened to the social contract between companies and employees? For decades, the unspoken deal was simple: “If you work hard, perform well, and stay loyal, you’ll have security.” That deal is gone. Now, layoffs arrive without warning, and the rea

Years ago, I worked with a colleague I’d once considered a friend. At a happy hour, after a few drinks—ironically—he began speaking bluntly, declaring he had no respect for people struggling with addiction. To him, it was simply a sign of weakness, and he said he had no patience for ‘weak people.” I was stunned. Appalled. And even more so a year later, when someone in my own family began struggling with addiction, and I witnessed how the illness rippled through every corner o

September is National Recovery Month. The 2025 theme, “Recovery is For Everyone: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community,” reminds us that addiction and mental health challenges don’t happen in isolation. They affect individuals, families, and entire communities—and recovery depends on the strength of those connections. Recovery also isn’t limited to substance use. It includes recovery from mental illness and many forms of addiction —from alcohol and drugs to gambling,

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We’ve all seen the articles and photos by now. This weekend, Jeff Bezos hosted an extravagant wedding celebration in Venice, reportedly spending tens of millions of dollars. The backdrop: an American population grappling with persistent inflation, unaffordable housing, rising medical debt, and the erosion of basic economic security. The images of excess—private yachts, celebrity entourages, high fashion parades—feel like something from, well, most high school history books.

As we mark Pride Month, we find ourselves in a moment of challenge. Pride is a time to honor LGBTQIA+ humanity—its joy, visibility, resilience, and progress. It’s also a time to reflect honestly on the growing need for solidarity, inclusion, and courageous allyship. Anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric is on the rise, and hard-won protections are under threat in many places. This tension can leave even well-meaning allies wondering how—or whether—to speak up. And yet, this is exactly the

On Juneteenth, we remember that true freedom is not only the absence of chains, but the presence of dignity, belonging, and shared humanity. We would be wise to take heed of the philosophy of Ubuntu , and the wisdom of African theologian J. S. Mbiti , who wrote concisely and powerfully: “I am because we are; and since we are, therefore I am.” Ubuntu offers a stark contrast to the Western ideal of “I think, therefore I am.” It reminds us that our humanity, our progress, and o

Yesterday, I worked with a recent college graduate who was feeling completely stuck. He’d been applying for jobs on Indeed and other job sites, doing all the right things. Despite being motivated and hardworking, he felt defeated. He had received a couple of offers—but turned them down. One required a three-hour minimum daily commute. The other came from a company whose products didn’t align with his values. Saying “no” wasn’t easy—but it was an act of integrity. In our coac

May marks both Mental Health Awareness Month and Commencement season—a powerful time to reflect, reset, and recommit to your growth....