Egg Salad Sandwiches
Last week Michelle, my lovely wife who is her own person, and I signed our revised wills and power of attorney documents. Life maintenance and adulting are important, after all. The phrase “serve egg salad sandwiches” is in my will….
Prosocial
Being a prosocial human means acting in the best interest of our communities because serving the public good is more important than advancing our own agenda. Cooperative economist Stefano Zamagni argues that seeking to help the world is an emerging…
Three Ways to Cultivate the Art of Possibility
The art of possibility means imagining what can get done or might be achieved by opening ourselves up to a variety of options in life and, generally, being a hopeful person. From my perspective, it also means inspiring others to…
Bicycles
Two of my best friends and I are riding bicycles across the San Juan Islands this week. Bicycles feature prominently in my life (they represent the most awesome way to explore communities). In fact, more people on Earth ride bikes…
Why You Should Invest in Boredom
Seth Godin, as he often does, captured our relationship with boredom perfectly in a recent blog post: “…the market has figured out that we simply don’t like to be bored. And so there’s more stimulation, more options and more noise…
Five Simple Ways to Build Everyday Vitality
Everyday vitality means cultivating “the feeling of aliveness and energy that lies at the core of well-being.” According to Samantha Boardman, psychiatrist and author of Everyday Vitality, investing in energy inoculates us against disruption, unpredictable hassles, and micro-stressors that erode…
What Comes After Burnout?
Burnout is a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity. Due to factors such as recognition (or lack thereof), workload, and safety, nearly one third of Canadians are…
Sociocracy
Sociocracy is a system of governance and constant decision making that unlocks the potential of highly democratic, often member-led communities. It seeks to create psychologically safe environments and organizations through human-centric approaches and radical transparency. People feel included in decision-making…
Career Development is the Vaccine for The Great Reshuffle
There is a vaccine to address recruitment and retention in the wake of “The Great Reshuffle.” It’s called career development. A national survey recently conducted by Environics for CERIC — a Canadian charitable organization that advances education and research in career counselling and…
Three Ideas for Celebrating the Holiday Season
If I’m being honest, there isn’t much to celebrate on the West Coast of Canada these days. The pandemic/endemic is here, restrictions are being implemented, and lockdowns are looming. I feel for everyone who is enthusiastically looking forward to social…