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How to Give to Others Without Burning Out
In our over-stressed world, many healthcare providers, social workers, and caregivers are suffering from slow yet painful burnout. Many of the rest of us, working long hours and raising families, seem to be approaching burnout, too. Sometimes we may feel that we’re too exhausted to keep giving to others, even…
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The Loneliness Epidemic and What We Can Do About It
A group of about 20 men — all fathers in their 30s and 40s — gathered at a home in Oakland, California, a month ago to talk fatherhood. Alarmingly, when asked how many of them had “real friends” — confidantes with whom they could talk honestly and vulnerably about life…
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Seven Ways to Uplift a Friend (And Yourself) in Crisis
When Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In, lost her husband, she said no one knew how to talk to her. People felt awkward around her and didn’t know what to say. One of the goals of her new book, New York Times Bestseller Option B is to talk about how we can both build resilience…
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8 Must-Read Summer Reads on Compassion & Happiness
We’ve been indoors, dragging all winter, and if you’re like me, you’re looking for some serious inspiration for the summer months. As an author of a happiness book myself, I tend to be picky about what I read—it needs to be inspiring, smart (research-backed) and entertaining—that combo is rare but always a…
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Blueprints for Bringing About Compassion in the Workplace
We’re living in an epidemic of incivility, disengagement, and despair at work—all forms of suffering that create a costly drain on organizational potential and rob workplaces of dignity and motivation. In their new book, CCARE researcher Monica Worline and her co-author Jane Dutton reveal how compassion contributes to the strategic…
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A Compassionate Resolution for this Season
Written by Monica Worline & Jane Dutton We started our staff meeting yesterday with a check-in question for everyone to answer briefly: What are you doing to take care of yourself this holiday season? Upon hearing the check- in question, one member of our staff immediately laughed and spontaneously shouted…
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5 Surprising Reasons Compassion is a Competitive Advantage
Written by Monica C. Worline and Jane E. Dutton. Recently, as Monica’s beloved Bernese Mountain Dog was living her final days, Monica had planned a hotel stay near a specialty veterinary treatment center. On the eve of her arrival, she received news that the tumor was not treatable. She called…
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Why Kindness Heals
As a physician specializing in neurosurgery at an academic medical center, I appreciate the unhappiness many patients have with the present healthcare delivery system that is rushed, bureaucratic, non-caring and technology-focused. In the U.S. we spend more per capita than any other industrialized country, yet the outcomes are some of…
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Real Magic
The day I noticed my thumb was missing began like any other day the summer before I started eighth grade. I spent my days riding my bicycle around town, even though sometimes it was so hot the metal on my handlebars felt like a stove top. I could always taste…
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Thinking About Thinking
“Do you know what a mantra is, Jim?” I shook my head. I didn’t have a clue. “It’s kind of like a song or a sound you make that helps you focus your mind. Just like you’ve been focusing your mind on your breathing or the candle, this is another…