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The Quiet Power that Elevates People and Organizations – an Interview with Monica Worline, Ph.D.
Written by Skip Prichard. Someone once told me that if you treat everyone as if they are suffering in some way, you will be right most of the time. Throughout my life, I’ve remembered the wisdom in this advice. Some leaders have told me that work is a …
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What Some Research on Creativity Tells Us
Written by Sharon Kilarski. If anyone doubts that our culture is obsessed with creativity, a quick survey of the available literature on the topic should satisfy. The amount of scholarly interest on creativity in the last 50 years at least is mind-bogg …
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Our Need to Feel Special is Making Us Lonely
Written by Emma Seppala. About a month ago, a group of about 20 men—all fathers in their 30s and 40s—gathered at a home in Oakland, California to talk fatherhood. Alarmingly, when asked how many of them had “real friends”—the kind of confidantes with w …
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Can You Really be Yourself at Work?
Written by Katie Hope. When you’re at work, do you behave in the same way as you do when you’re at home? Or do you have a work persona – a duller, more subdued version of your real self? Of course there are certain behaviours, such as swearing, or nudi …
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5 Easy Ways to Use Self-Compassion to Get Through Hard Times
Written by Julia Hogan. When you’re having a difficult time, rather than berating yourself, try self-compassion. As a therapist, I’ve heard so many of my patients say they don’t deserve the same level of compassion that they give their friends. “Of cou …
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How Compassion Relieves Chronic Pain
Written by Emma Seppala. If you suffer from chronic pain, and perhaps the angry emotions that hurting all the time can lead to, there’s a drug-free treatment that takes only 15 minutes a day and can bring real relief. It’s called compassion meditation. …
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The Amazing Health Benefits of Being Nice
Written by Kristen Domonell. With so much suffering in the world, it’s easy to feel helpless. But small acts of generosity can literally change lives, which is why “random acts of kindness” — or doing something nice for someone just because you can — n …
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In a Difficult Conversation, Listen More Than You Talk
Written by Emma Seppala and Jennifer Stevenson. When Jared walked into a meeting to discuss a new marketing approach for a product, the conversation didn’t play out well. Five minutes into the dialogue, the product manager, Françoise, started interrupt …
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The Boy in the Magic Shop
Written by Immanual Joseph. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. James Doty who is the founder and the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at the Stanford University School of Medicine of which t …
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15 Five-Second Strategies for Shutting Down Stress ASAP
Written by Tina Donvito. Dealing with sudden stress—a phone call with bad news, a last-minute assignment from your boss, or an argument with your spouse—triggers a cascade of physical and mental symptoms that can be hard to stop. The first thing to do? …
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Embracing Hardship: A Surprising Secret to Happiness
Written by Emma Seppala. Research shows that we have more positive experiences than negative ones, yet research also shows that our brain tends to focus on the negative aspects of our lives. We take the good things for granted and blow up the problems. …
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When Giving Critical Feedback, Focus on Your Nonverbal Cues
Written by Emma Seppala. Giving feedback may be one of the most difficult challenges a manager faces. On the one hand, you have to be honest; on the other hand, you don’t want to alienate your employee. You tread a fine line between maintaining cordial …
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Between Stimulus and Response with Dr. James Doty
Dr. James Doty was interviewed by John Malkin with Heartfulness Magazine about aspects of human behavior that relate to compassion and collective social issues. To read the full article, click here.
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The Importance of Teaching Kids to Be Kind to Pets
Written by Janice Neumann. The Kuerner brothers, John, 4, and Will, 6, had fun last summer gathering branches and leaves for bird nests, touching real bird feathers and gathering nuts and berries for wildlife — all as part of a Backyard Buddies program …
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The Ancient Practice Solving the City’s Oldest Problems
Written by Lucy Burton. The answer to some of the City’s most persistent HR problems might not be as complicated as blind recruitment schemes or work-life balance initiatives, but in a practice founded more than two and a half thousand years ago. A gro …
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7 Things that Can Help When You’re Too Exhausted to Work Any More Today
Written by Shana Lebowitz. Humans are not machines. While your computer can generally run all day long without a problem, you can’t. Even people who love their jobs and feel super-motivated during the workday (we hope that’s you!) will at some point hi …
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What to Do When You’re the Target of a Hurtful Office Rumor
Written by Emma Seppala. When Caroline moved to a new city to take on a job at a company she was thrilled to join, she was surprised when she had a hard time building friendships and positive relationships with her colleagues. A few months down the roa …
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Stanford Neurosurgeon-Writer Encourages People to Practice Kindness and Compassion
Written by Margarita Gallardo. Jim Doty’s life might have turned out very differently had it not been for a chance meeting in a magic shop when he was 12 years old. It was there that the Stanford neurosurgeon met Ruth, who taught him how to harness the …
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How Living with an Open Heart Creates Hope
Written by Mila Atmos. When I read James Doty’s New York Times bestseller, Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain, I was thoroughly enchanted. His story inspired me to believe that my future could be brighter …
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Living with Compassion Intention – Interview with Dr. James Doty
Written by Sarah Caplan. Last April, my meditation group attended an event at Stanford University entitled “Conversations on Compassion with Sharon Salzberg.” Sponsored by Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) and …
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Go Easy on Yourself
Written by Claire Sykes. There you go again, diving into another bag of potato chips. So you beat yourself up with harsh words. You’d never treat a friend this way! You know she feels better when you show her some love. Do that for yourself and you’ll …
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My Dirty Little Secret: For Once, Actually I’m Happy
Written by Abigail Libers. “So how are you?!” a friend asked me at brunch recently. I hadn’t seen her in a while and thought for a moment. “Great!” I replied. “Things have been going really well for me.” Even I was surprised by my response; it’s rare t …
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Iraq War Vet Uses Holistic Approach to Combat PTSD
Written by Avinash Ramsadeen. After serving in Iraq from 2004-2005 as an infantry soldier, Tom Voss decided to put the war behind him and get his life on track. He enrolled in school, got a civilian job and moved into his own place. However, about a ye …
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How Senior Executives Find Time to Be Creative
Written by Emma Seppala. The number-one attribute CEOs look for in their incoming workforce (according to an IBM survey of more than 1,500 CEOs across 33 industries and 60 countries) is not discipline, integrity, intelligence, or emotional intelligence …
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Reality Bites: Hyper-Connected Thanks to WhatsApp and Facebook, Yet Very Lonely?
Written by Poonacha Machaiah. A day could go by where you are connected with all your friends across the globe, but when you go to bed you experience a deep sense of isolation. We may be chatting with our family and friends and sharing intimate moments …
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