A good metaphor for why habits are so hard to change

A good metaphor is gold. Here’s one about how habits are created and why they are so hard to change. It’s from Harvard neurology professor, Alvaro Pascual-Leone, via Norman Doidge’s book, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science. I love this metaphor. It’s brilliant. And, so winter. So Canadian. […]

Managing the Half-Life of Workplace Conflict

Recently, I was asked by a local organization to assess a workplace conflict situation and provide some recommendations for them, going forward. While I did that, I also realize that the tensions that had surfaced in the group don’t just end, full stop. In many ways, they morph and carry on, below the surface, in […]

Remembering the Brilliance of Ursula Franklin: The Real World of Technology

Ursula Franklin died last month, in Toronto. She was 94. Ursula Franklin was a “Canadian giant” for a whole lot of reasons; she was a world-renowned physicist, feminist, Quaker, author, pacifist, professor, Holocaust survivor, public intellectual, mother, and mentor. She was honoured as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982 and with the […]

That Was Picasso! A sports psychology model for mastering personal challenges

The PGA tour, professional golfer’s association tour, is winding down for another year, over the next few weeks. I golf. Not a lot; enough, though, that I’m motivated, after a bad round (not infrequent), to go out, and do it again. No pain, no gain? It’s the psychological side of golf that has me hooked. […]

Summer Fun and Learning at Toastmasters

I’ve been part of a local Toastmasters club for the last two years.  This was my first foray into the Toastmaster’s world. We meet once a week; early morning (6:55-8:15 a.m), at a local community centre. Toastmasters and my experience with Toastmasters Toastmasters focus is to provide a supportive environment to improve public speaking. Toastmasters originated in […]