Hello again and happy Thursday!

We’re hoping you had a chance to listen to the conversation we offered last week for your listening pleasure, and thought we’d highlight some of the (we think!) key takeaways from the broadcast. Alex Cullimore, Cristina Amigoni and I examined, in depth, the concepts of meaningful conversation and connection, the fears involved in making us shy away from communicating intentionally, and the tools we have currently at our disposal that facilitate our avoidance - and there are a TON of them! In 2021, we find ourselves in a world, loaded with technology created to help us to facilitate communication more easily and more fluidly, at least conceptually. However we find that the platforms, apps, emails, texting, social media et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, in addition to being convenient and relatively quick and easy, have also had the (we’re sure!) unintended consequence of helping us avoid the, sometimes terrifying, prospect of actually having conversations and allowing us to avoid the very same. Throughout the podcast, I also found myself coming back again and again to the idea of the expectation of perfection.

Perfection, (defined by Dictionary.com as a quality, trait, or feature of the highest degree of excellence), is an impossible standard to strive for, (vastly overstating the obvious, but just sayin’). Perfection is the opposite of the human experience and our authentic selves. Human beings are messy and imperfect, but these are also the traits that make humanity beautiful. This crusade towards perfection is yet another reason we see a breakdown in communication between the five generations and amongst ourselves in the workplace and humans in general. Why is the quest for perfection a piece of this dysfunction? How can we overcome a trend that has slowly been bred by technology into our habits as human beings? We invite you to read on…...

There’s an interesting and slightly alarming sociological trend, which has slowly and not very quietly begun to emerge in the past 10 years: we think we know everything. We argue, and sometimes rail, against scientists, doctors, professors, political officials (no, I’m not going THAT particular rabbit hole!), clergy, journalists etc. People who have toiled, often for decades to become experts in their chosen fields, and who have years of study, research, institutional knowledge, historical knowledge and involvement in their area of expertise. However, if they aren’t saying something that comports with each of our own world views, they are suddenly stupid, whackjobs, and idiots. SO, why do we think we know more than they do?

2020 has been quite a year, and each and every one of us has a lot on our emotional plates. For those who already have social anxiety, these uncertain times can be almost unbearable. Between a global pandemic, the threat of murder hornets, political and racial unrest, and the variety of other crises the first half of the year has offered, it can be incredibly hard to cope for some. At times, the world seems like it has turned upside down. It's easy for apocalyptic fantasies to take hold of the psyche. However, there are still steps you can take to cope with and even overcome your social anxiety.

The Internet is an integral tool in our day to day lives that we have come to take for granted. For the younger generations, the Internet is omnipresent; they’ve never known life without it. My son, a GenY, came with me to my office many years ago, saw and was fascinated by an old typewriter I had on my shelf. He had trouble understanding that what was being typed wasn’t stored automatically or that he couldn’t edit, copy or paste the product!

Seldom do we take time to consider the vast brilliance, the scope and the reach of it, nor do we consider the ills afforded by the anonymity of being safely behind a screen. We are able to research anything, locate any place, watch videos, movies, listen to podcasts, search our ancestry, order food, find a date etc. and find immediate gratification for basically whatever we want nearly instantaneously. We are able to search the web from a device in the palm of our hand, we can communicate at any time with our family and friends across the entire world. The Internet has the astonishing capacity to educate us, connect us, and advance us.

Around Valentine’s Day every year, we like to take the time to think about love in a different frame. Love of others isn’t the only important thing. Love of self and an understanding of how to weave love into personal and professional relationships is a foundational part of having a healthy social life. This year, we want to talk about using self-care to make yourself a better professional.

Today’s professional world is rife with opportunities for entrepreneurs and self-starters to create the life they want if they work hard and leverage their connections. Between the gig economy and the large force of young professionals in the traditional workplace (a combination of Gen X, Gen Y [Millennials], and Gen Z), the way people perceive and achieve professional advancement is changing. However, with the millions of young people entering the workforce today, competition is fierce. Here are 5 steps young professionals can take to differentiate themselves from the competition and move toward quicker advancement, whether climbing a more traditional corporate ladder or pursuing the creation of their own business.

Do you become overwhelmed or anxious in social situations? You’re not alone. According to The National Institute of Mental Health, 12.1% of U.S. adults experience some kind of social anxiety at some point in their life. Of those who are affected, an estimated 29.9% had serious impairment, 38.8% had moderate impairment, and 31.3% had mild impairment.

The holidays are here again – and whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, or another special day, the spirit of giving is in full swing. This season, while you’re out shopping for your nearest and dearest, don’t forget to pick something up for your employees. Not sure what to get them? We’ve got you covered.