Has there been an occurrence when you are actively listening to another person in a conversation, and your intent is not to interrupt, but truly Listen With Your Eyes; however, your mouth just blurts out, “You, too?” Often, this simple expression opens the door to a new Friendship Conversation that validates your experiences or feelings …
Category: Flourishing
Flourishing Organizations
Today, I was deeply saddened to read a comment from a student in a graduate-level course who offered that my request for a book review was the first time they had been asked to complete one since seventh grade. My sincere hope is that this statement did not mean that during their educational formation they …
Decision Fatigue
In the process of developing healthy habits which might lead to a flourishing life, the topic of willpower often arises, but it seems to be most frequently associated with exercise and eating choices. We have the knowledge that wise decisions in this area of our life will have compounding interest on our health, but because …
Friendship Conversations
In researching the characteristics typical of people who are considered to be flourishing at life, it should be no surprise how often someone’s ability to thrive is connected to the individuals with whom they have created Relational Equity, or as Shawn Anchor terms it in his book, The Happiness Advantage, social capital. As I continue …
Welcome to the Table
Daylight shines brightly from the reflected February snow over the black dining table in my home, highlighting the fact that it hasn’t been dusted in a while; however, there is a valid reason the dust bunnies are flourishing on my table, since no one has pulled up a chair in at least a month. This …
Waiting Room
My hope is that you never have to experience the lack of control that comes with sitting in a Waiting Room; however, few people will ever be exempt from this experience, whether it arrives as a painless encounter such as awaiting a tire rotation at a local service station or the agonizing hours that slowly …
Off-Balance
Looking up the word Off-Balance in the Cambridge University dictionary, one will find the following definition: “confused or uncertain about what to do next.” Instead of choosing flourish for What’s Your Word to represent the year 2020 (and even into the beginning of 2021), I think the word Off-Balance might be a more accurate descriptor …
Chasing a Dream
What dreams did you have as a child? Which aspirations fell away to the realities of life and which ambitions inspired you to develop a Habit of Resilience so that those desires would flourish? My sister’s childhood goal to become a tall nurse didn’t quite come to fruition, as she had once envisioned, since God …
Through It All
Experiencing an immense amount of insecurity when it comes to writing this blog and feeling less than confident about sharing personal insights about what the Lord is revealing throughout this research on the topic of a flourishing life, I am convinced that Through It All, there is perhaps a purpose somewhere in all my mess. …
Find Your Flame
As someone who is employed in higher education, there is no greater delight for me than to be a witness to the moment when who God created a person to be sparks a lifetime calling to a vocation. To be clear, this is not a frequent occurrence in my life of a Defining Moment; rather, …