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Happiness.
Philosophers caution against focusing on happiness as the ultimate good in life, and I tend to agree. Happiness is subjective; it’s not a constant. I think we’ve put happiness on this unobtainable pedestal. It’s something that we haven’t actually defined for ourselves as individuals, and we strive for an unrealistic, curated ideal (however it is we perceive that ideal). Basically, we really don’t even know what we are searching for. What we talk about in our culture as happiness is really kind of a revved-up version of happiness. It’s a high-energy [state] — scientists call it a high-arousal positive affect. It’s a feeling, it’s transient, it’s not quality of life, it’s not so…
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The Middle.
During my United Fresh Produce Industry Leadership Program (#class24 💕), we had an incredibly smart, talented, and beautiful lady guiding us. Her name was Julie, and she was fabulous. (Still is!) She had a very polite and kind way of telling you some honest truths. She was blunt and funny. She said a lot of memorable things during our time, but the one that keeps coming to my mind in the midst of this coronavirus pandemic is this: “Get the hell out of middle management as fast as you can.” (Her words exactly.) Middle managers experience compression by those they lead and those who lead them. It’s a tough place…
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Semmelweis.
Have you ever heard of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis? Neither have most people, so I included a link. No need to follow it though, cause I’m going to tell you about him anyway. 😊 Dr. Semmelweis was a doctor in the mid-1800s. The mortality rate in the maternity clinic where he practiced was 1 in 10. At the time, conventional medicine called for separate treatment of each symptom. So rather than treating a fever, a headache, and trouble breathing with one method, they would use three separate methods. But still, nothing seemed to work. The women who contracted the disease which came to be known as ‘childbed fever’ died within days. Dr. Semmelweis became obsessed with…
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Emotional.
Remember when I wrote about listening to the wrong podcast episode of The Happiness Lab that prompted the post Sharing is Caring? Well, I finally listened to the episode that was originally recommended for me to listen to. It was called “Don’t Think of the White Bear.” I don’t even remember why this specific episode was recommended to me by a colleague. I think we were talking about how emotions are contagious. But what I took away from the episode was actually justification to my feelings in the post Let Me Be. Turns out, the best way to get over our emotions is to fully embrace them, while we’re feeling…
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Sharing is Caring.
A colleague recently recommended I listen to an episode of a podcast called The Happiness Lab by Dr. Laurie Santos, but I accidentally listened to the wrong one. It was called “Caring What You’re Sharing.” I can’t really say it was an accident though, because the message actually helped solidify some thoughts I had swirling around. I’m inclined to believe there was a reason I listened the “wrong” episode. Have you ever watched a movie with someone, and that person falls asleep? Or maybe when two of you go to dinner, but the other is on their phone? Think about how those circumstances make you feel. A little ignored? A…