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Loneliness.
Why is it that loneliness seems to be an unacceptable sentiment in our society? Is it because we are social animals, and so long as we are around people we shouldn’t be lonely? What I think is ironic about this is that I’m willing to bet WAY more people feel lonely than are willing to admit. (And I’m not a gambler, I am that confident with my odds here.) People tend to generalize emotions. I am victim of this too. I recently talked to a mentor/friend, and she said to me, “Lacy, you keep coming back to the injustices.” Internally, I was like, “Cool”, đ (in one ear and out…
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Emotion.
I write a lot about emotions and feeling them. Psychology fascinates me, so itâs not surprising that this is where my writing leans. But throughout my business and leadership readings, trainings, and experiences, itâs become quite evident to me how much emotion plays a part in our daily lives â and how many people dismiss it as playing an important part in our daily lives. In a TED Talk presented by Harvard Medical School Psychologist Susan David, she performed a study of 70,000 people and found that 1/3 of these people judge or actively try to push aside âbadâ emotions such as grief, anger, or sadness. Normal, natural emotions are now seen…
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Melancholy.
Melancholy is defined as a âdepression of spiritsâ or a âpensive mood.â I want to focus on the former definition, because I feel like thatâs exactly what weâre experiencing as humans right now. At least, I am. In BrenĂ© Brownâs new podcast, she talks with David Kessler on grief and finding meaning. Kessler says that grief comes after loss. That loss can be anything of significance to the individual. He points out that during this pandemic, we could list a 100 different things that we have lost: our social lives, our ability to converge in public, physical touch (as simple as a handshake), and the big one: the world as…
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Adversity.
The definition of adversity is âa state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune.â State or instance – which means that it can be constant or a one-time difficulty or misfortune. Nothing in the definition refers to the intensity or severity of this difficulty or misfortune, yet it seems to me that many people tend to associate adversity with tragedy or sacrifice. Even I do this! (Yes, it says âseriousâ, but that is subjective and irrelevant for where I’m going with this. đ) In the Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Manson says, âFor many of us, our proudest achievements come in the face of the greatest…
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The Middle.
During my United Fresh Produce Industry Leadership Program (#class24 đ), 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: âGet the hell out of middle management as fast as you can.â (Her words exactly.) Middle managers experience compression by those they lead and those who lead them. Itâs 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. đ 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 âchildbed feverâ died within days. Dr. Semmelweis became obsessed with…