Pesach (Passover) is a time for family and larger than usual gatherings. However, the preparations and responsibilities that come with hosting or attending gatherings can often lead to stress and anxiety. From cleaning every nook and cranny of the house to planning and serving elaborate meals, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. But fear not! With some mindfulness and planning, you can navigate through Pesach with ease, enjoying quality time with your loved ones without the stress.
Read MoreEver thought you were completely fair and unbiased? Well, think again!
Our minds play tricks on us without us even noticing.
We go about our lives believing we're totally impartial in our decisions.
But guess what? We're actually influenced by sneaky biases that shape how we think and act without us even realizing it.
It's like a secret power our brains have, steering us in ways we don't notice.
And here's the catch: believing we're totally unbiased is one of the biggest biases we have!
Read MoreYou keep doing more and earning more. Yet, you’re not any happier than before.
Ever wonder why? It’s because you’re on the hedonic treadmill.
The hedonic treadmill, also known as hedonic adaptation, refers to our tendency to return to a relatively stable level of happiness or satisfaction after experiencing positive or negative events or changes in our lives.
In other words, it's the concept that our happiness levels tend to revert to a baseline despite significant life events or changes.
Read MoreI'm currently listening to Jia Jiang's Rejection Proof.
It's a powerful story about how the author's personal fear of rejection and desire to please others created an unintentional international movement to help people overcome rejection and get more out of life and their careers.
Which is one of the areas that I will be focusing on in my upcoming webinar training, "Overcoming Call Reluctance."
10 years ago, I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
Or so I thought at the time.
I was still living in Atlanta but would be moving soon to NJ.
Even as I prepared to relocate with my family, I was unsure whether I'd stay in school leadership or move into coaching.
One of the positions I was pursuing was a part-time principal position.
Truth is, it really wasn't the best fit for me, and I knew it.
Read MoreWe went to work on the "gremlin" and started the process of flipping the script.
“𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚.”
“𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚.”
“𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩. 𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.”
From there, we moved into the core objective of the session.
Read MoreI was eleven years old, and I was thoroughly embarrassed.
A week earlier, one of the counselors had asked me if I would share a Torah thought at an upcoming Shabbos (Sabbath) camp meal in front of hundreds of others.
I was a pretty confident kid, so I agreed.
And then I spent many minutes preparing.
When the time arrived, I stood up on the bench and started speaking.
Towards the end, my mind froze and I couldn't remember the next part.
Somehow, I got through it, but I crumbled inside from embarrassment.
Which resulted in me burying myself underneath the table afterwards in shame.
We all tend to get dragged down and overwhelmed by things that accumulate over time and end up cluttering our minds.
When we identify them - even if we're not prepared to do anything about them right now - we raise our awareness and naturally start to handle, fix, and resolve them.
Start by making a list of what you’re putting up with at work and at home to determine what might be cluttering your mind and slowing you down!
Examples could be: incomplete tasks, frustrations, problems, other people’s or your own behavior, clutter, shoulds, unmet needs, crossed boundaries, unresolved issues or guilt, lack of exercise, eating habits, being indecisive, procrastinating, lack of sleep, etc.
Their presence triggered mixed emotions
Recently, at Sabbath prayer services, a group of young men were in attendance
Turns out that they attended a NYC yeshiva that I had interviewed at when I was in process of leaving Atlanta eight years ago
That job search, like a few others, had come up empty, and again I was feeling low