We are accustomed to thinking of ourselves as one thing – a person, an entity with a unique identity. Because we have a persistent experience of continuous consciousness, which is by nature subjective, we also tend to think of ourselves as in some sense separate from the rest of the world. When we step back […]

True Grit = Passion + Perseverance x PURPOSE Purpose is the multiplier that makes hard work less of a grind. COMPELLING SENSE OF PURPOSE is the catalytic element that is often missing from exhortations that we show more GRIT or find a GROWTH MINDSET. PASSION and PERSEVERENCE can be very hard to maintain if you […]

Our brains seem to cue our affective states (including extremes ones like depression) through a continuous series of predictions of what physiological state will most efficiently promote our short-term survival. The symptoms are physiological, but the emotional label is psychosocial. The physical symptoms that accompany emotions – such as a racing or slowing heartbeat, flushed […]

The search to find the “place” where the “real” you feels welcome and comfortable can reach across thousands of miles and centuries of inherited experience. Moving to a place that is new to us can wake up new aspects of our identities that might have remained dormant if we hadn’t moved to the new environment. […]

“Everybody’s looking for this magic pill that’s going to change (feelings of low wellbeing), and what we really need is a shift in our expectations and a shift in our behaviors.” – Dr. Cynthia Ackrill, certified stress mastery educator — When it comes to wellbeing, we tend to look too far outside our circle of […]

In the APGCCM formula, P stands for purpose. There are various ways to think about purpose, but within this formula what I refer to as purpose is the pursuit of a potential outcome that seems likely to be significant, valuable or worthwhile. Some people are turned off by high-minded terms like purpose, while others may […]

We tend to say we want more autonomy (right to make choices regarding our own lives without external pressures or interference) when what we really want and need is more experience of agency (ability to take meaningful actions, make decisions, and influence the world around us). Conversations about autonomy tend to focus on our resistance […]

EXPLORE – Scan internally and externally, forward and backward, to find out what grabs and keeps your attention DEFINE – Narrow your focus to one clearly-articulated problem/opportunity or set of problems/opportunities that seems worthy of an investment of energy and other resources ITERATE – Cycle systematically through a series of experiments to clarify what you […]

Have you preloaded your own operating instructions for 2025? One core element of establishing a new set of habits is having (a) formula(s) you can use as a launch pad to help you take your first few steps as well as a recovery plan to get you back on track after you have (inevitably eventually) […]

Below is a very rough draft of an essay I started about 15 years ago, picked up again about four years ago (then forgot about again). The essay provides context on how we came up with RAFT, how we used it then, and how the concept has evolved for me over the years. RAFT: a […]