Last year, I gave myself a goal: Chase serenity. I want to keep that as my main focus for 2023, but I will aim to get myself to a more serene state by focusing on simplicity this year. I think that simplicity will lead to serenity.
Continue reading...Chase Serenity
In 2021, when I started on my journey of recovery from food addiction, the serenity prayer was reintroduced to me in the context of addiction. I had never thought about the connections between addiction and serenity, courage, and wisdom before. I thought addiction was just about the substance, and I didn’t realize that it’s our thoughts that bring us to addiction, and that serenity, courage, and wisdom could help get us out of it.
Continue reading...All We Need is… Reassurance?
I recently read that what people really want is reassurance. We want to know that we are going to be okay. (I don’t know if that is true or not. It certainly has a truthy ring to it.)
Continue reading...Perfectionism: Superpower or Character Flaw?
When an interviewer asks about our weaknesses, we aren’t going to tell them how lazy we are or how we have a rebellious streak. It’s much more likely that we will try to find a “benign weakness” or one that is actually a backhanded compliment to ourselves, like “I’m a perfectionist”.
Continue reading...Can a night person become a morning person?
For the last year, I have been waking up early, well before the time I need to leave for work. This may not seem like a very big deal, but for me, it is.
Continue reading...ChatGPT: Write a Short Inspirational Text about Leadership
Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking charge, and taking responsibility for your actions. It’s about being a role model and inspiring others to be their best selves. It’s about having the courage to make tough decisions and the humility to listen to others.
Continue reading...Using Values (and Google) to Inform Decision-Making
I am often faced with decisions about whether or not to take on a new challenge. I have been struggling with this kind of decision over the past week. There is an opportunity that has presented itself to me, and I am trying to decide whether or not to get involved.
Continue reading...In a Racialized Society, Everyone is Racist
Since we all grew up in a racialized society, we all have racist ways of thinking. I’m not saying we are all white supremacists, but we have all lived in a society that considers white to be the standard and others to be substandard, in so many different ways. This...
Continue reading...How to respond to “if you aren’t doing anything wrong, you won’t be stopped in the first place.”
The whole point of the protests is that Black people *do* get stopped by police for doing nothing wrong. And when they do get stopped, regardless of whether they have done anything wrong or not, they tend to get treated with more brutality, and tend to be subject to extrajudicial...
Continue reading...It’s All of Us
I had lunch with one of my mentors yesterday. She has worked in education for her whole career and is soon to retire. She grew up in Ibaraki and then went to Tokyo for university. She was originally planning to find a job in Tokyo after she graduated. However, she...
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