Accepting imperfection in our selves and others can be a gift.
Terry Newell is currently director of his own firm, Leadership for a Responsible Society. His work focuses on values-based leadership, ethics, and decision making. A former Air Force officer, Terry also previously served as Director of the Horace Mann Learning Center, the training arm of the U.S. Department of Education, and as Dean of Faculty at the Federal Executive Institute. Terry is co-editor and author of The Trusted Leader: Building the Relationships That Make Government Work (CQ Press, 2011). He also wrote Statesmanship, Character and Leadership in America (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and To Serve with Honor: Doing the Right Thing in Government (Loftlands Press 2015).
All in Pursuing Happiness
Accepting imperfection in our selves and others can be a gift.
I underline certain passages in books as I read. Some are appalled by this desecration, but hear me out!
We don’t always see ourselves with the clarity that others do. Being open to what they see can improve our relationships.
I’ve had limited success as a gardener, but my garden has had much success in teaching me about how to nurture plants - and people.
We are genetically designed to care about others. A healthy society needs to find ways to foster such caring because culture can get in the way.
We casually toss off the comment “Have a wonderful day.” How enriched life can be if we actually live those four words.
People who are quiet in social situations may not be seen as the life of the party, but they have a wonderful and engaging life just the same.
Within dark and difficult days, we can often find sparkling rays of sunshine.
Stubbornness can cause trouble or come in handy. It depends on what you decide to be hard-headed about and how you do so.
We become emotionally attached to the things in our lives. They enrich and shape us, even if they are just things.
Giving up the need for control and certainty in every aspect of our lives can open them to the surprises and joys that can enrich each day.
Experiencing positive awe enriches lives, but threat-induced awe generates fear and powerlessness. We are not helpless in producing more of one and less of the other.
We like ourselves - a lot! That’s a good thing, but there are some funny and unexpected ways it can show up.
Amidst the global tragedy of COVID19, this post is offered in the hope that a bit of humor will ease the stress, if only for a brief moment.
Does what you wear really matter? If you care about how you are perceived, science says it does. This is not a message I wanted to hear.
Being so cute helps babies get the care and attention they need. Could this work for the elderly too?
The hug is as old as humanity, and its benefits help explain why we need and love to do it.
Regrets are not detours from living life "my way" but paving stones for it. They shape us. They are signals about who we should be.
Whatever dancing ability I gained in the last half century came from my wife's teaching. Until recently. After years of pleading, I finally agreed to dance lessons.
If we could savor at least some things in each day as if they might be the last time we would experience them, how much more joyous might our lives be?