Sound Insight

In part two of my series on growth in later life, I explore the impact that our negative beliefs about aging have on the aging process itself. Our culture has us all swimming in ageism. False, negative, and disparaging beliefs about aging are so pervasive that we don't even notice them.  According to three decades of research conducted by Dr. Becca Levy of Yale School of Public Health, these belie...

The difference between getting old and growing old may be more important than you think. In this episode, I explore the key differences between our notions of "getting" old, as a process of contraction and the precarity of living with an aging body and mind. And something more empowering. A growing body of research shows us what some cultures have known for centuries. Growing old is entering elder...

Mind-blowing revelations for my 70th birthday.  It appears I have officially entered "Elderhood." This is a time when, as a writer and leadership coach, I feel some pressure to spew wise. And as a subscriber to Sound Insight, you deserve, well... insight! I find on this BIG birthday, however, I just don't have it. I hope you can forgive me as I offer you, instead, seven lessons I still haven't lea...

This is the third episode in Sound Insight's series celebrating National Poetry Month. This episode was inspired by that profound sense of disorientation that arises when the ambient turmoil becomes so pervasive, it begins to feel normal. I explore how listening to sensations of resonance and dissonance in our bodies can guide us back to clarity and alignment. This week's poem is called Unmoored....

The courage to arrive in a world that's not always welcoming. This is week two of Sound Insight's series in celebration of National Poetry Month. This week's poem is called Arrival Rite. In this reflection and poem, I explore what it takes to show up, especially when the world does not feel welcoming. And how that rite of arrival can lead to a sense of our worthiness that runs deeper than the stor...

In honour of National Poetry Month (and a recently fractured collar bone) I'm practicing "less is more" this month. And nothing illustrates that more perfectly than poetry. In April, Sound Insight will feature a series of three reflections, each accompanied by one of my poems. This week's poem is Threshold. We tend to think of thresholds as lines to cross, doorways to enter, or edges from which we...

A Simple Way to Make Everyday Choices that Matter. Over the sweep of a life, it is the tiny, seemingly insignificant decisions we make every day that can make the biggest difference. On their own, they don't seem to matter much, but as they accumulate over time, they can make the difference between a rich and fulfilling life or one filled with regret. In this episode, I share a simple approach for...

Welcome to Season 5 of Sound Insight. In episode 1, I share a simple reflection and a personal story to inspire and offer encouragement in a turbulent time. Return is a personal ritual of recovery and re-alignment of our body, mind, heart, and spirit. It is a return to the fundamentals that anchor us. When our lives become stormy and chaotic, return is how we remain grounded and whole. It is a ges...

When I think about finishing strong, I think of marathon runners. The good ones that keep just enough in the tank to mount a heroic sprint to the tape. I think of that triumphant moment when they raise their hands in the air as they cross, just before they collapse on the track in exhaustion. But finishing strong is not only about crossing finish lines. Often we're so eager to get on to the next t...

Have you ever wondered why you keep working against your own interests? Or why, when you are on the verge of achieving your goals, you start doubting and sabotaging yourself? Meet The Committee, an unruly band of shadowy critics, doubters, and second-guessers who dwell inside our brains. They are participants in the most common and effective conspiracy of all time. The conspiracy to take control o...

Does your September arrives with a wall of new routines, obligations, and deadlines? After a slow, lazy summer, September can feel like standing on the beach trying to stare down an approaching tsunami. In this episode, I offer an alternative to the typical angst inducing, adrenaline pumping hard reboot. Maybe it's time to try something new. Looking for more? Consider pairing this podcast with a f...

Confessions from over-eating at the buffet of life. Do you have a habit of taking on too much? Have you tried all the standard advice about priorities and saying no, but still find yourself rushed and overcommitted? There may be more going on in your complex and beautiful mind than you realize. In this episode, I explore why we (or maybe it's just me) repeatedly sabotage our efforts for a more spa...

The Inner Work of Greater Peace How can we protect our mental and emotional well-being in an environment that is becoming increasingly toxic? Are we all at the mercy of our circumstances and our environment? Or can we control our emotional state to reduce our suffering and the suffering in the world? I've learned in my coaching practice and in life that the truth is more nuanced and complex than e...

Did you launch another personal improvement project this year? I have to ask, now that we're nearing the end of the month, how's that working out for you? Is your motivation crumbling? Did your 30-day challenge not make it past day three? Or worse, are you reading this while sitting in a stupor, eating storm chips, and binging on Netflix? Don't despair. You're not alone. It's not too late. There's...

The business case for starting with a strong finish. Studies show that a temporal landmark, like the beginning of a year, can have a strong motivational effect on people's intentions to pursue their goals. Psychologists call this "the fresh start effect." But here's the tricky part. The reason a fresh start is so motivating is it allows you to disassociate from your past actions and your past impe...

How to Enjoy the Ride, Part 3. So much of navigating life in a way that brings you joy and a feeling of being fully alive is a mental game.  It is waking up to the experience of your life for brief moments and then slipping back into autopilot. In this third and final episode of this series, I share five of my favorite reflective practices for more fully experiencing this remarkable ride called li...

How to Enjoy the Ride, Part 2. In Part 2 of my series, "How to Enjoy the Ride", I explore some hard truths about our lives that actually make life more worth living.  In this episode, I discuss: •    The two kinds of happiness and how an over focus on one versus the other can make us miserable; •    Cognitive time travel and how we can improve our enjoyment of life by learning to operate our inner...

How to Enjoy the Ride, Part 1. I'm excited to share the first of a three-part series called How to Enjoy the Ride. In this episode, I discuss three common mental habits that have a powerful upside for our performance. But when they become unconscious and ingrained, they can also make us miserable. Sometimes the path of learning to enjoy your success is to unlearn the very things that got you there...

In my last episode, I shared a full-throated endorsement of the virtues of sloth as I ventured off on a glorious six week hiatus.  But is there such a thing as too much sloth? Unfortunately, yes. An abundance of sloth can lead to the dreaded state of "drift." Drift is that feeling of listlessness and lack of motivation that comes from drifting down the river of life without a paddle for too long....

Finding your rhythm in a world out of sync, part 4. When we think of an arresting drum solo, we think of the beat. The sound. But what gives the sound depth and interest are the rests between the beats. A great rhythm is an intricate relationship between beat and break. It's the dance between sound and silence, substance and space.  Our days are consumed with thoughts of what's next and what we mu...

Finding your rhythm in a world out of sync, part 3. This episode was originally recorded in 2022. I updated it to include it as part three of my series Finding Your Rhythm in a World Out of Sync. How many of us have tried to reduce our stress and improve our lives by becoming better managers of our time? What if we're building the wrong skill? In this episode, I explore how developing your attenti...

Finding your rhythm in a world out of sync, part 2. In part two of my series, "Finding Your Rhythm in a World Out of Sync", I introduce the connection between your best energy and your most important work. I share the results of an experiment I conducted on myself in an effort to overcome my life-long struggle to build a consistent and sustainable writing practice.  In this episode, I explore what...

A different path to balance.    In this episode, I explore the connection between the natural rhythms that govern our bodies, our environment, and our lives and their impact on our work. I discuss the significant upside for our health and performance when we pay attention to these rhythms and work with them rather than against them.  " When I let nature's rhythms guide my life, nature delivers. Ad...

The elastic nature of comfort and courage. " How does a woman who six short years ago, trekked one of the most isolated places on the planet, sleeping in freezing tents along side piles of goat dung, become paralyzed by the prospect of taking a 15-minute cab ride? " In this episode, I share a personal and somewhat embarrassing experience of dramatic comfort zone shrinkage, as I reflect on the elas...

Sometimes the hardest lies to spot are the ones you tell yourself. In this episode, I reflect on my descent into burnout and three pervasive myths and a lie that kept me in a destructive cycle of over-commit, crash, and burn.   Notes: Here is a link to the poem "You can't have it all," by Barbara Ras featured in the newsletter The Marginalian by Maria Popova. Looking for more? Consider pairing thi...