Patterns and Possibilities - Thriving in Uncertainty with Miss Handie

We’ve all heard the statement, “Everything is relative.” I believe it’s true, and I wanted to explore relativity in an area that you and I will likely face if we are truly living and not just surviving. When you think about playing it safe in your world, what does that look, sound, and feel like? Is it foreign to you or intimately familiar? I’ve got my own mountains to climb as it relates to playi...

Fear is a normal experience that human beings encounter everyday. The question is whether we are determined to face our fears or allow them to immobilize us. When you think about the things that make you fearful, are they more powerful than your determination to face them or vice-versa? This episode reveals one of my deepest fears and how it’s impacted the way I see and experience life through a l...

If you listened to any of the latest travel industry news, I’m sure you’ve heard bits and pieces or the full story about Southwest Airlines “new and soon to become effective” policies for air travel. These policies are extreme in nature and ancillary to the upcoming “assigned seats” policy that Southwest warned us about last year but has yet to launch. Critics are already chastising Southwest for...

Popularity contests and the desire to be liked has always been a thing. The world of social media has placed a wider and deeper emphasis on the concept of liking and disliking someone’s content choices which often adds or detracts from the beholden’s self-esteem. Being liked may be the position that most, if not all, human beings desire to experience, but what happens when you’re not liked? And, w...

The world is shifting at a remarkable speed and not in a good way. Over the past few weeks, federal employees were asked to consider leaving their jobs unexpectedly, unifying and edifying programs were criticized and halted, and illegal immigrants were and are being hauled away from their jobs and residences. All of these things were happening while millions of Americans prepared to watch Super Bo...

As a curious observer of most things, I am drawn to a pattern that is deeply present in the places where I’ve worked. I’ve never understood how or why it became a pattern or why it still has enough breath in it to survive. In this episode, I’m revealing the pattern with questions for you to reflect on through your lens of experience. I’m wondering if you’ve observed my reflection as a pattern or i...

I love all things fashion, including books, podcasts, television shows and movies, blogs and social media accounts about fashion and personal style. The power of getting dressed is high on the list of daily priorities, for many people, particularly due to the elevation and explosion of social media during the pandemic. We now live in a world where the average consumer, and the ways in which he or...

On January 1, 2025, I woke up to some disturbing and tragic national news. At that time, ten people had been killed by a terrorist in New Orleans, Louisiana, a few hours after midnight. Three officers were hospitalized and the terrorist, who used a truck and a gun to kill and injure these innocent human beings, was now dead. The world has never been devoid of wicked patterns but lately it feels li...

Glenda Eoyang, the Founder and Executive Director of Human Systems Dynamics (HSD) Institute, returns to the podcast, in this episode, to talk about a grand and important transition and transformation that is happening in the near future. Press play to hear firsthand what Glenda has been seeing, understanding, and influencing through and with HSD for over 20 years, why it matters, and what she and...

The holidays are considered the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the time when we gather most with friends, family and colleagues at work to celebrate life in joyous ways. Celebrations with friends and family who know us well give us opportunities to let our hair down without judgment. The celebrations that happen with the people we work with, and around, often have to be navigated with more...

I’ve always been fascinated by cities and how they work and every time I get an opportunity to travel to a new one, I’m always hoping to have an adventure. My first trip to Nashville , Tennessee, in 2016 was adventurous in a horrific sort of way. I’ve never forgotten it, and I had to face that reality head on just a few days ago when I traveled back to Nashville for the second time. I seized the o...

How often do you use virtual meeting platforms to connect with others? If virtual meetings are a regular pattern of communication in your personal and/or professional life, how do you make sure you’re giving your absolute best? How do you virtually invest in a room full of people you’ve never met in person? How do you help others to get comfortable speaking in virtual spaces? Have you ever felt un...

I love to read, and I stumbled upon a book recently that caused me to Stand in Inquiry in a deep and imaginative way. The words on the page led me to more wonderment about life and the patterns that we exhibit as badges of honor. I’m curious if you’ve ever read a book that made you less certain about what you thought you knew? Have you ever been inspired or influenced to move from holding on to yo...

I’m thankful that I’ve been able to use Human Systems Dynamics to transform wicked patterns in my life. There’s one pattern that I haven’t been able to transform - not because I don’t have the tools - it’s because I haven’t had the desire and courage to deal with it until now. An unexpected and powerful question from a loving friend and critic recently inspired me to deal with my ugly truth s and...

Have you ever walked into a room full of empty tables and chairs? People are in the room and yet no one is sitting down. Conversations are happening all around you, but all of the chairs are still empty. Who is going to be the first to take a seat? Which table do you choose? What makes one empty table more appealing than another? I was recently faced with an opportunity to choose from several empt...

Do you remember what life was like before social media? What was your primary method for connecting and socializing with others? Do you find it easy or difficult to form connections with people via social media? Is it possible to develop and maintain rich and fulfilling connections with people you follow on social media and may never meet or interact with outside of an app? Think about your social...

I recently traveled out of town and found myself in an awkward social experience that some would have avoided. Instead, I decided to look at it as a social experiment that I could get curious about and become better as a result of it.

Human Systems Dynamics (HSD) has been around for more than twenty years. There are associates, around the globe, who have been certified in it and countless learners who have attended one or many HSD non-certification courses. 
 The hope is that those that learn HSD are sharing it with others and that sharing will attract more human beings to touch HSD and make it a pattern of being. 
 Just recent...

The 2024 Paris Olympics is over now, but it’s still a popular topic of conversation around the world. I watched this round of the Olympics more than any other and became sort of addicted to it, but not in the way that you may think. The question that came to mind as I observed the pattern of victory and celebrating life in different events, was where did this notion of being the best come from? Ho...

Ego is often the primary driver in the life choices and decisions of people that we interact with everyday. Has your ego ever told you that you’re more qualified or better than you are? How often are you making decisions influenced by ego rather reality? How much can your ego be trusted to lead you to the best decision for you and the people living , playing, and working with and around you? Is yo...

When you finally meet the romantic partner you’ve been dreaming about, love is a splendored thing! If you’re lucky, you can fall in love and stay there forever. If something happens to cause you to fall out of love with the person of your dreams, it can suddenly feel like your heart has been pierced with splinters. I’ve developed a Relationship Math Quiz to help you and your mate determine if your...

I have always been afraid of birds, especially those that flock together. On a recent trip to Chicago, I had an epiphany about why everything in the bird species terrifies me, and it took me back to my past when I first read, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou. I was inspired to figure out why the caged bird sings at work, and I now know why their lyrics bother me so much.

I had an amazing four-day vacation that was sandwiched by two wicked issues. Both created major tension between me and the other people that were involved. Rather than remain a victim of my circumstances, I took time to think about what transpired in an HSD type of way. I figured out how I can open a doorway to empathy even when I’m dealing with unreasonable human beings. I realize that there are...

In March 2001, I was granted a five-day opportunity to be locked in a room on The Oprah Winfrey Show with Dr. Phil McGraw and 41 other human beings, from around the country, for five days, in The Get Real Challenge. The 42 of us were filmed from morning to night even while we were just interacting with one another, on an informal basis, outside of Harpo Studios. Those five days felt like a lifetim...

I’m delighted to announce the relaunch of this podcast, and it’s happening in just a few days. I wouldn’t be here, doing something I love and in this fashion, without loyal listeners like YOU. Press play to learn more about the What, So What, and Now What of this new version of the podcast, and how WE can continue THRIVING together.