The Courageous Life

Are you familiar with the story of the lone hero? It’s a long celebrated cultural narrative (in the U.S.) of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, doing it all on your own, and being gritty, resilient, and fiercely independent. In essence - it’s about being courageous. While there may be some upsides to this story, one of the things I find so interesting is how it places a lot of pressure on an...

This is the finale in our 4-part series on the power of compassion, which has featured leading researchers and practitioners in illuminating conversations about how to live with a more kind, and open hearted stance toward the world.  Today's conversation could not be a more fitting end as Roshi Joan Halifax and Rhonda V. Magee, two extraordinary pioneers working at the intersection of mindful...

Do you ever get caught up in what I will casually call “the race”? The experience of moving from one thing to the next Swept up in the to-do list Feeling an internal push to keep accomplishing, achieving, and making things happen Constantly in a mode of “doing.”  Is this relatable? While neither good or bad I would invite you to consider the following: At what points is this beneficial (in your ex...

What happens when you begin to shift your attention outwardly to the ways in which we are connected and support one another?  This in itself can be a question to explore and experiment with over time.  Today’s practice will invite you to use your imagination to foster a mindset of connection and interdependence. For many, a shift to focusing on connection can bring with it numerous benefits.    He...

Today’s guest is Dr. Mylien Duong, Senior Director of Research at The Constructive Dialogue Institute, where they define Constructive dialogue as a form of conversation in which people who have different values, beliefs, and perspectives seek to build new ways to understand and interact with each other, even as they sustain commitments to their own principles and perspectives . The format is ideal...

Are there habitual ways of thinking or behaving that if you were to let go of, would bring more ease, wellbeing, and fulfillment? Today's practice will introduce you to the work of Dr. Jud Brewer and explore how we can leverage knowledge of how our brains work, the latest science of habit change, as well as a powerful blend of curiosity and kindness, to ultimately let go of ways of thinking a...

Today's guest is Shane O'Sullivan – an Executive, Leadership and Performance Coach at Inspiring Excellence, a company that focuses on empowering organizations and their people to achieve sustainable high performance. Shane has worked with some of the best in the world, training high performance principles and mindset skills essential to revealing one’s potential. Some of Shane’s clients...

When your heart begins to close, how can you find ways to open it again? First offered by Mark Nepo in our conversation from 2018, this has become a central question I've been exploring on the Courageous Life for years. Today's practice will invite you to pause, reflect, and explore this question as you move forward through your week and beyond. As you listen you'll be invited to en...

Welcome back to the Practicing Courage Community - a space where we are dedicated to exploring what it means to live well, and engaging in practices that support finding the courage to do so.  To support your own exploration of these deep and personal questions, once-a-week I will be offering you a brief practice that will infuse storytelling, research, and tips for making the most of whatever too...

Today’s guest is Kelli Harding - a medical and public health doctor based in New York City whose goal is to make the world a kinder and healthier place for everybody. She wrote a critically acclaimed book about social connection and health, The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness . As a medical doctor Kelli believes everybody deserves to b...

Welcome to Practicing Courage - a space where we are dedicated to exploring what it means to live well, and engaging in practices that support finding the courage to do so.  To support your own exploration of these deep and personal questions, once-a-week I will be offering you a brief practice that will infuse storytelling, research, and tips for making the most of whatever tool or practice may b...

There is a metaphor that comes out of ancient wisdom traditions of a bird. One wing of the bird represents wisdom and the other represents compassion.  In order to fly the bird needs both wings.  Like the bird, as people and leaders, cultivating wisdom and compassion in our lives, and in our organizations may help us to realize our potential. This metaphor serves as the centerpiece of our conversa...

For some time The Courageous Life has featured conversations with people who are leading the way when it comes to researching, practicing, and teaching about ancient virtues like courage, kindness, empathy, compassion, humility, and love. Together we have explored the intersection between ancient wisdom traditions and modern science; discussing insights, tools, and practices that can be used to he...

Marc Lesser is a speaker, workshop leader, and executive coach. He is the CEO of ZBA Associates, an executive development and leadership consulting company and has led mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs at many of the world’s leading businesses and organizations including Google, SAP, Genentech, and Kaiser Permanente. Marc helped develop the world-renowned Search Inside Yourself (SIY)...

Today we're continuing our four-part series on the power of compassion with a deep, insightful, and moving conversation between Dr. Jacinta Jiménez and Dr. James Doty. Each episode in the series will showcase a powerful duo made up of a leading researcher and practitioner who will explore themes related to compassion, courage, and living with a more open, kind, and loving stance toward the wo...

Today's guest, Dr. Marc Brackett, is on a mission to educate the world about the value of emotions and the skills associated with using them wisely. “I want everyone to become an emotion scientist”, he says. “We need to be curious explorers of our own and others’ emotions so they can help us achieve our goals and improve our lives.” In this deep dive conversation, Marc and I explore themes fr...

Today we're kicking off a 4-part series on the power of compassion which will feature inspiring conversations between some of the world's most renowned thought leaders, researchers and practitioners. Each episode will showcase a powerful duo who will explore themes related to compassion, courage, and living with a more open, kind, and loving stance toward the world. We hope you enjoy thi...

Every so often a researcher comes along and changes the game. Named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science, Dr. Daryl Van Tongeren is doing just that. A leading mind on the science of humility - his work and his new book Humble , have helped debunk many of the myths around this ancient virtue, explaining why humility is a powerful strength at home, at work, in leadership, and h...

Dr. Rick Hanson is a multi-time past guest on the Courageous Life and is back to discuss themes from his new book, Making Great Relationships: Simple Practices for Solving Conflict, Building Connections, and Fostering Love . In today’s wide ranging conversation with Rick we discuss: How to find a sense of calm strength, groundedness, and choice that can help reduce reactivity and improve our relat...

After spending nearly 20 years in Corporate America, holding executive positions leading public and privately held companies, Shelly Tygielski decided to stop following the expected path and start following her lifelong passion – mindfulness and meditation – and began to fuse this passion with her purpose – community organization and ensuring equity, social justice and access to wellbeing for all....

At the time we recorded this conversation Shelly Tygielski was ten days into the creation of what has now become a global movement called the Pandemic of Love . During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic Shelly found a way using simple google forms to connect people in need of groceries, diapers, money to keep the heat on etc, to those who could help them directly. What started out as just an idea...

Often times gentleness and power can be seen as opposites, ideas or ways of being that may not go together. Today’s guest, Dr. Emilia Elisabet Lahti invites us to rethink this. Sharing a number of insights from her new book Gentle Power: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu she argues that the intersection of these two qualities can be a catalyst for unlocki...

As we continue our kickoff of season 3 we are re-releasing our first ever conversation on the Courageous Life, with Dr. Emilia Elisabet Lahti.  In celebration of her new book, Gentle Power , coming out next week we will launch an all NEW episode with her that takes a deep dive into themes from the book including why the intersection of gentleness and power may be the future of leadership. We hope...

Welcome to Season 3 of the Courageous Life! We are kicking things off with the return of one of our most popular guests of all time, Parker J. Palmer.  In today’s episode we explore Parker's reflections on:  Living with an open heart - the benefits, the drawbacks, and why this can be a lifelong practice How to have effective conversations across difference and why letting go ego is a big part...

Parker J. Palmer is a writer, teacher, and activist. Founder and Senior Partner Emeritus of the Center for Courage & Renewal, he has written ten books, including the bestselling Let Your Life Speak, The Courage to Teach, A Hidden Wholeness, Healing the Heart of Democracy, and On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old . He holds a Ph. D. in sociology from the University of Cali...