Learning Center

Seven months ago I lost my spouse of 52 years. My grieving process has been complicated by the isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The isolation has deprived me of the opportunity to talk face-to-face with people and hug friends which I dearly miss.  However, it has not deprived me of the ability to manage my behavior and emotions with ...

“Twixt the optimist and the pessimist The difference is droll, The optimist sees the donut But the pessimist sees the hole” McLandburgh Wilson, 1915 Anyone who has ever tried to make healthy changes in the way that they eat, drink, exercise or smoke knows that you are not successful 100% of the time. We have many expressions for the all ...

It’s not a shocker to learn that a blog with a name like stress.health.business. (inaugurated in 2012) has featured more posts about stress than any other topic. However, you may be surprised to see how many different dimensions there are to the stress/productivity/health relationship. So, as we commence our 6th year of the blog, I have anthologized a diverse sampling ...

“Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ….get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.” Abraham Joshua Heschel   Harold Ramis died last week. He cowrote and directed Groundhog Day, a ...

You know that jittery feeling you get before you have to make a presentation? Most people believe that trying to “calm down” is the best way to handle this kind of pre-performance anxiety. It turns out that most people have it wrong. A recent study, by Alison Wood Brooks at the Harvard Business School, investigated this problem and her findings ...

Ethel Weiss is the primary (and sole) investigator for the longest running research project in the country on the subject of happiness and job satisfaction. When I tell you that the study is being conducted in Massachusetts you might reasonably suspect that the Harvard Business School or M.I.T. have something to do with it, but they don’t. Ethel’s extraordinary research ...

Workplaces with high levels of employee stress and anger are increasing their risk for many negative business outcomes including: Employee fatigue, concentration difficulties and diminished problem-solving abilities Diminished quality, productivity and customer service Under reporting of critical business issues (in order to avoid blame) Poor teamwork and coordination among individuals who are resentful and feel that they have been treated ...

Philip Tuttle is a self-employed lobsterman who works the waters off Harpswell, one of my favorite spots in the midcoast Maine area. His enviable commute to work consists of walking about 25 yards from his back porch to his 26 foot lobster boat, the Queen Tut. His commute might be pleasant but that is the only aspect of a lobsterman’s ...

Even the “show me the numbers” folks over at the Wall Street Journal are alerting their readers to the fascinating body of research demonstrating the positive impact of smiling. It appears that remembering to smile more could pay off in a variety of ways including better heart health and lower stress levels. The idea that facial expressions don’t just reveal emotions ...

“Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting” Christopher Morley Thomas Edison failed to invent the light bulb 6000 times before he finally figured out that he could make a filament for the electric light out of carbonized cotton thread. Edison is the presumed author of the phrase: “Genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.” While it’s an appealing ...

When it comes to stress, if the soup’s too hot you can strain your heart, increase your risk of chronic disease, weaken your immune system, be distracted by worry, become irritable and pessimistic and find yourself making poor decisions. And if the soups too cold you risk boredom, lethargy and lack of motivation and engagement. But if the soup is ...