The Meeting Habit That is Ticking Everyone Off!
Header image by Freepik Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky recently asked his executives to name the company’s silent killers, what he called the “Fester List.” One answer stood out: too many leaders disengaged in meetings, distracted by phones and laptops. Chesky’s response? “I do it too.” His honesty underscores a truth: distraction isn’t just a junior-level habit, it’s a leadership failure. This isn’t new. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon devoted part of his annual shareholder letter t
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The Science of Stillness: Quieting the Brain
The Science of Stillness: Quieting the Brain We live in a culture that celebrates busyness. If you are not moving fast, it feels like you are falling behind. Yet neuroscience keeps proving the opposite: your brain performs best when you stop. Stillness is not wasted time; it is recovery time, the space your brain needs to connect ideas, restore focus, and spark creativity. When you pause, a network in your brain called the Default Mode Network turns on. It links past experien
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Why You Don’t Need to Worry When Things Don’t Work Out
Why You Don’t Need to Worry When Things Don’t Work Out We have all had those moments when life does not go according to plan. You pour your heart into something, a career move, a project, a relationship, and it does not unfold the way you hoped. It is that gut-punch feeling that this was not supposed to happen. And if you are like most people, your next thought is probably, What did I do wrong. Here is the truth: everyone experiences setbacks, losses, and disappointments. The
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Personality Tests: Why We Love Them and Why They Can Mislead Us
Personality tests are everywhere. From hiring decisions to dating apps to viral quizzes online, they promise to tell us who we are and how we fit into the world. There is something comforting about seeing ourselves reflected in neat categories, but the question is whether those categories are as accurate as they feel. The fascination with personality is not new. Ancient Chinese officials evaluated character for job placements more than 3,000 years ago, and Hippocrates linked
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Be Yourself Is Terrible Advice: The Neuroscience of Authenticity
Be Yourself Is Terrible Advice: The Neuroscience of Authenticity You have probably heard the advice to “just be yourself.” It sounds inspiring on a coffee mug or a motivational poster, but when you actually try to live it out, you quickly realize it is not that simple. Authenticity is not a switch you flip on. It is a process, and often a difficult one. Most of us have spent years constructing a version of ourselves that is part real, part performance, and part survival strat
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Smarter, Stronger, Sharper: The Science of Measuring and Improving Your Brain Health
Smarter, Stronger, Sharper: The Science of Measuring and Improving Your Brain Health Most people only start thinking about brain health after something goes wrong, when memory slips, focus fades, or stress feels like a constant hum in the background. But what if we could measure how our brain is functioning long before decline begins, and even reverse the trend? That is the vision of Dr. Evelyne Bischof, a Harvard and Columbia trained longevity physician who merges neuroscien
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Why Bronze Feels Better than Silver
Why Bronze Feels Better Than Silver: The Neuroscience of Expectations Imagine you’re standing on the Olympic podium. The national anthem is playing, the cameras are flashing, and the world is watching. You’d think the closer you are to gold, the happier you’d be, right? Surprisingly, the science tells a different story: bronze medalists are often happier than silver medalists. Sounds backwards, but multiple studies over the past thirty years have shown it’s true. The Surprisi
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The Work Connection Deficit And How To Fix It
The Hidden Cost of Disconnection at Work I recently came across an article in Harvard Business Review(Nov Dec 2024), written by Constance Noonan Hadley and Sarah L. Wright, that hit me hard. It was not about strategy, technology, or financial performance. It was about something we almost never talk about in the workplace: loneliness. Think about that for a moment. In an era of constant connectivity with Slack messages, Zoom calls, and emails firing off at all hours, many empl
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Preparing for Retirement, It is About More Than Money
Retiring Without Regrets We’ve all been sold the dream: work hard, retire, and finally relax. But if you talk to people who’ve crossed that line, many will tell you a quieter truth: retirement can feel harder than work itself. The reason is simple: the brain craves rhythm, reward, and identity. When the structure of work disappears, the amygdala registers threat. Who am I now? What do I do with my days? Without intention, retirement can feel like drifting without a compass. A
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