LEARN A LITTLE:The Encouragement of High Order Grumbling For some people, discouragement seems to be a way of life. Is it perhaps in their genes or their wiring? I'm not sure. What is apparent is that negative thoughts and worries are the dominant feature of their...

LEARN A LITTLE:Some Thoughts About Worrying All of us worry from time to time. I can’t imagine a parent, student, or employee who hasn’t experienced some uneasy thoughts or feelings about the future. It is also clear that some people worry more than others, and that...

LEARN A LITTLE:Some Thoughts About Hope It’s interesting to note how our minds can do amazing things without our intending them to do so. Let me give you an example. Recently I was talking with a friend, who is a psychologist, and he was commenting on the proximal and...

LEARN A LITTLE:Five Dimensions of Leadership There are hundreds of definitions of leadership - what most have in common is the dynamic of influence between leaders and their followers as they work toward a common goal, accomplished in a positive manner. Many have...

LEARN A LITTLE:How Are You Working? I think it was about 20 years ago when I came across a research article written by Amy Wrzesniewski, PhD, from the University of Michigan entitled “Jobs, Careers and Callings.” It was pioneering research presented from the...

LEARN A LITTLE:Thinking About Eating It isn’t unusual for my wife Anita and I to go out for dinner during the course of the week. I don’t remember exactly when we began labeling these experiences, but we basically sort them into one of three categories: a) refueling,...

LEARN A LITTLE:Some Thoughts About Career Advancement I recently got a call from a young person in his early 30’s, who wanted to know if he could come by and talk with me about his career. I had met him at a recent conference and spent some time getting acquainted. He...

LEARN A LITTLE:Thinking About Problems Thinking about thinking is a serious undertaking. One can wander the paths of convergent thinking, divergent thinking or even Edward De Bono’s notions of lateral thinking. If you wander off the path, however and begin to wrestle...

LEARN A LITTLE:What’s Coming Out of Your Horn? Within the last week, I had two contrasting experiences that have stayed with me. Perhaps, like you, I have frequently repeated the affirmation to myself, “Don’t let other people determine what kind of day you’re going to...

LEARN A LITTLE:So What Is Discipline?  Recently, I was talking to a friend whose son had just dropped out of college. As he described the circumstances, he remarked, “It all comes down to discipline, personal discipline, and as for me, I am convinced that he has...