How do you respond when a co-worker, customer, family member, or friend tells you about something good that just happened to them? The answer to that question matters more than most people realize. Research by Shelly Gable, a leading expert in relationships and emotions, shows that when people share good news, the response they receive can matter just as much, and in some cases even more, than the positive emotions created by the event itself. Gable calls this process capital

The Hidden Cost of Negative Conversations The negativity being spread in our workplaces, families, and communities is creating too many destructive conversations. Conversations that: Focus on problems more than possibilities Polarize good co-workers, family members, and friends Create unhealthy stress and anxiety Damage relationships Diminish trust Increase pessimism and decrease optimism These negative conversations spread like a virus. One complaint leads to another.

Most leaders begin their career by becoming high-performing individual contributors . They build expertise. They deliver results. They excel at their job. And because of that success… they are asked to help a team of people excel. If they do well, they get another promotion and are responsible for leading multiple teams. Unfortunately, many leaders are not given the training and coaching required to get better at helping other people excel. “The habits, skills, and behaviors

March Madness is here. Every year, millions of brackets are filled out, even by people who don’t follow college basketball. Why? Because of the drama. The buzzer beaters. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. The outcome of many of these games is determined by players making or missing free throws. And if we watch closely, we’ll notice something in those high-pressure moments. The best players don’t rush. They pause at the free throw line and take a deep breath. They

One of the most valuable roles we can play as a leader, or a parent, is helping others move out of their comfort zone. The comfort zone is the space where things feel familiar, easy, and under control. It’s where we rely on habits to do what we already know how to do. The comfort zone is also where we avoid risk or uncertainty. We feel comfortable, but not completely satisfied because we are not growing. Unfortunately, the human brain is wired for comfort, not growth . Left

One of the most powerful tools a leader has to create an engaged workforce and bring out the best in people costs nothing. It’s called positive feedback . And yet, it may be one of the most underutilized leadership behaviors in the workplace today. Survey after survey shows employees need far more feedback than they are currently receiving. Decades of research from the Gallup Organization show that the most productive workplaces have large numbers of employees who answer “yes

What have you been thinking about today? Most of us rarely stop to consider that question. Yet research suggests the average person has more than 6,000 thoughts per day . That’s thousands of mental messages running through our minds from the moment we wake up until we fall asleep. And most of these thoughts are repetitive. Some estimates suggest up to 75% of our thoughts repeat themselves day after day , and unfortunately, many of those thoughts are negative. Psychologists r

To encourage someone literally means to give courage . The word comes from the Old French encoragier — the prefix en- meaning “to put in,” and corage meaning “heart.” In the Greek New Testament, the word carries a similar meaning — to come alongside someone to give strength and comfort. Encouragement is not flattery. Not empty praise. Not exaggeration. We give sincere encouragement to boost a person's confidence, improve their mood, and build resilience. We all need

If we were asked to identify our life-changing moments, I doubt many of us would put emails or text messages high on our list. All human beings, regardless of age, flourish or flounder based on the quality of their relationships . And relationships are built or broken one conversation at a time. And yet, in homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods across the country, too many people spend more time texting than talking. Even when we are physically together, we can be miles apart

Over the past few weeks, we’ve explored three of the four cardinal virtues in our Pursuit of Happiness series: Courage, Discipline, and Justice. Each of these virtues helps us live a better life, because a life well lived is shaped less by circumstances and more by how we respond to them. But real life rarely gives us simple situations where the right choice is obvious. That’s why the fourth virtue, — wisdom — has always been considered the guide for the others. Courage, di