Recently I went running with some friends. It started out rough, though, because my stomach hurt and I felt lightheaded.  “Oh no!” I thought. “I’m not going to be able to keep pace with them, and this is going to be awful.” My muscles tightened, I started to worry, and I did slow down. Then The post How to Become a More Resilient Person appeared first on Matt Norman ..read more

Researchers conducting a study asked humans and monkeys to perform a series of random tasks. To limit their ability to talk to themselves, some of the humans were asked to repeat the words “blah, blah, blah” while performing the tasks. The humans who performed the tasks without repeating “blah, blah, blah” demonstrated all the working memory you’d expect in an evolved species. However, the researchers discovered something fascinating about the other group of humans. When they repeated “blah, blah, blah” while performing the task, their memory and ability to organize the tasks were no different ..read more

Our family took a “twilight nature hike” on a trip last year. What could have lasted 15 minutes lasted two hours due to the pace of the guide. “Please stay behind me,” he calmly repeated as we slowly proceeded through the complete darkness. Over and over again, he’d thoughtfully respond to a question or quietly shine his flashlight through a telescopic lens, revealing a beautiful insect or sleeping bird. I found myself becoming impatient at first. But then I decided to make an effort to calm myself to appreciate the hike. Soon enough, I was realizing how much I would have completely missed had ..read more

I took time over the holidays to rest, get organized for the new year, and connect in meaningful ways with family. Having that time, though, opened up space for some unwanted thoughts too. Do you ever allow all your thoughts to flow, even the unwanted ones? Your insecurities, fears, selfish desires, resentments, and uncertainties? The question isn’t whether you have them; everyone has unwanted thoughts. A pause (like a holiday) or change in your circumstances might reveal them. What do you do with your unwanted thoughts? Recently, I’ve tried to practice the four Rs of dealing with unwanted th ..read more

Nat King Cole will remind us this month to be joyful, though life can be busy and hard, and our news feed reminds us of all that’s wrong in the world. This is why I love re-watching It’s a Wonderful Life each year. I need yet another voice to break through the cynicism, hurry and striving. As we reflect on 2023 and prepare for the new year, let’s consider five wonderful reminders from George Bailey. “No man is a failure who has friends.” While his full house of singing friends generously poured out donations in his time of need, George found this inscribed in a book from his guardian angel C ..read more

I’m renting a log splitter this week. That’s probably a very Minnesotan thing to do. It’s used to divide large cross-sections of trees into logs to be used as firewood. Since I have a time limit on the rental, I need to decide how much effort to spend with each tree slice. Splitting the logs into fewer, skinnier pieces is a waste of the machine’s time and energy. Leaving the logs too thick is a missed opportunity to put the splitter’s capability to use. Just like logs going through a wood splitter, thoughts continuously pass through our minds every day. Dividing or analyzing thoughts too many ..read more

My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened. I love that quote by Michel de Montaigne because I used to constantly worry about terrible misfortunes. I had a bad case of the What Ifs. Do you ever suffer from the What Ifs? Do you ruminate on questions like: What if I get sick or die? What if something bad happens to my kids? What if I don’t succeed? What if people don’t like me? What if this doesn’t work? What if this never ends? My old case of what if thinking recently resurfaced when I walked onto the tarmac at a small airport in Idaho. The plane we’d been as ..read more

Today I walked my dog around our neighborhood through freezing rain, dirty snow and slushy puddles. Of course, my neighborhood has seen many more pleasant days and many more will come. Knowing that only made me want to escape to one of those days, either past or future.  However, I resisted the pull because I’ve given up “longing and rumination” for Lent. During Lent, many Christians “give up” or “take on” something as a reminder and representation of Christ’s sacrifice leading to Easter. It’s meant to strengthen your connection with God and create more space for Him in your life. In my l ..read more

Anxiety is perhaps the most natural response to tension and change. I witness it when I encourage my kids to practice their instrument, or try to get someone to spend time on my project, or ask people to give money to a cause. They almost always react with some level of resistance and anxiety.  Leadership and influence are rarely easy. How do you deal with the anxiety swirling about when others are resisting your leadership and influence? We’ve all experienced it. If you’re trying to offer any level of leadership and positive influence around you, people will get uncomfortable. With any ..read more

At age 17, Kirstie Ennis enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, following in her parents’ footsteps. On tour in Afghanistan in 2012, enemy fire shot down her helicopter. Six people died. She barely lived.  The physical and emotional pain got so intense in the years that followed that she attempted suicide. Then, in 2016, she made the decision to move beyond her past and her limitations. She had her left leg amputated to end the chronic pain and began climbing mountains. And not just any mountains. Since 2017 she has scaled the highest mountains on each of six continents. Next spring ..read more