I remember learning a great life lesson in managing intense emotions from a time I felt some of the deepest anxiety of my life. I also finished the project on time and on budget in the process. Two weeks from the deadline on a two-year project, I was coming to realize I didn’t see how I could complete it. People I told I could deliver had put themselves out for[…] Keep reading →

We use the same word to describe emotional and physical tension for a reason. They go together. I tend to think of them almost as the same thing. I haven’t done any scientific studies, but I’ve found any time someone has emotional tension, it will manifest itself physically. Any time you have physical tension, it will constrain you physically. When I see someone who walks and moves stiffly, I find[…] Keep reading →

I searched on “list of emotions” and clicked on the first five links. One was dead. Two were Wikipedia articles, one of which was about categorizing emotions, which I don’t think would work. The other one listed only a few dozen, which they also categorized. The next page also showed only a few dozen emotions, also categorizing them. The page after that entitled its table “List of Emotions and it’s[…] Keep reading →

I just finished an exercise on “How to Create Miracles in Your Life.” I wrote up the following. It’s out of context so it may not make sense to everyone, but you may get the gist of it. I found it important. I had my biggest problems with this exercise last time. In the end I figured out the exercise with my interpretation. At first my biggest problem was with[…] Keep reading →

A friend once put American values in perspective for me. He grew up in Romania. I met him in graduate school. He came to get a PhD in physics, became one of Columbia’s top students during our time, and ended up working on Wall Street. I asked him if he originally came to the U.S. to study physics or if he always knew he would go to Wall Street. He[…] Keep reading →

Working hard does not mean you get things done. Getting things done doesn’t necessarily require working hard. I waste time and I find myself often inefficient, but people say I’ve achieved a lot. Whether I’ve achieved a lot or not is opinion, but if they’re right, it’s because I know my priorities. I allow myself inefficiency on relatively unimportant things. The important things I don’t slack on. The important things[…] Keep reading →

Nearly everybody considers power important in social contexts. Nearly everybody wants more. Even if they don’t want to become the most powerful politicians, business leaders, or whatever, they still generally prefer having more power to less. People denigrate others for seeking too much, but I think that’s sour grapes. Nobody wants to feel powerless. So what is power? I’m not sure people understand what they mean by “power” in social[…] Keep reading →