Five articles that had me thinking over the last month:
Five Mistakes We Make When We’re Overwhelmed
Alice Boyes. Harvard Business Review
Key quote: “When you feel overwhelmed, you may react in ways that not only don’t help the situation, but that even make it worse. Maybe you’re oblivious to these patterns, or you know what they are but struggle to do anything about them.” Read the rest here.
The 7 Emails You Need to Know How to Write
Teju Ravilochan. Unreasonable
Key quote: “Emails are how we communicate with each other in this day and age. Writing them well can be the difference between successfully building a relationship and not. This post includes example emails for how to get meetings, ask for introductions to investors, say no gracefully, and more!” Read the rest here.
The 2 kinds of praise we all need to get at work
Therese Huston PhD. Ideas.Ted.com
Key quote: “When a strength benefits the group, you don’t want it to be a one-time shiny moment. You want it to be a repeated shiny moment, so point out both the specific behavior and its positive impact. Celebrate the larger impact, and each person will feel valued and special and willing to exercise that strength again.” Read the rest here.
There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing
Adam Grant. The New York Times
Key quote: “Languishing is the neglected middle child of mental health. It’s the void between depression and flourishing — the absence of well-being. You don’t have symptoms of mental illness, but you’re not the picture of mental health either. You’re not functioning at full capacity. Languishing dulls your motivation, disrupts your ability to focus, and triples the odds that you’ll cut back on work. It appears to be more common than major depression — and in some ways it may be a bigger risk factor for mental illness.” Read the rest here.
Can We Build a Better Normal After the Pandemic?
Melissa De Witte. Greater Good Magazine
Key quote: “Zaki believes a concept psychologists call “growth through adversity” may be key to defining what this “new normal” could look like. Instead of resilience—which is about bouncing back from disaster, unchanged—growth through adversity is about finding ways to learn from those hardships and focus on what matters.” Read the rest here.
