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WHY I WRESTLE

WHY I WRESTLE PSYCHOLOGY AND LETTING GO I think it's safe to say that the last 3 years have been, well, interesting. I guess that’s a pretty optimistic perspective. What about shit storm, cluster fuck, dumpster fire? That seems more fair. Time has become a really strange concept. I’m not sure if you can feel that too. There were many days that moved so slowly. I was so, so scared. More recently though, it feels like the days are moving faster and faster. It’s already October.  When I think about JOY concluding a third season, this hardly seems possible. I started this project the late spring of 2020. Mostly because, why the fuck not. Life was grim. And that darkness...

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COMPASSION

I was surprised to find there are many variations on the definition of compassion, but this one from Merriam Webster is my favorite. Compassion is the sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. I really like the use of sympathetic consciousness here and had to stop myself from going down the rabbit hole on that set of words alone. This definition is close to how compassion is defined by emotion researchers as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering. Compassion is often noted in discussions of empathy and altruism, and while related, compassion is its own distinct emotional state. According to the Greater Good...

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THESE THREE THINGS WITH BRIDGET WATSON PAYNE

This week I host for a These Three Things segment discussion, San Francisco artist, art book editor and author of seven books, including The Secret Art of Being A Grown-Up and How Art Can Make You Happy and How Time is On Your Side, and Season 2 JOY Guest, BRIDGET WATSON PAYNE.  Bridget shares three life lessons that continue to inspire and drive her creativity.  Look Closely. Do What Fits. Kiwa Hirsuta. Listen HERE, it's a good one! EPISODE LINKS:BRIDGET WATSON PAYNEINSTAGRAMKIWA HURSUTA

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THESE THREE THINGS WITH MARJA GERMANS GARD, PHD.

This week I host for a THESE THREE THINGS segment discussion, Oakland based clinical scientist, creative entrepreneur and complex problem solver working on co-designing innovative solutions to equity challenges within our communities, and founding member and project lead at The UXR Lab, Dr. MARJA GERMANS GARD.  Marja discusses three thoughts on self-reflection and the importance it plays in fostering systemic change. And as always, our conversation gets super scientifically juicy. 1) Self-reflection: it's not just for therapy anymore 2) It's not (all) about you 3) Self-reflection is a team sport   Dive in HERE with us! EPISODE LINKS:MARJA GERMANS GARD, PHD.UXR LAB Timothy D. Wilson, Strangers to Ourselves Positionality Tool and Designer’s Critical Alphabet from Leslie Ann Noel, Ph.D.  Rachael Dietkus, LCSW and Social...

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WHY FEEDBACK IS LIKE SPAGHETTI

WHY FEEDBACK IS LIKE SPAGHETTI PSYCHOLOGY AND SEEING WHAT STICKS.  This past weekend marked a real milestone for me in skateboarding. I was finally able to nail a kickturn. Even though this is a super basic move, it’s a big deal for me and resulted from spending most of the summer working on my tick tack until I could finally move my board all the way around in a circle. I’m still terrible at it, but the kickturn is a gateway move and being able to do this opens up a whole new world of skating to me. It’s exciting and also frustrating that it has taken me this long to get here. But process is process and as I’ve...

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