Give Thanks

November 21, 2022 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

Thanksgiving, the holiday, is often lost in food and family. What is lost? Our opportunity to experience gratitude. The chance to really give thanks.

Many times, it can feel like an obligation. Instead, I suggest we see it as an opportunity. Even in tough moments (actually, especially in tough moments), we can make a shift from fear to thanks, from lack to sufficiency.

Over the years of my podcast, I have repeated this theme, both on Thanksgiving episodes and elsewhere. Below is a list of the various episodes around thanksgiving and gratitude. Just click each one to listen to the episodes.

>> Why Thankful?

>> Why Being Thankful Matters

>> Giving Thanks: Thriving Through Gratitude

>> What Thriving People Know About Gratitude And Appreciation

>> Living Your Engagement

And if you want to find my books on thriving, CLICK HERE.

Create!

January 31, 2022 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

I must admit, I have said it myself, “I am just not creative.” But that isn’t true. Not for me, and not for you. Perhaps you had some art teacher tell you that at one point. Or perhaps you were looking at the creative work of someone else. And perhaps you aren’t creative in that particular medium (although it may just be you haven’t put effort into that medium).

But you ARE creative. And so am I.

How do I know?

Because we are human. And being human is being creative. We create thoughts all the time. Most of the time, jobs are creative in nature. When we are doing some hobby, it is likely to be creative. Yep, even if it is a sport.

When I am rolling in jiu jitsu, I may think that I am just repeating some move I have learned. But in reality, I am trying to creatively respond to the actions of someone else. They move, and I respond, to which they respond, to which I respond. At every step, it is a creative response.

Or when I am trying to work a problem on the climbing wall, I have to make a creative choice on how I will make it to the top. I have to be creative in the choices I make, positioning I take, and the route I follow.

The fact is, creativity is in our DNA. Humans are probably more creative than any other creature. It only takes a quick look around to see how creative elements surround us with just a quick look around.

One part of the Thrive Code is seeing your creativity, and consciously practicing it. I cover it on this episode of the Thriveology Podcast. You can listen below.

RELATED RESOURCES
Challenge
Control
Community
Contribution
Lee’s Books

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Redux: Merry Stressness!

December 13, 2021 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

And just like that, the Holiday season is upon us! All the hustle and bustle. All the events. All the demands… in the midst of a time that you want to be enjoyable, meaningful, and manageable!

Why the stress?

In a repeat of last year’s podcast (since we still have that holiday stress!), I discuss the causes of holiday stress. But more importantly, I cover the ways to cope with holiday stress.

Don’t let stress rob you of the deeper meanings and connections of this holiday season.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Does Gratitude Matter?

November 23, 2021 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

Be thankful. Be grateful. Shift mindsets and thrive. 4 ways to focus on gratitude. If you are in the States, we are on the cusp of the Holiday season, kicking off with Thanksgiving in just a few days.

For me, the Holidays throughout the year are moments to step into gratitude. Not just in a little “thank you for that gift,” but in a gratitude for being alive. For being here. For experiencing life.

Each morning, while walking the neighborhood with my dogs, Ziggy and Clementine, I reflect on 5 things for which I am grateful. That starts my day with an attempt to shift my attention to thankfulness, to gratitude.

Granted, some days, that feeling quickly evaporates when the work piles up.

But I try to remember to be grateful on a daily basis.

How about you?

Did you know that research shows how simple gratitude habits can re-wire the brain… away from fear and threat? Away from depression and anxiety? Just by thinking with gratitude. Just by focusing on things for which you are grateful.

In this episode of the Thriveology Podcast, I discuss the power of gratitude to shift your thinking and re-wire your brain… just in time for a day we set aside to be particularly Thankful.

Know that I am thankful for you, my reader/listener. Wishing you the best of Thanksgivings!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Change in the Shadow of Terror

September 6, 2021 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

Sometimes, success comes from being at the right place at the right time. Sometimes, tragedy comes from being at the wrong place at the wrong time. But what happens when you are at the right place at the wrong time?

For Kushal Choksi, it saved his life. It was September 11, 2001. Kushal was running late, and rushing to get to a meeting in the World Trade Towers. He was racing through the mezzanine when a horrific impact jarred him and threw the world into chaos. What had happened? What should they do?

Some people were frozen in place. Others were fleeing the building. Still others were simply trying to get back to their day, oblivious to the danger that was mounting. Choksi headed for the door, but was met by a security guard who was imploring people to return to the building. Given the debris raining down, that made some sense.

But before he could turn, another voice and a strong hand on his shoulder said, “No, get out!” Kushal did. That decision saved his life.

And that day completely reordered Choksi’s life. He was lost for some time after. What seemed like the recipe for success was floundering. It was not just about being wealthy and powerful. Somehow, the “American Dream” no longer seemed the goal.

What then?

After much seeking, Kushal found his way forward with new tools for dealing with his anxiety and fears. And that led him to another path of success.

In this episode of the Thriveology Podcast, as we approach the 20th anniversary of that horrific attack, I had a chance to sit down with Kushal and talk about meaning, purpose, breath, and mindfulness.

Listen below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Departure Conversations

June 21, 2021 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

So far, life has a 100% mortality rate. We are not getting out of this alive! You and I, and everyone we know, will face the inevitable moment of losing loved ones, and facing our own death.

And yet, we live in a culture that would rather NOT look at this reality. Would rather NOT pay attention to this fact. Would rather NOT think about those end-of-life issues… at least until we are forced to.

Over more than the past year, there has been a daily toll of death and loss. It has been in our face in an inescapable way for many long months.

But I wonder if this has changed the conversations in any important ways about our own (and our loved one’s) death and dying.

Willy Donaldson realized that he had to have some tough conversations with his parents. In spite of his own resistance, and that of his parents, Willy had those conversations, to find out what wishes his parents had about that inescapable time. It was not just a conversation about the details, but the reasons behind their wishes. What Willy wanted was to make sure his parents’ wishes were known and understood, not just by the family, but by his parents.

It turned out that those uncomfortable conversations were a gift. They were moments of understanding and connection.

Those conversations were also a comfort for everyone. So that that last human moment was understood and out in the open.

This topic became so important that Willy, a business professor, started sharing his story. That led to a book about those important conversations. And it led to our interview about those important conversations. Listen in on this episode of the Thriveology Podcast, as Willy and I discuss those end-of-life conversations and why they are so important.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Does Everything Happen for a Reason?

April 26, 2021 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

In recent days, I have been with people in the middle of horrific losses. Inevitably, someone steps up and in an attempt to comfort, says, “Everything happens for a reason.”

That comment is rarely comforting in the painful moments.

But deeper than that, is it even true?

Many people default to this as a reaction to something that happens and is outside of our capacity to understand.

Sometimes, we want to think that there is something behind it — not just some random event. But what does that phrase mean? Does it mean that some force is trying to teach some lesson?

For many people, the answer is yes.

But does that make it so?

Does everything happen for a reason? Given all that is going on these days, this question seems particularly important.

Let’s chat. . .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Your Heaven on Earth

February 22, 2021 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

It is so easy to get pulled into threats and dangers, mishaps and mistakes. It is wired into our brain to have a focus on the negative. Which is too bad. That means we are more likely to miss the good moments, the highlights of life, in favor of the down moments. We clearly see the negative, but can miss the positive.

Unless, of course, we nurture a focus on the positive. Unless we look for those moments of “heaven on earth.”

What are your moments of heaven?

Martin Rutte spent his career helping companies enter into dialogue for transformation. He led difficult discussions so that company cultures could transform. Dialogue is a powerful tool of exploration. Which, unfortunately, is often replaced by debate in our culture. That is what happens when we stop listening, demanding our own viewpoint. Martin has worked to shift from the hell of debate to the heaven of dialogue.

And that led him to wonder what we might be able to do to shift our world in a better direction. So, he started wondering about those moments of heaven people have. What were the moments? What was common to those moments? How might those moments become a more intentional part of life? What if that process starts expanding those moments for more people? Might culture and society transform?

In this episode of the Thriveology Podcast, Martin gets me to discuss my moment of heaven on earth… and how I might bring that moment more into my own life. We discuss the power of three simple questions, the power of dialogue, and the need for cultural transformation right now. In this moment. Perhaps a shift to a moment of heaven on earth?

Listen to the episode below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Merry Stressness and Happy Blue Year!

December 21, 2020 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

And just like that, the Holiday season is upon us! All the hustle and bustle. All the events. All the demands… in the midst of a time that you want to be enjoyable, meaningful, and manageable!

Why the stress?

In this week’s Thriveology Podcast, I discuss the causes of holiday stress. But more importantly, I cover the ways to cope with holiday stress.

Don’t let stress rob you of the deeper meanings and connections of this holiday season.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Giving Thanks: Gratitude and the Season

November 18, 2020 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

Thanksgiving, the holiday, is often lost in food and family. What is lost? Our opportunity to experience gratitude. The chance to really give thanks.