A new study in the journal Nature Communications finds that as popular as social influencers seem to be, when it comes to changing someone’s behavior by example, they aren’t actually that effective. “When social influencers present ideas that are dissonant with their followers’ worldviews — say, for example, that vaccination…

Why we must have charged conversations, even when the CEO tells us not to. This Spring, the management software company Basecamp made headlines after Jason Fried, their CEO, banned “societal and political discussions” from internal work communications. “Today’s social and political waters are especially choppy. Sensitivities are at 11, and…

I picked up my first camera when I was nine. It was a Pentax K1000 — a black and silver box with a single-lens reflex and Kodak 35MM film inside. That year, I spent the entire summer walking around camp shooting candids on the tennis courts, moments in the art…

When was the last time you “flew off the handle?” The last time you had an overwhelmingly strong reaction and responded in a way you regretted? Everyone has experienced this — being overcome with emotions such as frustration, sadness, fear, stress, hurt, or rage — feeling something so strongly that…

When I was twenty-five my father and I got into an argument. Disapproving of my ex, he called me, three thousand miles across the country, and yelled at me for making what he judged “a stupid decision.” Defensive and angry, I yelled back. “I’m twenty-five,” I told him. “I’m in…

How many times has a “setback” led to a positive opportunity? It may seem naive to push for positive thinking in the middle of a crisis. Remember Pollyanna? That cheerful orphan with a button nose and a big bow in her hair who insisted that everything was all roses? That’s…

Who am I? What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses? What do I value? What do I fear? What is my purpose? These are just some of the questions of self-awareness, a core competency of emotional intelligence. When you have strong self-awareness, you: Know what you are feeling, why…

My grandfather was an accomplished lawyer. A criminal defender and civil litigator, he fought for his clients up until the day he died — people he believed innocent or unfairly punished for their mistakes. I never knew him, but I grew up hearing stories and through them, I developed a…