Mind Sets
These messages focus on how we think and act.
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The Dark Side of Self-Awareness
Dorothy had always excelled after everything she did. She was the first in her class from kindergarten through law school. She was a star lacrosse player. She had a drive that was truly exceptional. But that excellence came with a price. She was so self-conscious that...
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Curiosity and Learning
Dr. Givens had just had a difficult meeting with the Governor of her state. The Governor had received numerous complaints that graduates of the university were functionally illiterate. “They can’t do anything, and they don’t seem to recall anything they learned,” the...
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Becoming Curious
Zach was anxious. It was his turn to present in the What Matters series at his senior center. Every resident was asked to do a presentation of what matters in their life to their friends at the center. Zach had chosen curiosity. After introducing his topic, Zach...
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Artificial Intelligence and Curiosity
It was a competition that few in the country had ever heard about: the selection of All American Roses. This competitive lasted two years as roses were judged on disease resistance, hardiness and vigor, floral quality, and the overall structure of the rose plant....
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The Centipede Effect
In 1871, Katherine Craster published a short poem called The Centipede’s Dilemma. The poem goes like this: A centipede was happy-quite! Until a toad in fun Said, “Pray, which leg moves after wich?” This raised her doubts to such a pitch, She fell exhausted in the...
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Lessons from Jane Little
Jane Little was born in 1929 into a musical family. Her mother was a pianist who worked at her aunt’s dance studio. While they couldn’t afford a piano at home, Jane taught herself to play the piano using one at a neighbor’s home. Jane had hoped to become a ballerina...
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Stress and Performance
The Clarksville girls’ basketball team had rolled through their schedule. Emily Burton was averaging 30 points a game, and Clarksville was winning by a margin of 22 points. But the game against Martin High was incredibly close until midway through the last quarter....
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A Cure for Stupidity
Intuitively, one would think that a cure for stupidity would be one of gaining more knowledge. That would be true, but knowledge in this case isn’t what we imagine it to be. The knowledge that can lead to a cure for stupidity is knowledge gained by studying oneself....
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Self-Persuasion
Ellen had just been asked to assume the plant manager role at one of the lowest-performing factories in the company. She decided that the factory needed a restart, but she also knew that coming in from the outside would make change difficult. She wanted to meet with...
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