No, I’m not referring to the tie…  I’m referring to the other BOLO:  Be On the LookOut. Imagine there has just been a bank robbery.   Law enforcement puts out a BOLO – an alert or broadcast message used to share information about a person(s) of interest – so that others can be on the lookout for the suspect(s).  The BOLO is key to identifying and apprehending the suspect(s), potentially preventing future (in this case) bank robberies by the suspect(s).     And, without first gathering key details about the suspect(s) – from eyewitness statements, CCTV footage, etc – the BOLO would be useless.   Good News:  No banks were robbed in the writing of

You’ve been told to be more “mindful” and to practice “mindfulness.”   After all, scientific studies have shown us the mental health benefits of mindfulness:  reducing stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms while enhancing mood, well-being, cognitive function, and emotional regulation. And the physical health benefits:  reducing blood pressure and chronic pain while enhancing sleep quality, gut health, and immune function.   The instruction to practice implies it is something that doesn’t come naturally.   (And, let’s face it, mindfulness comes to us humans about as naturally as the color orange comes to Doritos.)  People might have occasional moments of present-awareness, but it’s usually short lived. You might even go a step further and have a “meditation practice,” likely done in

“Take this job and…”   These are the first four words from the six-word, attention grabbing title of the 1977 song by Johnny Paycheck.   But, wait… Before you hit “send” on that resignation letter… Consider that the FREEDOM you’re looking for might have more to do with your cognition than your circumstances.   We’ve been (subconsciously) conditioned to think that happiness – of which freedom is an essential ingredient – is circumstance-dependent.  “I’ll feel free when ____________ happens.” “Once I get ______________, then I’ll be free.”  “I can’t __________ yet.”   “I won’t be able to until __________.” Don’t get me wrong.  Sometimes a change of circumstance can be useful but, more often than not, it’s the (subconscious) habit of helplessness that is getting in the way of the feeling of freedom.  

“Well, I guess it’s back to the grind tomorrow.” That’s what many (if not most) people were thinking (consciously, or subconsciously) last night as they grappled with the reality of returning to work after the weekend. Oh, I almost forgot to say:  “Happy Monday!”  (By the way, we say that phrase tongue-in-cheek because it’s meant to be understood as “Yeah, right!  Who’s really happy on a Monday???) Someone once observed that we humans “work jobs we don’t like, to make money we don’t have, to buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t like.” No other life form could fathom doing this.  So, as a result, they have

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”  This is what I said to myself as I woke up with a sore throat on the morning of July 4, 2025.   Yes, here it was Independence Day, and now I just knew that my holiday weekend was screwed.   The sore throat, I just knew, would be followed by head congestion, drainage, and maybe even (please, get out your violin) a full-blown case of pharyngitis.   I just knew.  I was certain.  This was terrible!  Poor me!  Why me?  Why now? Now, keep in mind, in my effort to continue building the Gratitude Habit, I developed a gratitude habit building tool that I use throughout my day (P.S. I’ll be sharing

The guaranteed way to NOT feel gratitude is to expect that it should come naturally to you.   “You SHOULD be grateful for what you have!”   How many times have you been told that?   Did it work?   Of course not!   Because gratitude comes to us about as naturally as brushing our teeth. And guess what… Our ancestors did neither of those things and they survived just fine.  (Just imagine the smell of your great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather’s breath…and his equally foul, pessimistic outlook on his chances of survival.  Pee-ew!) But today, in our current world, in which the threat of being eaten by a lion, or the