The starting gun is about to go off. The sprint is about to begin.You remember the sprint, right? Before we were confined to our homes and our extracurricular activities got cut off at the knees, we were expert sprinters. Rushing from one thing to the next with great efficiency. Oh, our health sometimes suffered and we were often too dizzy to consider if all the activity was even worth it, but we were good at running the race. It was almost comfortable.Then the world stopped.For the first time in a long time, we had time on our hands. Time to spend with family. Time to prepare and eat real …
Now for the Fun Part: An Open Letter to Grads
Hello, graduate. Congratulations on your accomplishments and a job well done!Now for the fun part.You’ve made it this far by following directions, filling in little circles, asking for permission, standing in line, and raising your hand before speaking up. The instructions have been clear: do this (take these classes, write this paper, complete this assignment) and get this (pass the course, earn a recommendation, receive a degree.) You got to this point by following the rules. Now that you’ve graduated, it’s time to start breaking some. Make no mistake, the work is …
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How to Be More Playful
I am friends with clowns.I don't mean in the proverbial sense. I mean people who paint their faces, wear red noses, and ride in Volkswagon Beetles with thirty-seven of their closest friends.I guess that's an occupational hazard when you decide to fight Adultitis for a living.I know some folks have a thing against clowns, but the ones I know – the real ones – are true Adultitis Fighters. They are compassionate souls who are all about bringing more light and empathy into the world. I can get behind a mission like that.Although our missions are in lock-step, clowns go about accomplishing it …
How to Avoid Becoming a Slave to Your To-Do List
Hello, my name is Jason, and I'm a crossoffaholic.Have you ever done something that wasn’t on your to-do list, and after you completed it, wrote it down just so you could immediately cross it off?Me too. All the time. It's not weird at all.The truth is, we experience a dopamine hit – a happy little chemical reaction – any time we accomplish something, which is the reason crossing things off our to-do list makes us feel good. (Also, I may or may not believe I won't get credit if I don't write it down.)In general, I am a fan of to-do lists. They help keep me organized. And writing things down …
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How is Not Your Job
"Where there's a will, there's a way!" they say.But what if you can't find a way?Can you relate to this? Sometimes I trample my dreams before they've even had a chance to take root. For example, when something epic bubbles up from my heart – a fabulous, joy-sparking dream – I immediately go into logistics mode. How would this work? How can I make this happen? How do I make this dream come true?And then, nine times out of ten, I realize that I don't know how. I don't have the knowledge, the connections, or the resources to make it happen. It feels too hard, too unlikely, too out of reach. I'm …
‘Tis The Season to Tinker
As I write this, we’re still two weeks from Thanksgiving here in the United States, but I've already seen Christmas lights going up around town. Seems early to me, but maybe it springs from a collective yearning for the joy and nostalgia of the holidays, and the warm comfort it brings. I suspect it’s a desperate attempt to encourage 2020 to leave already.Whatever the reason, one thing is certain: our holidays will look different this year. Thanks to the pandemic, some of the ways we’re used to doing things just aren’t possible this year. For many, that is a source of great sadness.But it might …
Home Is Where The Heart Is
One good thing about the COVID-19 pandemic keeping us closer to home is that it brought back family dinner for many people. If this is one of the things that remains as part of what people refer to as a “new normal,” then I am all for it.This painting, titled “Home Fries,” is a reminder that home is where the heart is. And the place our heart gets nourished most is around the dinner table.In the the last hundred years or so, we’ve seen technology bring about more advancements than the rest of human history combined. We’ve come a long way, baby.For the most part, these advancements have served …
How to Turn the Tables on Adultitis
This past week was when my family would have spent a day at the Wisconsin State Fair, one of our favorite annual traditions.No cream puffs this year. 😔 Yet another loss in a long line of losses thanks to the jerkhead that is COVID-19.Kim has been busy on the phones talking to clients who are booking our virtual experience for their organizations and teams. One emotion that has been consistent with the people she’s been talking with is grief. Parents have lamented the losses their children have experienced, whether it’s a senior year, a graduation, the first year of kindergarten, or the first …
2020: Your Best Year Ever?
Eating a peach, in season, perfectly ripe, is pure magic. But also messy.Oh, sure, you can eat peaches before they’re ripe and they might drip less, but they’re not nearly as good. The best peaches are always messy.Now I’ll admit it: I prefer tidy. I like the structure of a good plan. I feel good when the dishes are done and the counter is cleared. I’m easily disturbed when piles stay piles for too long.Is that an Adultitis-fueled trait? Perhaps. But I do find that I am more present, relaxed, and creative when clutter and chaos are minimized. In general, I don’t think it’s a terrible trait to …
Are You Playing the Wrong Game?
This buffalo is terrible at golf.I know what you’re thinking, “Jason, Jason...this is a bison, not a buffalo.”Yes, apparently this is a bison. I grew up calling it a buffalo, but whatever. Either way, it’s like a wooly mammoth version of a cow. And it is an American icon. And they're a lot fewer of them than there used to be.Like the bison that once roamed the Midwestern plains by the millions, the American Dream is fading away. It’s not gone, it’s just different. It used to involve a house with a white picket fence (do they still make those anymore?). But now, in a fitting reflection of the …