Looking back, I think the incident happened because I was at an internal breaking point between who I had been and who I was becoming. It was Blair's first indication that the self-discipline she imposed on herself-insisting that she could do everything perfectly on her own-wasn't healthy. In addition to the significant stress of her high-pressure job, she was also still carrying the grief of losing her partner five years earlier.
At the height of my success as a realtor in Washington, there was a moment when I was being offered incredibly high-valued listings. People were calling me and offering me opportunities that I had worked so hard to get, and in that moment where one might expect me to feel victorious or excited, I felt nothing. I received a call and was offered an amazing listing, in one of the best locations in Washington and my first thought was, no.
In response to threats by US President Donald Trump to somehow acquire Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat), US scientists have drafted what they call a statement in solidarity with the island, open to any US-based researchers who have conducted research there. "A lot of people in the US - not just scientists - are very upset about the rhetoric directed towards Greenland. But scientists who work there feel it very personally," says paleoclimatologist Yarrow Axford, who is one of the creators of the initiative.
Or the one who grabs coffee nearby because they arrived at the restaurant fifteen minutes before your lunch date? I used to think they were just anxious or had terrible time management skills that made them overcompensate. But after interviewing over 200 people for various articles, I've noticed something fascinating: the consistently early arrivals tend to be the same people who seem to have their lives remarkably together.
Most of us treat our inbox like a storage unit. We open an email, think 'I'll deal with this later,' and move on. Before we know it, we're buried. People with clean inboxes get that every email is actually a decision waiting to be made. Delete it? Respond now? Schedule for later? Delegate it? They don't let decisions pile up because they know that unmade decisions drain mental energy.