No, I Insist, After You
If we can resist the urge to reach for the security blanket of a cell phone, long queues offer a built-in opportunity to slow down, to practice mindfulness, to watch life unfold at its own pace, to...
View ArticleGive Yourself to Yourself
An advocate does not chastise, does not berate, does not push to the point of exhaustion. An advocate does not blame or bring up old mistakes.read more
View ArticlePractice Safe Sharing
Being more open and honest about our thoughts and feelings is always the best course. Or is it?read more
View ArticleTo Be Your Best, Suck You Must
Just two months before winning the 2011 U.S. Open in record-breaking fashion, Rory McIlroy lost the Masters in what some pronounced “a breakdown of historic proportions.” How many of us, after sucking...
View ArticleSlow Intelligence
Learning skills of slowness may be particularly beneficial, and particularly challenging, for those who think the fastest.read more
View ArticleSocial Media and the Hedgehog's Dilemma
To what extent do we use social media as the middle, safe distance to avoid having not only closer, unplugged relationships with others, but quieter and deeper relationships with ourselves?read more
View ArticleMany Ages at Once
Gifted children will not necessarily fit comfortably within a group of age peers or meet usual expectations in terms of their development. For young children, this lack of fit may lead to misdiagnoses...
View ArticleThe Self-Education of Oscar Micheaux
Whether his achievements were the result of talent or practice or something else entirely, one trait stands out as allowing Oscar Micheaux to pursue his successive dreams: He was willing to be the...
View ArticleBe More Creative Today
While we individually cannot do much to change our educational system or paradigms right now, we can change our approach to creativity today in our homes and classrooms, including these five mindsets...
View ArticleMister Rogers' Emotional Neighborhood
While there are many different definitions of emotional intelligence, they all include being able to recognize, identify, or perceive one’s own emotions. The idea is simple, but the regular practice of...
View ArticleHigh School Years: College Prep or Life Prep?
It takes courage for parents to put college prep into a broader perspective during our children’s teenage years, especially when friends and family believe that admission to specific schools is the...
View ArticleEducation Reform, One Assignment at a Time
Barbara Clark reminds us that “under the threat of grades, bright students balk at venturing into the unknown or trying any area in which they are not sure they will succeed.” The resulting...
View ArticleYour Creative Summer
I am sharing here twelve TED Talks for twelve weeks of a more creative summer. Some of the presentations are specifically about creativity, while others inform us about one or more of the six...
View ArticleThis Fall, Get in the Swing of Doing Less
A commitment to doing less is not easy in our current productivity-obsessed culture and even takes some courage. The potential pay-off, however, is nothing less than life-changing.read more
View ArticleThat Gratitude Thing Not Working Out for You?
Being able to feel and to express gratitude has been shown to make us both happier and healthier. One important factor, however, may influence whether the practice of gratitude actually does us any...
View ArticleWho Is the Aaron Swartz in Your Life?
Young people can often fool others into thinking they are more self-reliant, more confident, and more emotionally resilient than they are.read more
View ArticleActually, It Goes Both Ways
The gifted community is all abuzz about a recent post by Seth Godin titled “Actually, it goes the other way,” wherein the best-selling author and marketing guru implies that being gifted is a choice....
View ArticleFace Your Imposter
The question may not be whether we always deserve what we achieve, of even if we achieve what we deserve, but rather if we can learn to live with the discomfort inherent in the questions.read more
View ArticleWhen Teased Children Grow Up
I decided to study the other children and learn how to fit in better. I began to dress like them, talk like them, like what they liked, not like what they didn't like. I was very, very good at it.read...
View ArticleAging, Acceptance and Affect
Acceptance does not mean resignation, avoidance of painful feelings, or optimism. It does mean an active, non-judgmental engagement with all emotions, both negative and positive.read more
View ArticleNerds, Love and the Meaning of Life
Nerds' unabashed love of learning goes beyond aptitude tests or college majors. It's an engagement with things and ideas that can give life meaning.read more
View ArticleWhen Life Poses Big Questions
Do you run from or embrace uncomfortable, existential questions? It's never too late or too early to create a more meaningful life.read more
View ArticleThe Creative College Student
College students have a valuable opportunity to develop their creativity in ways that will benefit them long after graduation. Here are three assignments to add to your usual schedule of classes.read more
View ArticleLife with ADHD
Picture your mind as a Ferrari on a crowded highway. The car’s brakes, though, are broken, and the accelerator is welded to the floor, permanently at full speed. You are trapped in a warp speed...
View ArticleWhen Not To Be Nice
Some of the most intense pressure I feel is not from my work or my personal goals or even society. The pressure I have the hardest time managing and resisting is the pressure to please. Everyone. All...
View ArticleUnlocking the Power of Creative Blues
Few of us want to feel sad, but if we value creativity, we might not want to be too quick to turn on a happy song when we are feeling the blues.read more
View ArticleShakespeare for Everyone
Poetry matters now more than ever, whether we read it, write it, or speak it, because it forces us to pay attention: to a word, a phrase, a line, an idea, or an object, if only for a few moments.read more
View ArticleWhen It Comes to Creativity, Attitude Is Key
No creative problem solving exists free from any limitations. Rather than trying to eliminate constraints, we might want to engage with them more fully and to find reasons for doing so.read more
View ArticleWant to Take Better Notes? Get the Lead Out
One of the modern challenges for classroom teachers, especially at the college level, is how to deal with student use of laptops and other personal technology in the classroom. A new study suggests...
View ArticleIntrovert, Know Thyself Above All
In this golden age for introverts, let's not forget the value and wonder of human complexity.read more
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