Thanks to a recommendation from Shirley, I recently came across Ezra Klein's "I Didn't Want It to Be True, but the Medium Really Is the Message." This article had me reflecting a lot on how and why I consume content. Klein starts by quoting Marshall McLuhan, a philosopher responsible for the phrase "the medium is the message": … Continue reading How the medium shapes us →

I'm participating in a book club at work for Seth Godin's The Practice. Some of the essays this week were about authenticity. So this puts me back on what seems to be one of my forever questions: what is authenticity? Suppose someone gets into an argument with someone else. During this argument, they end up yelling … Continue reading Reflections on authenticity stemming from Seth Godin’s The Practice →

Today, I wanted to talk about something I've noticed in some of my recent coaching sessions. It's something that I'm actively practicing right now. Sometimes, people come to a coaching session and have a lot to say about their problem. Sometimes, it's helpful to have someone listen while they talk through their thoughts. Now, there's … Continue reading What I’ve started working on in my coaching practice this week →

This week, I spent a lot of time on my coaching certification. I did a lot of coaching calls (both as a coach and as a coachee) and reflected on many coaching materials. Naturally, thoughts were on my mind a lot this week. It still always amazes me how we push to confirm our thoughts. In Annihilation, Dr. … Continue reading You only see what your eyes want to see →

In a recent conversation at work, someone brought up the value of individuals taking on side/"side of desk" projects. I have seen great value delivered by side projects. At the same time, I have some concerns about their nature. I thought it might be helpful to share that dialogue here. Not everything has an owner. … Continue reading Prioritizing side projects →

I recently stumbled across this idea when reading It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work: When people focus on productivity, they end up focusing on being busy. Filling every moment with something to do. And there’s always more to do! This got me thinking about the nature of productivity. We’re socialized into thinking it’s always … Continue reading Reflections on productivity and the allure of the ineffective path →

SPOILER WARNING: I will be talking extensively about Everything Everywhere All At Once in this article. I recommend against reading further if you have yet to see the movie. Everything Everywhere All At Once is a fast-paced movie that strikes me as having absurdism themes and also often being absurd in itself. It is broken into three parts: Everything, … Continue reading Everything Everywhere All At Once →

For the longest time, I've hated playing middle/blocker in volleyball because all the jumping destroys my knees. Well, I recently got to play left-hand/hitter again... ...and my knees still hurt afterwards. I take this as a sign that it's probably time for me to start bringing my weight back down. Things got a bit out … Continue reading The return of the macro-counting →

I recently sent out this tweet: It's amazing how many of our problems stem from an underlying belief that we are somehow unworthy, inadequate, or not enough. I thought that for today, I'd elaborate on this idea. I will share three examples of problems I experienced this week and how they relate to this idea. Earlier … Continue reading Our self-belief creates problems →

I first saw Brené Brown's TEDxHouston talk back when I was at UBC. I didn't understand it at all the first time I saw it. I saw it again a couple of years later. I had done some more structured and intentional personal development work by this time. And it resonated with me much more the second time … Continue reading When not shame is shame →