CC360 Blog

The Ticket

What ticket are you holding? Was it passed along to you by a parent or teacher? Or did you grab it from a stack of generic options as you busily wandered by? Or – is the ticket unique to you – handpicked to open the doors to an adventure only

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The Write Way to Enhanced Wellbeing!

Our goal with the weekly Catalyst Compass columns isn’t to provide “answers” (AI or Google can provide an endless string of those). Rather, it’s our hope they trigger a few moments of reflection – the opportunity to ponder the topic at hand and think through how you might want to

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The Glimpse

Did you catch it? The brief encounter… microsecond of magic… flash of insight… sense of wonder… hint of something more. You know it when you see (feel) it, and it may represent the shadow of opportunity in our lives, but only if our eyes and hearts are open to the

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Visionary Shrinkage: Using Your Lens to Transform Challenges

A mile is a mile is a mile, right? Technically yes – it’s an objectively measurable distance. However, based on research from Dr. Dennis Proffitt and others, a mile appears shorter (and hills less notable) to female college soccer players than Instagram-focused couch potatoes of the same age. Please note,

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Why a 5K Is So Important for (Almost) Everyone

With fall winding into focus, almost half a million high school students will lace up their running shoes for the cross-country season. Another 3 million adults in the US will participate in at least one 5K this year. If you haven’t yet considered joining them, allow me to provide some

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Sunday Evening Answers

There are dozens (hundreds) of self-assessments available to help individuals consider whether their current career, position or role is the right fit. No doubt many of them bring valuable insights to the process. However, there’s one available to anyone, anywhere. No paywall, filling out a bunch of forms or even

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Facing a Transition?

This is the time of year when students step into the transition of the new school year and the range of new challenges, anxieties, opportunities and experiences such a transition brings. What better time than now to join them in considering our own potential transitions? We’ll cover a range of

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Merging Possibility & Necessity

“Imagination must propel a person to something higher than the murky atmosphere of probability and teach them to hope.” It’s not difficult to picture legendary Apple visionary Steve Jobs as the source of such stirring words. He was the master of what those around him referred to as a reality

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The (Un)Balanced Life

The balanced life gets plenty of lip service. While the origin can be traced back much further, the modern visual representation of this concept is credited to Dr. William Hettler in 1976. He identified seven “dimensions” of wellness which could be utilized to attain a balanced life. Those included physical,

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Epigiftnetics

Yes – I made up that word. It’s a nod to an intriguing concept initially identified by Dr. Conrad Waddington (1905-1975): Epigenetics. The word brings together “epigenesis” (the formation of a complex organism from a single unit) and “genetics” (study of inherited characteristics) to represent the influence of the genetic

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Asking Better Questions

What if we asked ourselves better questions? The life we live – and the courage available for traversing life’s journey – is directly correlated with the quality of the questions we ask ourselves (and thus the answers upon which we land). When we realize life is a multiple-choice test AND

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Blaming Discipline?

“I just don’t have enough discipline.” Nope. Sorry. That’s not the problem. This default statement is a bit like the popular “humblebrag” (feigning humility to highlight an accomplishment). We appear to take responsibility but – knowingly or otherwise – we instead blameshift to this mystical D force we call discipline.

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Modern Day Troubadours

“We may come from different places, yet the journey’s much the same. For all us restless souls who live to chase a dying flame. And we share the same old struggles and rejections along the path. But we hit that road running and dare that road to hit us back”

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(My) 7 Rules to Live By

On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, setting in motion these United States of America. Intriguingly, the founders were wise enough to – prior to the declaration – set in motion the Articles of the Confederation, the rules they would agree to follow and

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The Gap: Good to Great

“Freedom is only part of the story and half the truth… That is why I recommend the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplanted by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast” (Victor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning) Good to Great (by Jim Collins) took center stage

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Drowning?

How did I get here? The path on which I started has become flooded with unexpecteds, eventually pulling me beneath the surface. I pop back up, desperate for air… Unable to see the shore, my hope soon fades to darkness. I’m drowning, helpless to move forward, awaiting the inevitable as

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Deliberate Reflection

“The value of dreams is not that they give a specific answer, but that they open up new areas of reality, shake us out of our customary ruts, and throw light on a new segment of our lives” (Rollo May, The Courage to Create) How do dreams – whether visiting

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My Top 10 Books for Today

A good book goes untouched by hyperbole. We hold in our hands a veritable treasure trove of insights composed by the world’s greatest minds, a work of art often involving years – or decades! – of their lives. Descartes reminds us reading a good book is the equivalent of a

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Breaking the Algorithm

“We struggle with Non-being to force it to yield Being. We knock upon silence for an answering music.” (Archibald MacLeish, Poetry and Experience) Did you know what I was going to write in today’s column before reading it? A 2019 study demonstrated over 50% of word selection in our social

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The Study of… YOU

“Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between stimulus & response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we wish to throw our weight” (Rollo May, The Courage to Create) What if – within that very pause, we were to develop a plan – an objective

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Is Longevity the Goal?

“Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they are finished” (Daniel Gilbert) Have you been caught up in the net of the longevity craze yet? Perhaps “craze” isn’t the best choice of words, realizing Greek historian Herodotus wrote about the Fountain of Youth a few years back (5th

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What Holds Us Back

What is holding me back? It’s a question we all face at some point – maybe now is that point for you. As we look in the proverbial – or literal – mirror and consider our personal, professional, or athletic potential, we know we’re better than our outcomes represent. But

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Tell Them About the Dream

On the afternoon of August 28, 1963, with a quarter million people in attendance, Dr. Martin Luther King was working his way through the speech he’d composed with advisor Clarence Jones when everything changed. African-American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, sitting just a few yards to his left, shouted “Tell them

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The Magic in the (hidden) Moments

I can get a bit stuck in my ways at times, but I made a discovery in the past year that has been literally life-changing. It’s turned stressful activities into enjoyable ones… improved my daily nutrition… reduced my alcohol intake… expanded my retention of books I’m reading… enhanced the time

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Drop Your Anchors

Anchoring is a form of cognitive bias inherent in each of us where we “anchor” our perspective based heavily on some form of initial information. This then influences future judgments due to placing too much value in the initial anchor. In our daily lives, anchoring locks us into the past

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Exiling Our Gifts?

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” No surprise that statement is attributed to the person many identify as the greatest philosopher the world has ever known: Aristotle. What you may be surprised to learn is that Aristotle, despite all he brought

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Coach Isaac Newton

On Christmas day in 1642, a pioneer in health & wellness coaching was born: Isaac Newton. His first law, the law of inertia (along with his law of universal gravitation, or gravity) might also be considered the law of better tomorrows. It notes if a body is at rest or

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Thoughts & Commentary

March Madness to Bolster Our Cognitive Skills?

What if you were to learn tapping into the March Madness basketball tournament could be a key to bolstering our cognitive skills and thus enhance a range of personal, professional, and athletic pursuit outcomes? If you’re a basketball fan, you’ll be happy to discover that is precisely the case. The

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Where Motivation Falls Short

Motivation sells. Posters, action-hero films, heart-pumping playlists, YouTube speeches, books, podcasts and more, motivation is the caffeine of positive movement forward. It’s the lightning before the thunder… the (positive) shock to our system… the lift, boost, and jumpstart to make things happen!! Back in college, my role as an athletic

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Big-time Simplicity

Simplicity is at the heart of an effective wellness strategy – both for individuals and organizations. Over the 18 years since Catalyst was launched, the successful pattern has been crystal clear: Simplicity wins the day. As individuals, we love to chase the headlines and fads, but it (almost) ALWAYS comes

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Composing the Story of Our Life

Listen intently to the words your friend, partner, child or others select when willing to go beyond surface level conversation. In doing so, you’re likely to garner access to a treasure-trove of insights, oftentimes those of which even they are not aware. The way in which we describe ourselves (“I’m

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Time Out?

“It’s like there’s a clock ticking non-stop inside my head.” Time can be an immensely valuable asset… and simultaneously a veritable prison of constraints. Awareness allows us to optimize our days… while trapping us into the never-ending task of pursuing such optimization. It provides foundational structure on which we can

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The Bank of Life

Living below our means and investing the difference is a proven strategy for financial success. Witnessing the transformative power of compounding interest, as demonstrated by Forbes, where saving $100/month turns into over half a million dollars in 40 years, makes it easier to reconsider our spending habits. But what if

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The Pitfalls of PREcrastination??

We’re all familiar with the drawbacks of procrastination – the rushed work, the impact on teamwork and family dynamics, and the toll on health from last-minute, caffeine-fueled efforts. But what about its seemingly virtuous counterpart, PREcrastination? The individual who sets artificially early, sometimes excessively early, deadlines to ensure tasks are

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Olive Oil? Or Snake Oil?

Ah yes – the well-known benefits of olive oil. Various studies indicate benefits ranging from heart health and reduced stroke risk to anti-inflammatory properties and a boost in antioxidants. Sounds almost magical, right? As someone who’s automated the “big salad with a protein source” lunchtime meal, ever since a buddy

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What’s your 1%?

1%. During a recent interview on the Catalyst 360 podcast, we were reminded that’s the approximate loss of muscle mass most of the population loses each year after the age of 40. Except it’s rarely phrased as such. Typically we are told we “lose 10% a decade” or that by

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Trigger Happy?

What’s triggering me? When I get upset, discouraged, stressed OR excited, energized, joy-filled, what is the precursor to those emotions? Simply pausing to ask the question can be of great value, perhaps not in changing that particular moment but certainly to provide many enhanced future moments. Last year, we introduced

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Where’s My Focus?

What a whirlwind of a year it’s been on the global stage! From the advent of AI to political turmoil, stock market rollercoasters, and conflicts spanning the globe, external events have kept us on our toes. While these external factors undeniably affect us all, it’s essential not to be oblivious

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The Magic in a Monday

In the world of weekdays, Mondays often (always!) find themselves at the bottom of the popularity charts. Memes humorously highlight the Monday blues, and surveys consistently rank it as the least favored day. We’ve even suggested a Sunday night self-check to assess our feelings about the impending workweek. It’s almost

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Resource… Not Ruler

Welcome to the dawn of a new year, a canvas painted with the promise of fresh beginnings and untapped opportunities. However, as we embark on this journey, it’s crucial to recognize the subtle algorithms we create within ourselves—distinct from the ones that govern our social media feeds. These personal algorithms,

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Don’t Fall for It

This is “that” week. The week when many of us are either off work or at least working a modified schedule. The week heading into the fresh start of the new year. The week when our schedules provide more flexibility (and perhaps more sleep), our minds are free to dream,

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Thoughts & Commentary

Rethinking Busy

Last month in this space, we explored the value of treating certain words/phrases as red flags in our lives. From your comments/emails, it appears at least one of them struck a chord: busy. There was agreement about the broad usage and suggestions of other ways to phrase it (e.g., “life

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Connecting More Than Dots

Week after week after week we focus on the 4 Cornerstones: Move – Fuel – Rest – Connect. Enhance any of these 4 and you’ll not only improve your wellbeing (and life!) but you’ll also automate improvements across the other three. The first 3 and the steps forward tend to

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A Better Version of Better

In the world of health, wellness & performance, everyone’s got an angle – a schtick – they claim is the magic solution to the life you’ve been dreaming about. Maybe it’s a specific diet, a new cream, fitness equipment, training plan, spa escape, motivational video, 7 step strategy, treatment approach…

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The Words We Choose…

I’ve long believed that the true value in refraining from certain colorful expressions is not so much about condemning these words but rather more about the verbal laziness they demonstrate on the part of the user, as we noted in this 60 second clip. However, our word choices go much

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Family – Amiright? (The Curiosity Cure)

It’s the week leading up to the most anticipated holiday of the year! Yes, indeed, Thanksgiving has now taken the top spot in popularity here in the United States. For many people (as recent surveys suggest, around 79% of Americans), this holiday offers precious moments to spend with family and

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National Resolutions Launch Week!

The attention on New Year’s Resolutions may not kick in for another 7 weeks, but did you know THIS WEEK is (at least as far as we’re concerned) National Resolutions Launch Week?? Indeed! Coop – what in the world are you talking about? It’s the first week of November. My

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Choose Your Hard

When it comes to making positive changes in our health, wellness, and life, we often find ourselves fixated on two words: “It’s hard.” Indeed, the process of change can be a formidable challenge. Even if we’re dissatisfied with our current circumstances, the gravitational pull of our ingrained habits and routines

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Sports and Spherical Thinking

As I sit here at my keyboard, my gaze lands upon a cherished gift from our daughter, Danielle, and a smile graces my lips. It’s a framed collection of precious family memories, and what strikes me is that six out of the ten featured moments revolve around sporting and athletic

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