TGC Newsletter: May 2024

In this monthly blog, I'll share a few things circulating in my mind over the previous weeks. These emails will be short and sweet, providing thought-provoking insights and lessons about creativity, youth, career, leadership development, and more. Thanks for following along in this weird journey of life.

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What I'm Reading

The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip Zimbardo, the creator of The Stanford Prison Experiment, which he discusses in length. A light read, I know. Rather than understanding the philosophy behind good and evil acts or people, this book focuses on systems. So far, his thesis is that systems set people up to do bad things. As a trained and certified coach, I believe all people are creative, naturally resourceful, whole, and good. Then, it becomes a nature vs nurture conversation. I want to highlight a few sentences that stuck out to me:

“Systems, not just dispositions and situations, must be taken into account in order to understand complex behavior patterns.”

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“Usually it is the guardians of the system, who want to isolate the problem in order to deflect attention and blame away from those at the top who may be responsible for creating untenable working conditions or for a lack of oversight or supervision.”

My question is this: If people are inherently good (or at least there is good in all of us) and the systems support bad, how can we think differently to change systems and support the good in all of us?

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What I'm Listening To

This history of leadership theory video on YouTube. You may want to reduce the speed because they talk fast. My third semester of graduate school has started, and I’m taking a course on creative leadership. If you like history, listen and compare leadership theories of different times to national and global events. It makes me wonder: what did people value in leadership in different eras? Authority, compassion, democratic decision-making, diplomacy? In upcoming US Presidential election, what do you want to see in your leader?

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What I'm Doing

1) I am celebrating that I received my Associate Coaching Certification (ACC) from the International Coaching Federation, the leading industry standard for professional coaching!

2) I'm taking my own advice, pausing when I have a negative thought and letting it go, and allowing myself to be in a good mood when the world feels like it’s crumbling. Join me in some silly giggles and wiggles.

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What's Moved Me

I re-opened one of my favorite poetry books, which I originally found in a cute cafe in northern India while traveling years ago. This poem continues to remind me of my own goodness. I hope it reminds you of yours.

Courage by Kaifi Azmi

Translated from Hindi by Pavan K. Varma

You are the sun, don’t hide in the clouds

You are the moon, continue to shine.

You are mischievous seduction, don’t let it subside

You are the lightning, continue to strike.

Love has not yet admitted defeat.

Continue to test it, as much as you like.

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What I'm Wiggling To

This upbeat song gets me wiggling and dancing on my late-night walks, smelling the spring air: The Muse by Misterwives.

Stay Playful,

Tamar

TGC Newsletter: April 2024

In this monthly blog, I'll share a few things circulating in my mind over the previous weeks. These emails will be short and sweet, providing thought-provoking insights and lessons about creativity, youth, career, leadership development, and more. Thanks for following along in this weird journey of life.

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What I'm Reading

The Perks of Being a Capable Novice by Ryan Tipp made me curious about our satisfaction in being good enough, especially when we always work to improve. It reminded me to stay in the joy of trying new things and humbling myself to remember there is always room for growth. It's funny how all those things can be true in one.

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What I'm Listening To

Can We Keep Time by How To Keep Time: It can be tough to face our own mortality. Keeping diaries, posting to social media, and taking photos are all tools that can help to minimize the discomfort that comes with realizing we have limited time on Earth. But how exactly does documenting our lives impact how we live and remember them?

What about other ways we document or experience time? Do you track time by feel or the clock on your phone? Do you track it by how many times you say “I love you”? Or by heartbreaks? Maybe you track it by screaming in your pillow, or how many days in a row can you keep a habit? Do you track time by the moon or how frequently you have neck pain? Do you track when you’ve been grateful for the breeze in your hair or grand adventures? When was the last time you belly laughed? When was the last time you felt in a state of flow? Do you track time by how many podcasts you listen to or how frequently you make eye contact with a stranger on the train?

My birthday is coming up, and I’m thinking about time and how we keep it. When you tell a story, where to you start? In this season of your life, does time move quickly or slowly?

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What I'm Doing

It’s finally nice enough to take long walks at night. My occasional hour-long anxiety walks, as I call them, get me out of my head and the anxiety out of my body, and help end my day with a quieter mind.

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What's Moved Me

“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” ― Sharon Salzberg

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What I'm Wiggling To

Far Away by Infinity Song. Try not to shake those hips when listening to this song on a late-night anxiety walk.

Stay Playful,

Tamar

TGC Newsletter: March 2024

In this monthly blog, I'll share a few things circulating in my mind over the previous weeks. These emails will be short and sweet, providing thought-provoking insights and lessons about creativity, youth, career, leadership development, and more. Thanks for following along in this weird journey of life.

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What I'm Reading

A friend recently teased me that I always searching for the “why.” The bottom line makes sense to me. Values make sense to me. It grounds me. There is often more clear alignment in that space, but people express it differently. The following article breaks down why we should be asking why.

“What matters to me right now”: Chris Guilleebeau's simple question to help you rethink your next actions.

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What I'm Listening To

Esther Perel’s Where Should We Begin Podcast, episode “Sex, Comedy, and Context: A Live Conversation with Trevor Noah from SXSW.” We love the wise teachings of Esther Perel, relationship and sex therapist, and we love the comedic relief and unique insight Trevor Noah provides. This conversation sheds light on the power and intimacy of comedy. You can also watch it here.

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What I'm Doing

Taking care of my teenage and early 20s self. People often discuss healing your inner child. Childhood can cause wounds of varying degrees, and so can your teen and early 20s when you’re exposed to more people, finally on your own and making your own way. So, this month, I’m focusing on healing from my teen and early 20s, rewriting stories, and telling negative thoughts that they don’t have space in my world anymore.

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What's Moved Me

I was recently reminded of Newton’s first law of motion, the law of inertia: An object at rest stays at rest and remains in motion at a constant velocity unless acted on by a net external force.

What if we applied this law to your mindsets, drive to meet a goal, learn a new skill, advance your career, or build a habit? How would your behavior change if you knew that your goal would remain still if you were still? What if you push it forward a little bit, day by day, in constant velocity?

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What I'm Wiggling To

We’re settled into 2024, and the Lunar New Year has passed, the astrological new year was March 20, which was also the first day of spring, one of the four Jewish New Years (Passover) is next month, and we’re officially in spring. Let’s bring back the inspiration from the Gregorian calendar and jump back into a song on heavy rotation in 2024: This Year by Emily King.

Stay Playful,

Tamar