Charlottesville
April 27, 2021
In South Africa, where I grew up, the beautiful Zulu greeting “Sawubona” powerfully conveys: I see you, and by seeing you, I bring you into being.
A core human need—whether it's by our spouse at the end of a tough day, by our manager, or even by ourselves—is to be seen.
When we are truly seen, we become.
This idea applies to our children. They are seen when allowed to experience their full range of emotions, without being inadvertently messaged that some emotions are ‘bad’ or invalid. This is a critical building block of lifelong wellbeing and success. I really valued the opportunity to speak to these ideas for this article in The New York Times on raising boys.
Pause and reflect on your own values.
In my book, Emotional Agility, I use the term "walking your why" to describe what it looks like to infuse everyday choices with your values. Over the past few months, I have loved hearing from readers who tell me their story about how their life changed when they started "walking their why."
I encourage you to spend some time this week journaling, thinking, or talking about your values.
Which values are clear and which are you uncertain about? Which values are your behaviors already aligned with, and which behaviors would benefit from some tiny tweaks?