LGTBQIA2S+ Author, Blogger, Runner
Recently, I stumbled across a quote from Dr. Phil with a blunt message: “If you want more, you have to require more from yourself.”1 And it has helped me to get a better grip on what it is I want [more of]. Because life is short, and I’m not getting any younger. So, that makes the time to act now. [Read more…] about Life is Short
No one likes to think about their mortality. It’s easy to think that we have lots of time left. And maybe that’s why we get bogged down by the ‘Tomorrow Syndrome.’ Because we think tomorrow is guaranteed, we tell ourselves, I’ll start my business tomorrow. Or, I’ll have time when I retire to travel more. Or, Next week I’ll get back to the gym regularly. Who told you that you’d be here tomorrow? All I know is this: I’m going to be dead soon. [Read more…] about I’m Going to Be Dead Soon
In life, whether I’m at work or not, I try to maintain a calm demeanour. It takes a lot to rile me, to get me to react. Most of the time, I shrug things off because it’s either out of my control or it simply doesn’t warrant a response. But there are other times when you must stand up for yourself, when you must be the voice that breaks the conforming silence.
In 2010, I left Ottawa for Quebec, leaving behind the traditional office work environment. When I started my current job in August 2023, there was a ‘new’ reality that I had to deal with: Slack and Teams.
When I am trying to focus, I find the notifications to be a distraction. I’ve muted them and turned off the sound. I’ve also done the same with e-mail, which is less important in terms of my role. I get that they are communication tools to assist in our workflow, but there needs to be best practices for workplace chat apps—and consequences when they’re not adhered to.
Just over a week ago, one of my coworkers posted a GIF in our work chat that, as a Black man, I found offensive because it propagated a stereotype. And in the chat—in a very diverse workforce—there was nothing but silence. So, I decided to stand up for myself and others and called it out. Because, as Maya Angelou advised, you must “Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else.”
Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. Don’t be afraid to stand alone.
We have two weeks to go before we say goodbye to 2023. I was kind of bummed out when the year began. Doubt had crept in, and I expected it to be a year long on disappointments and short on accomplishments. As it turned out, 2023 was a pretty palatable year. Here are the highlights. [Read more…] about A Pretty Palatable Year [in Review]
As the end of 2023 approaches, we’re going to hear a lot of talk about how the year went. There will be reflections on the people who died and the impact they had on the world. We will relive the highlights of sports and world events. At a personal level, a lot of us will look back and determine if we succeeded at what we set out to do. For some, that will be a positive experience. For others…not so much. But no matter how the year went, one thing is clear: we all had a choice. [Read more…] about Make a Choice