May thoughts from Dr. Nathanson

How can you have Joyful Work?

Start with these three questions:

The work I could do for the rest of my life that I would enjoy would be?
I can start to move toward doing this work by doing?
I can make my needed income doing this work by?

As technology gets smarter than humans, what should we do?

Technology is a concern of mine lately, especially with the momentum that appears out of control with A.I. and the race to profit from it.
I have one idea 🙂
Have more human contact that is, face to face.
Most communication is non-verbal; we may still have an advantage over computers.
So make sure each day to have a face-to-face conversation that lasts over 10 minutes with another human.
During this conversation, show interest and empathy as needed, ask questions, smile, be open, vulnerable, and, most important, human!
Talking face-to-face with others might be our only chance to stay ahead of technology and be sustainable. So go ahead, put your phone away, and find someone in person now to talk to.

The Relationship between Joyful Work and Humanistic Leadership

Joyful work is the energy of life itself. It occurs through self-exploration, self-awareness, and self-discovery. Humanistic leaders can enable joyful work. But one must lead themselves before leading others. Thus, it becomes a complete cycle.

Joyful Work

Each new day allows you to consider further possibilities for your work and life.
Your mind can’t tell the difference between what is real and what you imagine; it just goes along with your thinking.
So make today a good day to think about new exciting opportunities for your life and work.

Inner peace

Inner peace comes after deep reflection and accepting yourself, including your flaws. Once you can accept that not being perfect is human, you can finally relax and learn to see and love the world around you.

Ten steps to becoming an enlightened person

Don’t always try to win or be right
Strive for peace and collaboration
Don’t take sides
Accept different points of view
Encourage cooperation
Strive for a joyful life
Be hopeful
Be compassionate
Have inner peace
Self-reflect daily

These ten steps are also essential for humanistic leadership of ourselves and others

Compassion

Humanistic Leadership is about compassion toward others.
I remember many years ago when leading, one of my staff, an I.T. programmer, was out suddenly at work during a crucial project implementation- her husband of many years died, and she was preparing the intricate funeral arrangements. When she returned ten days later, I told her instead of working; I was sending her to a one-day class about working in the garden, a passion of hers.

I paid for it myself, as I knew my management or H.R. would not approve it as job-related! When she returned, she said she appreciated the opportunity to not suddenly start her work, making her transition to working a bit easier. Years later, she told me how much it had meant the organization had supported her during her difficult time.

The organization, of course, would never have approved this since they would say the gardening class wasn’t job-related, and they were right and also very wrong.

Often as a humanistic leader, you do the RIGHT thing.

Listen to your inner voice and follow your heart.

I’ll be cheering you on as you go.

Dr. Craig Nathanson- May 2023