It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the uncertainty and chaos around us. It’s natural to feel lost. When you do, pause and take stock of the light you carry. Because in moments of chaos, you can always be the change.

The generation gap isn’t an excuse for disconnection and engagement—it’s an invitation to get closer. If you’re leading or managing a team, take this week’s column as a prompt to initiate conversations that can help build back the social support systems we’ve been losing in recent years.

Lean into what’s ahead. Grow through the hard moments. Embrace the adversity and the struggles thrown at you so you can be stronger, more prepared, and ready for what’s ahead. You are capable of great things, my friend. Don't let yourself forget it.

While a “no-agenda” lunch with an old friend won’t solve the complexity of problems we face today, it is something—and something particularly important—to help counteract social isolation and build back up social networks. The real kind. Yes, it’s good to be together. And it’s due time that we take a break from our devices to make it happen.

Political polarization is real and will likely grow in the coming months. Get ahead of it in your workplace by helping your team build the skills to navigate divisive conversations while actively supporting civic engagement.

You may not think your actions influence someone else’s path, but they do. Pause today and consider someone who has encouraged, inspired, or stood by you in a difficult moment. And reach out to them to say thank you. They may not even be aware of their impact on your life.

Listening matters. If you're working for progress of any kind, you have a responsibility to listen—carefully and intentionally. Find ways to get closer to the audience, the content, and the presenter, and use these moments as opportunities to understand the information being shared with you. I guarantee you'll be surprised at how much you can learn.

Your most significant contributions—to the world, your work, your team—cannot be defined by others. They will be determined by the actions you take and the values you practice.

So, pause with me for this moment in time. Set aside the lists, demands, and worries— just for a moment. And think: what tremendous power there is in how we choose to use our time, our most valuable asset.

Rather than try to fit everyone into a preconceived mold, let’s identify and celebrate the characteristics that make us each unique and special. In doing so, we can unlock the best in each other and in ourselves. So find what’s being underestimated, and celebrate it.

Consider what you can do today, this week, or this month to fill up your character bank. What small ways can you focus your energy on someone other than yourself?

There’s always something more to learn and something that might be getting in your way of learning too. I hope this learning list gets your mind going with new ideas and information and invites you to ask: what have you learned that’s getting in your way, and what are you missing now?

It’s never too late to learn and never too late to love. There will never be enough time, so use the time you’re given today running after something, or maybe someone, that you love.

We can’t turn back time, but we can progress forward. So, if there is a person you believe you’re done learning from, I invite you to reach out to them today. Tell them that you were thinking about them. And then listen closely to whatever they have to share. You may be surprised by how much there is left to learn.

Checking in may not change the big things, but it will matter deeply to those around you, who need to feel and see that you understand the weight of this time. And maybe that’s something good to hold onto in these uncertain times.

Eliminating coded language from your vocabulary takes a willingness to learn and a dedication to making intentional change. Use this week to assess the words and phrases you use and notice if you're actively (and perhaps unintentionally) using any coded phrases. Practice speaking up when you hear others using these phrases, too, and use this blog as a guided resource to practice replacing those words with more inclusive phrases. Words matter, and with each intentional swap, we can show how much people matter, too.

Life is hard, and there will always be more to people’s stories than they let on. Start every day from a place of compassion and a commitment to lead with empathy over ego. In taking the time to understand and practice empathy, you may find that people take the time to understand you better, too.

The memory in our pockets directly affects the memory in our heads—and that impacts how we communicate. So, before you reach for the phone to help you remember something, give yourself time to think. Practice building back up your memory and brain function, and you should start to see that digital amnesia clear up, too.