Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Greetings and Salutations! Welcome to the third installment in the psychological richness series. In Part 1, I introduced Shigehiro Oishi’s concept of a psychologically rich life—one filled with interesting, perspective-changing experiences. In Part 2, I put on my skeptic hat and reengaged the theory: praised what works, critiqued what doesn’t,...
Category Archives: Long Form
Psychological Richness Part 2: Biases, Blind Spots, and the Postmodern Trap
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction When we left off, we’d mapped out the three dimensions of a good life—happiness, meaning, and psychological richness—and how each complements the others. Happiness comforts. Meaning guides. Richness changes. But now it’s time to ask a harder question: what happens when we turn the microscope back on the model itself?...
Psychological Richness Part 1 – Defining the Good Life: Happiness, Meaning, and Richness
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction I’d like you to consider a deceptively simple question: what makes a life good? This isn’t a new question. Plato warned that an unexamined life wasn’t worth living. Aristotle proposed that the good life was one of virtue and purpose. The Epicureans, by contrast, believed happiness came from...
Running Without a Map: Why Change Needs More Than Good Intentions
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Feedback is a mirror. Over the past two posts, we’ve looked at two ways leaders stumble with feedback: ignoring it altogether (Ignoring the Mirror) and overreacting to every reflection (Trapped in the Mirrors). Both leave you stuck. But there’s a third trap, and it’s sneakier because it...
Trapped in the Mirrors: Why Leaders Can’t Please Everyone
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Feedback is a mirror. Last time, we talked about what happens when you refuse to look—the cost of ignoring feedback that is valid, actionable, and desirable. But that was a single source of feedback, or multiple sources showing the same reflection. Another trap emerges from multiple mirrors...
Ignoring the Mirror: Why We Resist Feedback and Growth
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction We previously defined feedback as the key enabling behavior of true mentorship. Good feedback acts as a mirror, reflecting something about us that we may not see on our own, and provides a pathway to change, grow, and improve. But what happens when you don’t like the reflection?...
Feedback That Actually Lands
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction “Just throw strikes.” That was the shining pearl of feedback my son once got during a Little League game. He’d just walked two batters in a row. When I headed out to the mound for a chat to help him get centered and figure out what to...
“That’s OK” Is Not OK: The Growth Mindset Rant (Part 2: Mentors and Leaders)
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction In Part 1, we explored how individuals sabotage themselves with fixed-mindset self-talk and how honest self-assessment paired with self-compassion opens the door to growth. Now let’s shift the lens: what happens when that same dynamic plays out in a mentor–protege or leader–team relationship? “Some people are not...
“That’s OK” Is Not OK: The Growth Mindset Rant (Part 1: The Individual)
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction “Some people are not good at [insert, whatever here]. And that’s ok.” The genesis of this post came from an interesting set of coincidences: That line came out of a podcast I listened to recently, and it nearly snuck past me on a quick listen, but something...
Simple Isn’t Easy…Yet Why Hard Things Get Easier (and How to Make That Happen)
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Some things (2×2 tables for example) trigger an instant “old man shouts at clouds” reaction from my teenage daughter.I can be halfway into what I think is an insightful rant, cue the eyeroll. However, there is an inverse relationship between the rotational force vector of teenage eye-rolling and the...