Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction I recently bought an online singing course. Yes — me. A guy who, in high school, was told (by his best friend no less) that his back-up vocals were so wildly off-key that it “actually worked as harmony.” Spoiler: it didn’t. That wasn’t a compliment. So why,...
Category Archives: Mentoring
So, Ya Got Fired…Part 1
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Odds are you’ve been fired, cut, dumped, or ghosted—by a job, a team, a person, or an institution—even though you thought you were good/great/vital/pivotal/indispensable. Full disclosure: Me too. I’ll talk about it during this post (and the sequels), but not in gory detail. First off, much of...
The Resilience Rant: Reclaiming and Reframing Part 5
What Actually Builds Resilience: Pressure, Process, and Purpose Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Let’s step back. Up to now, this series has focused on you—the individual reader. Your internal dialogue. Your emotional load. Your capacity to fall apart and rebuild. That work matters. But if resilience is real, it doesn’t stay static. If...
The Resilience Rant: Reclaiming and Reframing Part 3
Resilience Isn’t Pre-Determined Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction One of the more seductive critiques of resilience goes like this: “It’s all predetermined. You either have it or you don’t. It’s baked into your DNA, your childhood, your trauma history, your bank account, or your ZIP code.” Now, is there some truth in...
The Resilience Rant: Reclaiming and Reframing Part 2
Resilience Isn’t Victim Blaming Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Let’s start with one of my favorite catchphrases from the feedback side of my coaching work: Any feedback that can be restated as “Stop sucking, be more better” is of limited value. That, in a nutshell, is what gives resilience such a bad...
7 Dirty Words-The Final Word: Moving Beyond the Seven Dirty Words to Flourish
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction: Congratulations, you’ve made it through the Seven Dirty Words series! Throughout this journey, we’ve explored how innocuous words like Should, Always, Never, Except, Must, Just, and Only subtly influence our thinking, and subsequently our behavior. These tiny rhetorical gremlins quietly restrict thinking, reinforce limiting beliefs, and keep us stuck....
7 Dirty Words Part 3: Disarming Your Inner Critic by Breaking Free from “Except” and “Must”
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction “I did well, except for that one mistake.”“I must get this perfect, or I’ve failed.” Sound familiar? Although these statements might seem harmless, they have our next two of the seven dirty words. “Except” and “Must” are red flags for self-sabotage. In this post we’ll not only...
7 Dirty Words Part 2: The Trap of Absolutes: How “Always” and “Never” Limit Your Thinking
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction “Always” and “Never”: Opposites That Work the Same Way “They always leave me out.” “I’ll never be good enough.” At first glance, “always” and “never” might seem like opposites. One declares constancy, while the other implies impossibility. Yet, these words share a common function: they are absolutes...
The 7 Dirty Words Holding you Back: Introduction
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Our words: Should, Only, Just, Must, Always, Never, Except…be on guard for the dirty words: times when we are low on energy and looking for a quick and low effort expression of thought, these little rascals may creep in. George Carlin wrote and delivered a historic comedy bit about...
Email tips
Paul M. Michaud MD, CPE How many times a day to you check your email? How many hours a week, month, year do you spend on email? If you are anything like me the answer is too much. How productive was that time? Likely not as productive as you tell yourself. I get it. Your organization relies...