My husband and I joined my daughter as she tried out mattresses for a new bed for her NYC apartment. It was hilarious watching her lie down on each mattress and assess its comfort. One was too hard, one was too soft. I teased her that she reminded me of Goldilocks minus the breaking and entering part of the story. 

But life is like Goldilocks all the time. We are always assessing our “just right” and the better we are at figuring that out, the more we can live an authentic life. 

Lately I have been heading to Starbucks before my appointment with my amazing therapist to get each of us a latte. Of course she never asked me to do this, but it brings me such joy. She has given me so much that I should be bringing her a new car each week.

One of her magical powers is encouraging me to have hard conversations. This is how it will go. I will complain about something. She will say, you should talk to them (your husband, your kid, your friend, your client) about it. I will say, ugh, no way, I can’t do that. My hands will get clammy.

Ever catch yourself playing Wordle or watching Reels as a way to distract from getting your work done? We catch ourselves after 15 minutes of going through Reels, take a breath and chuckle at our sneaky ways to avoid work and then get back to work. We reprimand ourselves because doing this is clearly not a good use of our time and clearly a distraction. However, it is much harder to spot productive procrastination—things we do that are a good use of our time, just not at that very moment.

When I was a brand new mom I was pretty much afraid to leave the house on my own. It was so daunting. What if my baby cried, was hungry, or needed a diaper change? How would I handle this?

One story from The Davis Polk Revisited program - The program welcomes back to the firm former Davis Polk lawyers who have taken a break from the legal profession and wish to return to full-time legal careers.

As I plan the logistics of Thanksgiving, opening up our table, making the grocery list, figuring out who is bringing what, I am also thinking about the emotional and spiritual dimension to our time together.

When she was ready to move on, she realized she had a niche skill which could allow her to open her own marketing agency. This seemed like the perfect next step as she looked to discover a different sort of flexibility now that she was an empty nester.

Becoming an educator was Sherri’s second career. Sherri was a second generation CPA and began working for her dad and cousin’s accounting firm when she was only 14 years old.

Relationship building is Fred’s superpower. Many of his clients over the years became his friends. He cared about his clients and knew about their lives in the same way he cares about his students now and connects with them. For example, he knows each and every student’s name at his school.

Have you ever felt exhausted after an interaction where you had to pretend to be interested or interesting or smart or funny?

When working with clients on their career, we often find an anchor to help narrow down the job search.

Apparently, I am at the start of this golden decade. How can I make sure I appreciate it and make the most of it?

When I pictured the life of an empty-nester, I pictured freedom, relief, possibility. And while I have definitely had moments of that, it has not been the defining feature of my year.

I love the feeling of abundance and feel sad that we are often encouraged to limit, to have less, to need less.

Now that my kids are off to college and out of the house, Gideon and I are rethinking how we spend our time, energy and money.

Throughout our lives we accumulate rules to follow and then we stick to these rules unaware.

My family and I went to Hawaii for winter break this year. We were surrounded by the power of nature, causing me to think about how such natural wonders can be a mirror into our own lives.

I love the phrase “you are just getting started.” It is so hopeful, optimistic and energizing.

A life skill I am developing and encouraging my clients to develop is spaciousness. However, allowing for space sounds easier than it is.

Acting “as if” is a low stakes way to notice in your body how a new situation might feel, get a sense of your skillset and what areas you may to develop, and potentially demonstrate to others that you are ready for the next step.