Managing Stress

The Leadership Blind Spot: Fear of Finding Out, and What It Costs You

By Sylvia Lafair | December 15, 2025 |

FOFO, or fear of finding out, keeps us stuck in avoidance, denial, and distraction—making small issues grow bigger. Learn how to recognize the subtle signals, regulate your nervous system, and take brave, manageable steps to face the truth and reclaim your agency.

How Wise Leaders Survive the Holidays (and Don’t Lose Their Minds, Their Teams, or Their Health)

By Sylvia Lafair | December 10, 2025 |

Learn how business leaders survive holiday stress with clarity, and ways to protect energy, support your team, and lead wisely.

Would You Rather Be Happy or Right? The Question That Changes Your Leadership

By Sylvia Lafair | December 8, 2025 |

Discover why the question “Would you rather be happy or right?” can transform your leadership by reducing stress, improving communication, and strengthening relationships.

Patterns Escalate at This Time of Year: Complete Them or Repeat Them, Your Choice

By Sylvia Lafair | December 4, 2025 |

Explore why family patterns escalate during the holidays and learn simple shifts that transform your reactions, relationships, and leadership.

The Patterns We Pass at the Thanksgiving Table: A Lesson in Leadership, Love, and Letting Go

By Sylvia Lafair | November 24, 2025 |

Summary: Thanksgiving has a way of shining a spotlight on the people we love most and the patterns we pass around, but would prefer to keep in the pantry with the canned cranberry sauce. Let this year be a day of gratitude and learning. Keep reading about how to make this time with family and friends…

Listen for the Glimmers: Go Past Burnout and Resentment by Offering Ways to Reconnect Head, Heart, and Gut

By Sylvia Lafair | October 12, 2025 |

Summary: Resentment and burnout are not simply emotional states; they are physiological signals that a person has been living in chronic misalignment. The brain spins with overanalysis (head), the heart closes off in self-protection (heart), and the gut tightens, warning that something feels “off” (gut). This disconnection often results from prolonged stress, people-pleasing, or purpose…

How GLIMMERS Illuminate The Leader’s Path to Success

By Sylvia Lafair | October 1, 2025 |

Summary: We live in a world full of noise, deadlines, and distractions that pull us away from ourselves. But glimmers are stubborn little messengers of hope. They sneak in anyway. For example, they arrive in a stranger’s smile, the smell of brownies baking in the oven, the sound of wind threading through trees. These signs…

What’s Missing in Today’s Workplace

By Sylvia Lafair | September 4, 2025 |

Summary: Leaders are increasingly focused on productivity hacks, hybrid work schedules, and the latest tech platforms. Yet underneath the noise, something essential has slipped through the cracks. Hint: No AI can fix what is missing. Dear Dr. Sylvia, There was an awkward moment at work recently. Before we settled down for our ELT, one of…

When Stress Clamps Down, Curiosity Blows the Doors Off

By Sylvia Lafair | July 17, 2025 |

Summary: You know that feeling, your chest tightens, your jaw clenches, and suddenly your to-do list feels like a personal attack. That’s stress! We all relate to stress. Instead of taking the meds, here is another way to pivot the stress factor and feel better faster. Dear Dr. Sylvia, I read your book “Invisible Stress…

Navigating Grief: The Impact of the Texas Tragedy

By Sylvia Lafair | July 10, 2025 |

Summary: July 4, 2025, began with hopes of fireworks and fun. It ended in a nightmare. Within mere hours, relentless rains unleashed catastrophic flash floods. Camp Mystic, a girls’ summer camp, became a heartbreaking symbol of this trauma. Here are some thoughts on coping with grief following sudden tragedies. Dear Dr. Sylvia, I live far…