2014

Appreciation: Savor the moments you are with the ones you love. Create mental memories of their facial expressions or sounds of excitement as they open a gift or share a story. Ask for and offer help: There is a lot to get done and plenty of people around to help out. Don’t take on all […]

My new hometown, Pittsburgh, recently was named one of the world’s most resilient cities by the Rockefeller Foundation. The “Resilient City” project being undertaken by the Foundation will name 100 large and small cities across the globe that will receive funding to develop strategies to address many of the challenges that are facing local communities.

In much of my work with individuals, I focus on a strengths-based approach helping people identify and acknowledge the skills that help them become successful. I find this approach much more amenable to professional growth as opposed to focusing just on weaknesses, which for many of us, is our default mode. In the same way,

  © Richard Citrin, 2014 ]]>

Last week, I conducted a series of presentations to employees at an industrial plant as part of their ongoing education on Stress Resilience. We had a great time as the employees talked about their upcoming holiday stress and how we’ll all be dealing with our crazy Uncle Albert (or someone) who is sure to disrupt

One of our inalienable rights as Americans is to pursue happiness and certainly if we are building resilience in the face ofchallenging life events, the goal surely must be to find that elusive state. Opinions differ about exactly what makes happiness. Most research has focused on overcoming our negativities (as we discussed a few weeks

One of the most challenging parts of being resilient is staying in the moment when a stressful event is happening. Examples of successful navigation almost seem heroic at times. A fire fighter running into a burning house, superstars like LeBron James sinking that last second jump shot to win the game or a news reporter

Today’s parents are often accused of being helicopter-ish. They are seen as hovering overhead, and protecting their young ones from any conceivable adversity. The question is being posed today, however, if all of this protectiveness is keeping our kids from learning how to face challenges and develop skills that will be important for them to

Biologically, we are programmed to look for the worst in situations…and it is a good thing we do. Our biology would take us back to primitive times where we would want to be on the lookout for the worst case scenario—a sabre toothed tiger over the next ridge or a tribe or warring enemies mounting