Author: jshure

Last night, I had the privilege of leading a talk-back following a production of Neil LaBute’s “In a Dark, Dark House.” I read the script for the play last month and thought the playwright brilliant for his ability to comprehend what actually goes on as a result of childhood sexual abuse. Himself a survivor of… Continue reading Musings From a Psychotherapist About the Effects of Secrecy and Shame in Our Lives

A number of months ago, I had the good fortune of traveling to India with my family. I wasn’t so keen on taking this trip, fearing that I’d get depressed from seeing the country’s massive poverty. Having read many novels written by Indian authors, I was primed to witness people living in conditions that I’d… Continue reading Outsmarting Stress and Negativity

There’s a surge in conversation about the challenge for women to claim confidence and counteract self-doubt. The newest book on the topic, The Confidence Gap, shows, yet again, that women are less self-assured than men, and to succeed in the work world, confidence matters as much as competence. Let’s dispel the mystery behind the scenes so… Continue reading Overcoming Doubt and Fear in Order to Foster Self-Confidence

Wake-up calls come from many sources and, at their best, incite us to transform the ways we live. Recently, I heard Arianna Huffington speak about her realization that she needed to make concrete changes in the number of hours she worked and slept. The co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group broke her… Continue reading Wake-Up Calls Inspired My Change From Overdrive and Sleep Deprived

It happened again this week, as it does way too often. I was sitting in a leadership coaching session when my client proclaimed “I’ll just distract myself like I usually do.” To some, her solution to being spoken to disrespectfully may sound rather innocuous, it was no biggie. But in reality, distracting ourselves from something… Continue reading Empowerment Comes From Checking In, Not Checking Out

Parents often wonder what they can do to boost the likelihood that their kids will grow into successful adults. One thing for sure that doesn’t help is when parents get fearful of dealing with their children’s emotion and instead give in to quick fixes for getting a child to be calm or happy. Author and… Continue reading Success Requires Grit and Resilience

No matter how seasoned you may be at public speaking, when it comes to making presentations, it’s really common to experience increased levels of anticipatory anxiety. Mark Twain once said, “There are two kinds of speakers: those that are nervous and those that are liars.” Here is a great resource, chock full of strategies for… Continue reading Tips for Building Presentation Confidence

Last week I was sitting in a workshop on courage and leadership at the Pennsylvania Conference for Women when the panel moderator asked “Does fear ever go away or do you need to be willing to take the leap and be fearful while taking action?” Suddenly my mind flashed back 27 years to when I… Continue reading Taking on Fear Advances a Career

While listening to an NPR radio interview with Debora Spar, President of Barnard College and author of the newly-published book Wonder Women: Sex, Power and the Quest for Perfection, it became all too clear that the ideas I grew up with about being a girl and achieving as a female were really different from those… Continue reading Dispelling Notions About What it Takes for Women to Achieve and Thrive

In his new book The Gift of Adversity: The Unexpected Benefits of Life’s Difficulties, Setbacks, and Imperfections, Norman Rosenthal, M.D., shares his belief that adversity is by far the best teacher most of us will ever encounter. To make his point, he draws on case studies, his upbringing in apartheid South Africa, and the experiences… Continue reading It in Adversity that We Learn are Biggest Lessons