I’ve had this theory for a long time that learning how to express yourself, especially through story, UNlocks something inside of us that spills over into other areas of our lives.
It’s something I’ve tested in multiple ways for many years and with thousands of people, especially young people.
Let me take you on a journey of evolution so you understand the origin of this work.
I put my theory into a book, Being UNapologetic, which then became my brand.
While many people love the idea of living their life UNapologetically, there is one thing that is consistently in the way. It’s what I’ve come to call (and subsequently trademarked) Comparanoia®.
I shared my lifelong work to understand and overcome this phenomenon in my TED Talk, Overcoming Comparanoia®. In that talk, I share what I believe is at the root of the issue and a very simple antidote.
Whether we like it, accept it, or care, TikTok, the media app that can be used for creating and sharing short videos has captured the attention of a generation and, in doing so, has given us the opportunity to learn what’s working and how we can adapt to better engage kids and young people.
Personally, it took me a long time to figure out what to do with this platform. Finally, I chose to be myself on it. You can follow my experimenting (from dancing, duetting, and silliness) on my TikTok account. In doing so, I learned a few things about why the app is so popular and what we, as parents and teachers, can learn to better connect with Gen Zers.
Feeling stuck? UNmovitvated? UNable to move forward or to get stuff done?
In 2017, I had the great fortune of spending 2 days with Joseph McClendon III.
In many ways, you could say he is the science and psychology behind Tony Robbins. In fact, as a neuropsychologist he has a lot to teach us all. One of the most powerful techniques he shares is the his STOP technique.
History is made by those who refuse to follow the status quo.
Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of a bus, single handedly halting the tide of segregation. Mahatma Gandhi won Indian independence from Britain through nonviolent protest. 24-year-old Mordechai Anielewicz led the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, holding back the inevitable Nazi deportation of the Jews of Warsaw for nearly a month.
Two weeks before stepping onto the stage at TEDx Colorado Springs, former teacher Davide Di Giorgio realized there was one thing he needed to do in his talk that would drive his message home.
More importantly, he wanted to send a message to the thousands of students he had worked with over his lifetime.
History is made by those who refuse to follow the status quo.
Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of a bus, single handedly halting the tide of segregation. Mahatma Gandhi won Indian independence from Britain through nonviolent protest. 24-year-old Mordechai Anielewicz led the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, holding back the inevitable Nazi deportation of the Jews of Warsaw for nearly a month.
Two weeks before stepping onto the stage at TEDx Colorado Springs, former teacher Davide Di Giorgio realized there was one thing he needed to do in his talk that would drive his message home.
More importantly, he wanted to send a message to the thousands of students he had worked with over his lifetime.
Do you:
Compare yourself to everyone else’s Facebook status posts?
Measure your success against someone else’s or your own criteria?
Try to be the same as — or different from — someone else?
If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, then you are suffering from what I’ve come to call Comparanoia®. The good news is that there’s an antidote. But before I share the antidote, let me tell you what Comparanoia® is and, what it isn’t.
You work out, right?
OK, you know physical activity is beneficial and improves your life, right?
What about your mental wellness? Do you work on it? How? How do you empower your kids to have good mental health?
During the time I was a teacher, I learned not only the importance of mental wellness, but also how intrinsically tied to all things — including overall achievement — it is.
Recently, I was interviewed by Josh Ochs’ on his Smart Social Podcast where I shared 5 ideas on how to improve mental wellness…
On October 29, 2019 at shortly after 5am, I opened my Facebook with the intention of sharing some exciting news in a community that I was a member of. I typed the group name in the search bar, and nothing came up.
“Odd,” I thought. So I tried a few other things to locate the group.
Eventually, I sent a message to a friend who was also a member of the group, “This is random... but what is the name of the FB group we are in together? I think I'm not in it anymore??”
It turns out I had been removed from the group. Not only that, I had been blocked from it…
If you know anything about me, you’ll probably know that part of my story includes bullying. Severe bullying. I guess you could say I was bullied even into adulthood when I was disowned.
Bullying is painful. The statistics show at least 25% of students under the age of 18 report bullying.
