January 9th, 2025 by Kelly Kienzle
“I want to contribute to something important.” This goal, as described by Adam Grant, rings true for me. I can set goals, define KPIs, make commitments and articulate aspirations. But all of that work boils down to this one simple desire: I want to contribute to…
November 21st, 2024 by Kelly Kienzle
“Kindness eases change.” I read these words for the first time several months ago. Octavia Butler, one of the first published African American and female writers of science fiction, wrote them almost 50 years ago. Our Capacity for Kindness I was struck by the simplicity of…
October 22nd, 2024 by Kelly Kienzle
Do you feel you have done enough good in the world? I don’t yet. I’m working on it (literally, through my coaching and facilitation). Yet sometimes I wonder where else I can do good. I recently read the historical fiction novel, The Good Left Undone by…
July 31st, 2024 by Kelly Kienzle
Does optimism ever feel like a risk? Whenever I consider tackling a big project, I sometimes shy away from believing in it wholeheartedly. I temper my optimism because I fear disappointment or regret if it fails. I worry that having too much exuberance will cause me…
May 30th, 2024 by Kelly Kienzle
For the last few weeks, I have felt deeply vulnerable. As Zoe Keating, a genre-defying cellist has described, I have been “being without skin.” I feel vulnerable because I put a draft of my writing out into the world. Specifically, my coauthor and I have shared a…
April 19th, 2024 by Kelly Kienzle
Below is a post, different from my typical essays. I was thrilled to be invited to include the following essay in The Shadow Anthology, a collection of works that explores the question: What happens when we finally address the darkness we have tried to hide, avoid, and…
February 2nd, 2024 by Kelly Kienzle
As I enter the back nine of my life, I am deeply focusing on how to age well. I am focusing on not necessarily extending lifespan, but instead extending healthspan. I love the idea of increasing my number of healthy years, instead of just any-old-type of years. But…
December 5th, 2023 by Kelly Kienzle
We have spent our whole lives adding. We have added expectations, goals and beliefs to our plans for the future. We have added jealousies, regrets and unfulfilled desires to our evaluation of our pasts. The sum result of these additions is an overbearing load that we…
November 2nd, 2023 by Kelly Kienzle
Humans have told stories to each other since we could first communicate. We told these stories for the purpose of understanding how the world worked and to understand loss, anger, joy and love. Then and now, we also tell stories to ourselves to understand our own…
August 25th, 2023 by Kelly Kienzle
The paragraph ended with “Fall behind their words.” And that’s when the book’s whole message snapped into place in my mind. Don’t engage with what others say when they speak harshly to you. Instead, drop down into a space just behind their words. Here’s what I…