wellbeing Archives - Good News!

You Can’t Stop the Waves—But You Can Remember What’s Beneath Them 🌊

Austin Tang — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 17:57:00 +0000

There’s a quote I return to often–especially when life feels full, fast, or just plain hard:

“You can’t stop the waves. But you can learn to surf.”

–Jon Kabat-Zinn

Lately, I’ve been adding a quiet postscript of my own:

“And you can also remember the stillness beneath.”

Because here’s what I know–both in my life and in my work with leaders navigating pressure, change, and uncertainty:

Life will bring waves. Emotions will rise. Change will crash.

But there’s always a current of calm.

And we forget that at our own expense.

Sometimes, it’s not about finding the perfect still moment–

But simply remembering it’s there.

Even in motion. Even in complexity. Even when it feels just out of reach.
Sometimes, it’s as simple as a single breath.

Stillness, I’ve learned, isn’t passive.

It’s not stagnation.

It’s presence. Discernment. Deep-rooted clarity.
It’s the ability to pause in a world that rewards urgency.
And it’s the capacity to remember yourself–and the values you want to lead with–before reacting to the noise.

It’s the part of us that doesn’t flinch at the swell–because it remembers:

This, too, is movement.

And this, too, will pass.

In coaching sessions, leadership trainings, and meditations at Calm & Connect, I’ve seen this truth land again and again:

Sometimes, life and leadership are about surfing–knowing when to move, when to pivot, when to ride the momentum.

Other times, it’s about dropping beneath the surface–refusing to be pulled by urgency and anchoring into something quieter, wiser, more enduring.

The magic is–they’re not opposites.

The ability to surf well often comes from knowing the stillness.

And the ability to be still comes from having surfed enough to trust:

I can ride this, too.

Questions to Reflect On:

When was the last time you let yourself truly be still? What did it reveal?
What part of you wants to rush right now—and what might happen if you didn’t?
Can you recognize when you’re paddling too hard—and give yourself permission to float?

In a world that prizes speed, complexity, and constant forward motion, this is leadership:

The courage to pause.

The ability to discern.

The wisdom to act–not from urgency, but from truth.

I created Calm & Connect for this kind of remembering.

And I weave it into every keynote, every retreat, every training room I step into.

Because no matter how ambitious the goal–

none of us can lead clearly from a stormed-out nervous system.

So if you’re navigating waves of your own, here’s your reminder:

The storm isn’t all there is.

Stillness is always available.

And the more we return to it, the more clearly we lead.

Calm & Connect. Sunday, June 15th.

And if you’re a leader ready to bring this work into your organization– keynotes, workshops, or weekly mindfulness sessions–this is the work I’ve done for over a decade.

Helping high performers slow down enough to come alive again.

Helping organizations become more human.

JoinCalm & Connect

Explore1:1 Coaching or Corporate Support

MY ORGANIZATIONS NEED THIS—I’D LIKE TO LEARN MORE!

DOWNLOAD YOUR INFORMATIONAL DECK

https://ixgf7r.fg14.fdske.com/e/c/01jxd1f6bwcamh2z3gjk5j9qnv/01jxd1f6bwcamh2z3gkc70mebh

Eastside
Nashville, TN 37206, United States

The post You Can’t Stop the Waves—But You Can Remember What’s Beneath Them 🌊 appeared first on Good News!.

To build a better world, stop chasing economic growth

Austin Tang — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 21:05:30 +0000

The year 2024 must be a turning point for shifting policies away from gross domestic product and towards sustainable well-being. Here’s why and how.

Protesters in New York City in September joined thousands of others around the world in urging governments to act on climate change. Credit: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

The past year has given many of us reason to pause. We are losing in a race to prevent planetary tipping points — the climate is changing faster than expected, and humanity has already breached six of the nine sustainable planetary boundaries (for biodiversity loss; climate, freshwater and land-system change; biogeochemical flows; and novel entities)¹. Summer Antarctic sea ice shrank to its lowest recorded extent in 2023 (see go.nature.com/4f86req), a year that is on track to be the warmest on record (see go.nature.com/4f9ykdj).

People around the world recognize that life is not getting any better. As wars rage, runaway inequality and political polarization are eroding societies’ sense of cohesion. Eight individuals owned more than the poorest 50% of the world’s population, according to an Oxfam report in 2017². Levels of anxiety, depression and burnout are rocketing. Full-time employees are unable to pay rent and must turn to extra part-time work to make ends meet, while employers cut staff and increase workloads.

Crises are now normal in this global economic system that depletes natural and social capital, energy and time in the name of economic growth at all costs.

But, looking to 2024, I’m hopeful that the world can turn in a better direction. For example, a meeting I attended in May on sustainable prosperity particularly buoyed my spirits — and, in my view, signalled a tipping point in thinking and governance. The Beyond Growth conference at the European Parliament attracted more than 2,500 participants in person, as well as 2,000 online. It was sponsored by the European Commission and the Club of Rome (a non-profit organization fostering research and action around pressing global issues).

In a stirring opening address, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said that governments must stop misusing growth of gross domestic product (GDP) as their goal and instead move swiftly and urgently to sustainable well-being within planetary boundaries. She got a standing ovation. Agata Meysner, the young leader of Generation Climate Europe, a coalition of climate and environmental networks across the bloc, concluded the event with a call to join the “movement of movements” to create a new economy based on sustainable prosperity, justice and sufficiency. Everyone rose to their feet.

And an increasing number of organizations and movements dedicated to overcoming our addiction to GDP growth are working together to do just that, including through networks such the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (which also supported the conference). The pursuit of GDP growth at all costs is an outdated paradigm that claims that all people want is more income and consumption with no limits. It assumes that the market economy can grow forever, that massive inequality is justified to provide incentives to promote growth, and that efforts to address climate and other environmental and social problems must not interfere with growth. It supposes that growth is the solution to all ills. It isn’t.

As the European conference emphasized, GDP was never designed to measure societal well-being — only market production and consumption. GDP says nothing about the distribution of income, unpaid work or damages to natural or social capital. The misuse of GDP as a policy goal is driving societies towards an unsustainable future that benefits an increasingly small proportion of the population while impoverishing the vast majority².

Researchers must help to provide alternatives. Here’s how.

Design better measures of societal well-being

Hundreds of indicators of societal well-being are already in use, including by the United Nations, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), non-governmental organizations, countries and academics. Examples include the Genuine Progress Indicator; the OECD Better Life Index; and annual surveys of life satisfaction³. To become a societal goal used by all, and to displace GDP, the world must settle on a new indicator. Broad consensus is needed on what should be included.

For example, it is not just income that matters, but also the ways in which it is distributed. The costs of environmental and social degradation must be included, as should contributors to well-being that are unconnected to income — such as our relationships and communities, good governance, the ability to participate in decision-making and ecosystem services provided by the natural environment. Several research initiatives are beginning to address these issues (including one I am involved with, called MERGE, which is funded by the European Union).

The Beyond Growth conference in Brussels in May 2023 concluded with a call to create a sustainable and just economy.Credit: Ida Kubiszewski

Model the complex dynamics of the economic system

Interactions between social, economic and natural elements of societal well-being must be better modelled and future projections developed to assess their sustainability. National examples include the EUROGREEN model, which has been applied to France, and the LowGrow model of the Canadian ecological economy.

The Earth4All model of the Club of Rome takes a global perspective. It explores two scenarios towards 2050. The first — known as business as usual, or too little too late — looks at what will happen if the world continues current trends of increasing inequality, climate disruption and decreasing well-being, even as GDP continues to rise. By contrast, the second scenario, called giant leap, shows how investing in five areas — renewable energy, regenerative food, reducing inequality, eliminating poverty and enabling empowerment — could ensure sustainable, prosperous and equitable well-being for humans and the rest of nature.

For example, rather than rewarding the fossil-fuel sector with enormous subsidies to maintain economic growth at the expense of climate and social disruption, new policies would focus on moving away from fossil fuels. At the same time, policies to achieve the other four turnaround areas would be implemented to enable sustainable well-being, regardless of the effects on GDP.

Develop policies to support sustainable well-being

The EU and the Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo) group that includes Scotland, New Zealand, Wales, Finland, Canada and Iceland have begun to implement measures of sustainable well-being and policies to achieve them. Researchers need to analyse these plans and offer lessons to help other nations adopt them. What are these policies? There are many versions, but an open letter I signed in May — together with more than 400 leading economists, scientists, policymakers and activists — provides starting points in four areas. These are biocapacity (protecting the planet), fairness (a more equal society), well-being for all (basic services and rights) and active democracy (see ‘Beyond growth policies’ and go.nature.com/47z3v6s).

The post To build a better world, stop chasing economic growth appeared first on Good News!.

UN World Water Day. March 22

Austin Tang — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 15:15:12 +0000

https://www.worldwaterday.org/
United Nations World Water Day is March 22

VALUING WATER

Water means different things to different people.

This conversation is about what water means to you.

How is water important to your home and family life, your livelihood, your cultural practices, your wellbeing, your local environment?

By recording – and celebrating – all the different ways water benefits our lives, we can value water properly and safeguard it effectively for everyone.

LEARN

VALUING WATER

Water means different things to different people.

This conversation is about what water means to you.

How is water important to your home and family life, your livelihood, your cultural practices, your wellbeing, your local environment?

In households, schools and workplaces, water can mean health, hygiene, dignity and productivity.

In cultural, religious and spiritual places, water can mean a connection with creation, community and oneself.

In natural spaces, water can mean peace, harmony and preservation.

Today, water is under extreme threat from a growing population, increasing demands of agriculture and industry, and the worsening impacts of climate change.

Tell us your stories, thoughts and feelings about water.

By recording – and celebrating – all the different ways water benefits our lives, we can value water properly and safeguard it effectively for everyone.

Join the conversation about what water means to you.

WORLD WATER DAY 2021 TOOLKIT

The World Water Day 2021 toolkit contains everything you need to inspire your friends, family and colleagues:

Q&A on valuing water
Key campaign messages
Top facts
Download the toolkit in

Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

SHARE

GET THE MESSAGE OUT

You are the most important element of the World Water Day 2021 campaign. Join millions of other people and share key messages with your friends, family and colleagues. Use the assets below to start conversations and raise awareness of these crucial issues.

ACT

Tell us your stories, thoughts and feelings about water.

#WORLDWATERDAY
Here are some conversations in real time about what water means to people around the world. Share your thoughts and experiences on any social media platform to spark conversations and help shape the forthcoming World Water Day campaign, leading up to 22 March 2021.

The post UN World Water Day. March 22 appeared first on Good News!.

Living with ulcerative colitis…

Austin Tang — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 12:57:04 +0000

Listen to “Living with ulcerative colitis…” on Spreaker.
http://goodnewsplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ulcerative_colitis_1.mp3

Living with ulcerative colitis (UC) can make working, maintaining relationships and juggling family responsibilities difficult. A global survey of 1,254 gastroenterologists and 2,100 adults with a self-reported history of UC revealed both men and women experienced the impact of UC on day-to day life, including emotional wellbeing.1

Now, with the added challenges of navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on emotional wellbeing is more important than ever.

Laurie Keefer, PhD, who is a psychologist with Mount Sinai Hospital’s IBD Center in New York City who specializes in the psychosocial care of patients with chronic digestive diseases, most notably Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis (UC). Allyson, who has a history of UC, to discuss the emotional impact of UC and share tips for those living with UC on how to have more effective conversations with their healthcare team. Both Dr. Keefer and Allyson have been compensated by Pfizer to appear in this interview today.

Before we start, it is important to note that results from the UC Narrative are not representative of all UC patients, and only reflect responses of those who took the survey. For more information about the survey limitations and methodology, visit talkinguc.com.

BIO: Dr Laurie Keefer is an academic health psychologist and the Director for Psychobehavioral Research within the Division of Gastroenterology. She specializes in the psychosocial care of patients with chronic digestive diseases, specifically inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis. Dr. Keefer came to Mount Sinai in January 2016 from Chicago, IL to lead a subspecialty medical home for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

The Mount Sinai IBD medical home, known as GRITT-IBD(TM) focuses on gaining resilience through transitions as they occur across the lifespan of patients living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Dr Keefer’s clinical and research interests are in the area of IBD disease self-management, gut-directed hypnotherapy, resilience, the psychosocial care needs of emerging adults with chronic disease and cognitive-behavior therapy. She is a sought after speaker and mentor. She chairs the Division of Psychogastroenterology within the Rome Foundation and is on the Council of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society.

BIO

My name is Allyson and I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC) in 2007 at the age of 29. In hindsight I am certain I had symptoms that went undiagnosed for years, if not back to childhood. My diagnosis and progression of my UC was quite rapid and debilitating, resulting in being bed ridden and hospitalized within less than a month. After 3 years of hospitalizations and a very poor quality of life, I made an emergent decision to have a 3-stage total colectomy. This process had profound impacts of my physical and emotional wellbeing, as well as self-image due to body changes, and I feel strongly about advocating for patients with UC. I feel I often went without a voice until I was able to learn to speak up for myself as I learned more about my UC. As there is no cure, I continue to manage my daily life in often challenging, or what would appear impossible situations to those without UC. I am resilient and strong in a way that I only learned through my UC journey. I live a fulfilling life that may require adjustments, and I am grateful for the opportunities to advocate.

Interview courtesy: Pfizer

#ulcerative #colitis #uc #maintaining #work #relationships #juggling #family #laurie #keefer #allyson #sinai #hospital #new #york #city #nyc #chronic #digestive #diseases #disease #pfizer #covid #19 #covid-19 #covid19 #wellbeing #well #being #coronavirus #pfizer

The post Living with ulcerative colitis… appeared first on Good News!.

The Heart and Science of Yoga

admin — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 20:35:36 +0000

The American Meditation Institute’s Empowering Self-Care Program for a Happy, Healthy, Joyful Life
By Leonard Perlmutter, with Jenness Cortez Perlmutter
The Ultimate Manual for Meditation and Life Transformation
The Wisdom Behind Yoga Science Explained and Applied
Today, the evidence is everywhere that meditation improves health, mental acuity, emotional balance and spiritual connection. Leonard Perlmuttter is one of the Western world’s leading pioneers in the introduction of meditation into the cultural firmament, having founded the American Meditation Institute (AMI) in 1996. AMI’s courses are now approved and accredited by the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association.
Perlmutter, considered one of West’s foremost guides to understanding the nature of consciousness, now offers a heralded book that is an encyclopedic guide to meditation and the Yoga Science that lies behind it.
Praised by such international medical luminaries as Drs. Dean Ornish, Mehmet Oz, Bernie Siegel and Larry Dossey. The Heart and Science of Yoga: The American Meditation Institute’s Empowering Self-Care Program for a Happy, Healthy, Joyful Life shows us the way to meld meditation and yoga into your busy life experience to bring a new level of peace, contentment and wellbeing.
While most North Americans today perceive Yoga as a valuable source of exercise and quieting of the mind, The Heart and Science of Yoga shows that it is so much more. As it was evolved through ancient wisdom, Yoga Science is an eight-step method for managing the life force energy that propels us and connects us to the infinite power that is within and without us all. And the result of mastering it is the bliss and daily joy that lies in the realization of our connection.
This ultimate guidebook to meditation and Yoga Science explains not just what to do BUT WHY TO DO IT—how our choices and actions energetically enhance or diminish our empowerment…. influencing our ability to live well, peacefully and successfully.
One of the most fascinating revelations of Leonard Perlmutter’s The Heart and Science of Yoga, is that when you intentionally turn away from unhealthy temptations toward a better choice, it’s not a sacrifice or a denial. It is actually transforming your energy into greater potency, will power, physical vitality and unlimited creative potential.
Perlmutter’s comprehensive and practical manual, first published in 2005 to great acclaim, and now revised and expanded, connects the dots for those who seek answers and solutions for finding a better, happier life through meditation and Yoga Science. The Heart and Science of Yoga is a master class.
And meditation is the gateway.
In The Heart and Science of Yoga, you’ll discover:
• How the Bridge of Yoga can always lead you to your highest and greatest good
• The 8 different Yoga Science steps that prepare you to lead a life of daily bliss
• The best and easiest ways to anchor meditation in your life-even if you are prone to drift!
• The right mantra for you—and why a mantra makes such a profound difference
• The keys to AMI’s world renowned Meditation System
• How stillness is the Divine Physician
Perlmutter’s great sense of humor and down-to-earth approach is appealing and approachable.
Filled with anecdotes, parables, gentle loving encouragement and surprises, The Heart and Science of Yoga is both an eye-opener and a companion. It’s the ultimate ladder to achieving mastery over your inner and outer worlds-and living in a daily state of transcendence.
This 560-page easy-to-grasp guide provides everything you need to know to live the peaceful, contented, heart-driven Yoga Lifestyle in a modern world.
To book Leonard Perlmutter for a life-changing interview, please send an email with the name of the show, your contact information, a proposed date and time, and the calling details.
“A comprehensive and practical guide to the yogic practices as tools for transformation”-Dean Ornish, MD, founder of the Preventive medicine Research Institute and author of Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease.
“Comprehensively outlines the holistic benefits of Yoga and brought joy to this heart surgeon’s heart”-Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD, Host of The Dr. Oz Show
“An admirable guide to one of the world’s greatest wisdom traditions. This excellent book presents not only Yoga techniques, but also the philosophy behind them”-Larry Dossey MD, Author of Healing Beyond the Body, Reinventing Medicine and Healing Words

The post The Heart and Science of Yoga appeared first on Good News!.

Freshen Up Your Look For Spring With Style Tips From Lilliana Vazquez!

editor — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:50:27 +0000

Freshen Up Your Look For Spring
Go From Blah To Beautiful with Tips From Fashion and Style Expert Lilliana Vazquez!

Spring is a time for renewal and change. So shake off that tired winter look. Beauty and style expert Lilliana Vazquez has quick tips and beauty secrets that’ll refresh, reenergize and revitalize for the new season. She’ll also have the 4-1-1 on the latest trends from the cat walks and how you can incorporate them into your new look for spring.

About Lilliana Vazquez
Fashion and Style Expert and Cheap Chica’s Guide to Style Founder

Lilliana Vazquez is a sought-after resource providing fun, trendy and budget-conscious style advice to readers, viewers and listeners around the world. Lilliana is a regular contributor for NBC10 Philadelphia, Better Philly, WE Women’s Entertainment and The Style Network. She is also the founder of the wildly popular fashion blog, The Cheap Chica’s Guide to Style.

She’s also appeared on ABC, Better TV, QVC, The Shopping Channel and Univision (Lilliana is bilingual in Spanish) and featured in Lucky, Women’s Wear Daily, Marie Claire, Glamour, Philly Style, Accessories Magazine, The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Latina, First, Better Homes and Gardens, and Daily Candy.

A well-known stylist, Lilliana is committed to empowering women through fashion by teaching them how to dress for their figure, lifestyle and budget. Lilliana has been in the industry for almost 10 years where she was worked at top fashion magazines, as an accessories designer and as a fashion consultant.

This interview is produced in association with Invisalign, Simple Skin, Bounce, and Avon.

The post Freshen Up Your Look For Spring With Style Tips From Lilliana Vazquez! appeared first on Good News!.