Category: Business Tips

February 2023 Vol 5 Issue 2

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):

Specializing in Entrepreneurial and Organizational Storytelling

Let me tell your story!

Welcome Mid-February, 2023!

Although winter hit us early and hard toward the end of 2022, more recent weeks (apart from a cold interval in January) have been unseasonably mild—and lately sunny, too!

However, in the middle of February (often thought in Saskatchewan to be winter’s “cruellest” month), the cold has returned and more of it is promised next week.

Friends who suffer from migraine headaches, people with sinus challenges and those with weakened immune systems, can be overheard lamenting recent weather fluctuations. But now into year three of the global pandemic, good readers, aren’t we all happier that 2023’s cold spells don’t seem to last? Saskatchewan winters demand such resilience from us.

The principals or directors of “ei advantage (Emotional Intelligence Advantage),” Winnipeg-based Hayley Hesseln and Janice Gair, published a blog posting recently on how stoicism can foster that same resilience in all of us–especially in these costly, challenging, Covid times. So in “Article One” this month, I review some of the arguments of their posting, “10 Stoic Quotes to Build Resilience.”

What’s in store in Article Two, “Word Nerd’s Corner,” you may ask?  For a change of pace this month, I present some compelling book dedications— intriguing or inspiring statements that I’ve encountered when reading business books, entrepreneurial guides, fiction and more.

May the next month be kind to you, good readers, as we are closing the long loop of winter!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

 Principal

Storytelling Communications

 www.elizabethshih.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:

ARTICLE 1: Does stoicism build resilience?

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:  Book dedications from assorted authors

SHOP NEWS

ABOUT US

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Article One: Does stoicism build resilience?

Hayley Hesseln and Janice Gair offer progressive programming for leaders and entrepreneurs through their “ei advantage” company. In one of their recent blog postings, they offer “10 stoic quotes that build resilience.” Why? Because as part of our unending global pandemic, soaring inflation affects every sector of life, the bottom drops out of the stock market and even routine aspects of life now sometimes feel that “they’re too much to handle.”

When “such vicissitudes have always been part of the human experience,” Hesseln and Gair are among many business thinkers who give credence to stoic philosophers whose writings (as early as 300 BCE) still have value and “ring true to this day.” Ryan Holiday’s book (whose title encapsulates his value for stoicism), The Obstacle is the Way (2014), has sold like hotcakes.

Hesseln and Gair write that stoicism has been practiced by “kings, artists, thinkers, presidents and entrepreneurs” from the likes of Adam Smith, Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Washington, and many more. Its perspectives, from writers like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus, are designed “to increase resilience, manage adversity” and (writes Aurelius), to “stand ready and firm to meet sudden and unexpected onsets.”

“Emotional Intelligence,” Hesseln and Gair write, can arise from the four central virtues of Stoicism: (1) Courage—reframing the world of difficult situations as opportunities to learn and better ourselves; (2) Temperance—doing nothing to excess when being brave can lead to recklessness; (3) Justice—doing the right thing because it is more important than anything else; and (4) Wisdom—recognizing that there is always more to learn, so we should strive to deepen our understanding of the world around us.

Among the 10 quotations of ancient Stoics that are cited in the blog posting, more than one  argues Seneca’s point that “we are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more in imagination than in reality.” In other words, most of what we worry about is in our heads, or that things do not disturb people but only the judgments we make of those things. So we get anxious running imaginary arguments, mapping out situations in our minds that never occur and worrying about risks that never lead to disasters.

These thought patterns are what contemporary psychologists and psychoanalysts call anxiety. The key to resilience, then (say the stoics), is to “pay attention to your thoughts and the things you worry about” and ask this: “are these real problems or just my imagination?”

 

Some other quotations advocate against hoping that events will turn out as you want them, but welcoming whatever happens, as the “path to peace” (Epictetus). It can be hard to welcome pain, loss and violence and make peace out of them, I might counter.

 

The posting concludes with Seneca’s teaching that “Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness”–i.e. that “we [can be] remembered for how we treat others in our lives.”

 

Hesseln and Gair show that Stoicism does underpin some of contemporary thought and familiar expressions, such as “learn to roll with the punches” and “be the change you want to see in the world.” It’s good to know that such thinking dates to times as long ago as 300 BCE—we should not reinvent the wheel!

 

But while I admire the leadership training and coaching of Hesseln and Gair,  and I while I admire some of Holiday’s writing (that I reviewed in an earlier blog posting), what concerns me most about such ideas is that they assume that we can all “hurry-harder” (to borrow a curling term) in trying times, and that adopting an attitude of “tough-love” for oneself is healthy, tenable, and sustainable.

 

To push through the obstacles we meet in life (as Holiday’s title suggests), we would have to curtail our emotional lives, bracketing off our feelings indefinitely and apparently without repercussions. This assumption is patently false. Who among us hasn’t experienced a breakthrough in our work only after we have grieved heavily over stressful obstacles, disappointments and lost time and energy that undermined our goals?

 

To deny our emotional lives is guaranteed to lead to thinkers’ and writers’ block (i.e. more obstacles) which reflects depression, not progress. Yes, contemporary life requires us to grapple with life’s obstacles first-hand. But if we are to force ourselves through them, blind to the pain and emotion involved, that would

require self-abnegation.

 

American psychologist Kristin Neff has argued over the past 20 years that we need compassion for ourselves, not self-denial, if we are to find satisfaction in life. She cites the Buddhist belief that “suffering = pain x resistance”–that when we resist emotional pain, we only compound our suffering. But the “highlights” of stoicism by their very nature resist pain and fail to connect how it pertains to suffering. When we experience at least some of the pain of our lives (instead of denying it), we stop resisting it, and, with the support of a therapist, good friends or family, that process can (albeit counterintuitively) actively reduce our suffering.

In my 2017 book of interviews, Keep Going: Five Creatives Build Resilience, I cite the Concise Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of “resilience” as the ability “to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.” More intensive definitions come from psychoanalysis, which a whole volume of blog postings could only begin to address. (But do consult Diane Coutu’s masterful article on the topic in the “Harvard Business Review”).

But if we are to recover and so find resilience from these “stressful and overwhelming times” (Hesseln and Gair), I still contend that we won’t be able to do it with stoic thinking or “self-mastery”– an inconvenient truth.  The annual mental health expenditures of most Western nations (including ours) provide ample evidence that many sufferers are not achieving resilience, despite the popularity of Holiday’s and others’ tracts on stoicism.

We also need leaders who recognize the importance of health care and, in particular, mental and senior health care, so that our communities have resources to turn to, in especially these “stressful and overwhelming times.” Not coincidentally, evidence shows that quite the opposite is happening.  In this week’s news, our second (and last) gastroenterologist has announced that she’s departing Saskatchewan, leaving more than 1000 local patients without specialist care. And at the same time, support is growing among seniors for physician-assisted dying, as at least some of the time, a tragic alternative to the very broken senior health care system in SK.

On these matters, stoicism could (and may already) underpin political quietism. For that reason, either the stoics’ ancient or contemporary formulations should be vigorously analyzed before they’re adopted as truisms for life.

And now it’s your turn: Do you find writings of stoicism (whether ancient or recently adopted) to help you find resilience within? Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear from you.

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STORYTELLER’s CORNER

STORYTELLER’S CORNER: Words, Stories, Riddles and Jokes on Writing and Editing . . .

This Month:  Memorable Book Dedication Pages

Do you ever wonder about the “dedications” of the books you read? I often find them intriguing. Here’s a recent sample:

•   “To Amazon Addict” (Dr. Jud Brewer, Unwinding Anxiety: Train Your Brain to Heal Your Mind [2021]). Psychiatrist Jud Brewer dedicates his latest book to the anonymous reviewer of his first book. The reader protested in his/her Amazon review (ie. s/he is the “Amazon Addict”) that Brewer provided no insights on how to heal. And I agree! (His comprehensive online program of the same name now addresses  that.)
• “To Evan, who always trusts his cape. And to Caroline, who does things that scare her.”  (Ann Handley: Everyone Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content [2014]).
• “For all the children left behind when fathers and mothers go off to war.” (Laurel Corona:  Penelope’s Daughter [2010]).
• “To my wife Maggie, who always believed. She just always believed” (Pete Savage, co-author of The Wealthy Freelancer [2010]).
• “To all the well-fed writers around the globe—past, present and future” (Peter Bowerman, The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency as a Commercial Freelancer in Six Months or Less [2009]).
• “To Dad, for driving an old tan Chevette while putting us through college.  To Mom, for making us breakfast every day for eighteen years. Each.” (Chip and Dan Heath: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Take Hold and Others Come Unstuck [2007]).

Do you have a book dedication or a story, riddle or joke on any aspect of communications? Please share it with me; I’d be delighted to use it in an upcoming issue. 

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SHOP NEWS:

 

Special thanks every month to Parish Nurse, Laura Van Loon, for so generously assisting me as I continue to provide elder care. As I’ve observed in past months, the cuts to senior care in Saskatchewan for more than 20 years have left the burden of care to living family members, who often lack the time, funds, space and health to bridge the gap.

Laura has witnessed much mishandling and mismanagement and still advocates for fair and better senior health care. The words “thank you” do not really suffice, but I offer them again here to her (she is also  a faithful reader of this newsletter)!

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And in other spaces and places . . . .

A hearty thanks this month (and maybe a Reuben sandwich?) to Brent Kreuger, IT specialist, VP of Global Infobrokers and founder of Praxis International Institute (the province’s first entrepreneurial high school, based in Craik, SK). Why?

Brent continues patiently to handle the tech side of meetings and classes for a local charity’s “Women’s Employment Readiness” program, for whom he also facilitates on diverse and numerous topics, including digital competency and software skills. He teaches on expansive terms how to think and live well, to our newcomers and to budding entrepreneurs.

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The same local charity recently contracted me to facilitate on business communications these same newcomer women, who are already fluent in English. (And thanks for the referral go to Monica Kreuger, CEO of the  Praxis School of Entrepreneurship).

Thank you also to Employment Specialist, Nuru Nyoni, and Women and Family support coordinator, Hannah Enti-Brown, for discussing the contract with me, last month.

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And as a part of this work, I’ve been delighted to start learning about the experience of African-Canadians in Saskatchewan by tuning into activities for “Black History Month.”

Discussing themes of “Black resistance, resilience and resolution” and leading to a discussion on black women entrepreneurs in Saskatchewan, our local African Canadian network (in SK) asserts many ways that our province’s history is black history. I look forward to discussing further some aspects of that history, as I meet course participants.

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Entrepreneur of the month: I have meant to add for months (if not years) how much I appreciate Massachusetts-based Michael Katz’s postings on LinkedIn, where he grapples with some of the most vexed aspects of freelance creative life.

For instance, how do entrepreneurs sustain prospecting, when they have been self-employed for over a decade (and suffer burn out)?

 

How do we adapt to AI, without losing our writing practice, or our minds (e.g. ChatGPT, air tag surveillance, etc.) !?

 

And how can we value fellow newsletter-ists and bloggers, despite their differences (or because of them)?

 

Michael’s humourous approach belies his shrewd and well-read mind. As “Chief Penguin” of Blue Penguin Development, he inspires his followers: a few sentences from him can warm even the coldest winter morning!  (And, btw, Michael tells me he once dated a woman from Saskatoon whom he met as an undergraduate student at McGill University in the 80s! Small world. . . .)

 

Thank you, Michael, for caring and not just doing!

 

There are always new businesses and ideas to promote and discuss. Please write me to share your stories . . . . . .But this is a wrap for mid-February.

 

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ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now help newcomers to Canada to secure better jobs by improving their language skills; I help small- and medium-sized businesses to close more sales by communicating more effectively; and I help major companies tell their legacy stories.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

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November 2022 Vol 4 Issue 11

 

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):

Specializing in Entrepreneurial and Linguistic Communication

Let me teach you to tell your story!

 

Welcome Mid-November 2022!

What a difference a day makes! November fourth was a beautifully crisp autumn day, followed by our first snowstorm of the season–on November fifth and sixth, which has stayed! Since transitions in seasons in Saskatchewan tend to be brief (or non-existent), I’ve been especially grateful for the frequent updates on weather conditions from Environment Canada! Unseasonable cold caused many of us to break out our long-johns and parkas in the first week of this month, as I started to prepare this issue of “Tell Your Story Newsletter.” Winter often feels like the cruellest season of the year in Saskatchewan, since it brings reduced daylight hours and at times brutal cold, wind and snowstorms. But it’s also a time when many professionals like you, good reader, dig deep and excel in your work, since the distractions of the outside world are minimized (unless you’re a winter enthusiast!). If you can (like a neighbour of mine) already foresee “winter blues/blahs” coming, then I encourage you to keep reading–or, rather, to widen the topics of the books you’re already reading. My writerly colleagues (and friends) Julie Barnes and Ashleigh Mattern are regularly posting the books they’re devouring on Goodreads (aka “Facebook for writers”). And what about music? Have you tuned into opera from “the Met” (Metropolitan Opera House) in New York, which is often broadcast at Cineplex theatres across the country? My ESL student in France has introduced me to the recordings of German tenor, Jonas Kaufmann, whose subtle voice would make anyone forget the breath of hoary-bearded, “Old Man Winter.” Whether through books, music or other activities, I find the perfect antidote to prairie winters is to have more FUN! FUN, you say? An absurd suggestion? In Article One, this month, I visit science journalist Christine Price’s recent TEDTalk on the topic of FUN. While most of nature sleeps during winter, how can we feel fully alive? Price suggests that “fun” is the best answer. Most of us enjoy some fun during winter, whether from hitting the ski trails or curling up by a crackling fire to read Alexander McCall-Smith or Louise Penney.  But how do we go about having more fun, on a regular basis? Article One shares some hints on that. And in “Storytellers’ Corner,” I visit a potentially troubling phrase that itself sounds fun-ny–“tuna fish“–in the words of our resident etymologist (and a man of humour), Bryan Garner. Perhaps we can view the snowy and cold portion of winter as being like the influence of a schoolyard bully? We can work around his (or her) blasts of nasty wind and frigid air, by immersing ourselves in our own creative activities and exercise . . . . I wish more FUN for you this winter, good reader, that even the coldest of winds and the heaviest snowfalls cannot dispel. Sincerely, Elizabeth Principal Storytelling Communications www.elizabethshih.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:

ARTICLE 1: “Do you know the secret to feeling alive?”  On FUN and how to get it 

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:  The case of “tuna fish” from American etymologist, Bryan Garner

SHOP NEWS

ABOUT US

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Article One: “Do you know the secret to feeling alive?” Christine Price’s TEDTalk on FUN and how to get it

In her recent TEDTalk, science journalist Catherine Price observed something that should make us all pause: “It’s harder than we think it should be to actually feel alive.”

Consider that statement: We’re so busy constantly scrolling (and often “doing” things) that we have forgotten how to live! We forget that life is more than days filled with frenetic activity.

Price says: “We keep ourselves busy to the point of exhaustion. But we’re also languishing. We feel a little bit dead inside.” She thinks we’re living something close to despair, staying busy because we know that we are not truly living, but we simply don’t know what else to do about it.

Her answer? “Have more FUN!”

But what does that mean?

Our confusion over what actually constitutes “fun” arises from the “sloppy” way that we use the term: we often use it to describe what we do in our leisure time (e.g. “We had a fun weekend with my in-laws at the family cabin”), when the activity is often not enjoyable and may even be “a waste of time.”

Price gives as an example our scrolling through social media, which we assume is “fun,” but which she says can “make us feel bad about . . . everything.”

Even our best English language dictionaries have trouble defining the term “fun”: According to them, fun is “amusement or enjoyment, or lighthearted pleasure,” and refers to what children experience “in the play area.”

Fun seems to be, Price observes, “frivolous and optional.”

 

When she was working on a project, collecting stories about having “fun” from people all over the globe, they would “tell you about some of the most joyful and treasured memories of their lives.” That means that FUN is not simply “lighthearted pleasure, it’s not just for kids and it’s definitely not frivolous.”

Price suggests on the contrary that fun is “the secret [to] feeling alive.”

Clearly the term deserves a new, “more precise” definition!

Fun is a feeling, she asserts, not an activity, although when asked to describe “fun,” most people still list “dancing” or “skiing,” or “pickleball.”

Some “serendipity” (or downright chance) is involved in the word, since activities or events we expect to be fun often disappoint us, while those we don’t expect to enjoy can become “ridiculously fun.” Sound familiar?

Price says that it’s easy to identify someone who is having fun, because they look as if “they’re being illuminated from within.” True fun “produces [a] visceral sense of lightness and joy.” People can radiate fun.

From her interviews with dozens of people from diverse cultures, Price says that “three factors are consistently present” when we experience fun, yielding a much more accurate definition than what the OED or Webster’s tells us.

These three terms are “playfulness,” “connection” and “flow.” Where these experiences overlap (see the venn diagram, courtesy of Price), is the space of “true fun.”

“Playfulness,” she says, is not playing games or make-believe but “having a lighthearted attitude, of doing things for the sake of doing them and not caring too much about the outcome. Letting go of perfectionism.” Playfulness means not being defensive and “not taking ourselves too seriously.”

“Connection” refers to “the feeling of having a special, shared experience.” It is possible to be alone when this happens (and so to feel connected to oneself and/or to an activity), but most often, another person is involved—“even for introverts.”

“Flow” is a state where we’re so intensively engaged and focused on what we’re doing that “we can even lose track of time.” (e.g. “in the zone” as a musician or athlete).

Price argues that “it’s possible to be in flow and not [to] have fun, like if you’re arguing. But you cannot have fun if you’re not in flow,” she says.

Each of these three factors is enjoyable on its own. “But when we experience all three at once, something magical happens: we have fun.” And that “doesn’t just feel good, it is good for us.”

(i) Price says that fun is so beneficial that it “is not just the result of human thriving, it’s its cause.” For instance, fun is “energizing,” so that when people talk about such moments, “they glow: It’s like a fire has been lit inside of them and the energy and the warmth they give off is contagious.”

Whereas “so much of life drains us . . . fun fills us up.”

(ii) Fun requires us to be “present,” or in-the-moment, but doesn’t require meditation, yoga, etc. Apart from being present, there’s no other way that fun can arise.

(iii) Fun also unites us in a “really polarized world.” When we have fun with others, “we don’t see them as having different ethnicities or religions from ours. We connect with them as human beings.” She adds that such a connection is the first step whereby we can begin to solve the world’s problems.

(iv) “Fun also makes us healthier.” Isolation and loneliness can cause hormonal changes in our brains and bodies that increase the risk of disease. But when we have fun, we become “relaxed and more socially connected,” both of which are health-giving. So, Price argues, “having fun is a health intervention.”

(v) Finally, fun is “joyful.” While we read books or listen to favourite music, the truth is that “when we are in a moment of having fun, we are happy.” Price says this: The “secret of long-term happiness may be simply to have more everyday moments of fun.”

In order to have “more fun,” she says, we should do all we can to increase our everyday moments of playfulness, connection and flow.

Here are some ways:

(i) Reduce distractions in order to increase flow. Distractions disrupt flow. The chief source of distraction in 2022 is our smartphones. (Act accordingly!)

(ii) Increase connection by interacting more with other human beings in real life. This is easier and less scary than we (huddled over our phones) tend to fear.

Interaction starts by making eye contact with someone. “Say ‘Hello,’” Price advises. If that goes well, introduce yourself. From there, ask an interesting question (e.g. “What’s one thing that delighted you today?”)

(iii) Increase playfulness “by finding opportunities to rebel.” This doesn’t mean becoming a total iconoclast, but to show “playful deviance,” to “break the rules of responsible adulthood” and “give yourself permission to get a kick out of your own life.”

(iv) Finally, Price recommends that having fun should be a “priority.” Try to reproduce the circumstances (including other people’s presence) that have created fun for you in the past. Make some time in your schedule to have fun. “Treat fun as if it’s important, because it is,” she enthuses.

Fun brings “more creativity, more productivity, more resilience,” Price says. Fun can make us, as she claims, a better spouse, parent and friend.

Fun, she concludes, for anyone still puzzled by it, is “a distillation of life’s energy. And the more often we experience it, the more we will feel that we are actually alive.”

And now it’s your turn: do you agree with Price’s definition of fun and why it matters? 

Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear from you!

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STORYTELLERS’ CORNER . . . .

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER: Words, storis, riddles and articles on speaking, listening, writing and editing . . .

The case of “tuna fish” with American Etymologist, Bryan Garner

In his recent blog on modern English usage, American Etymologist Bryan Garner observed that the term ” ‘tuna fish’ is redundant (see last month’s issue that differentiates between “redundancy” and “tautology’) because “tuna” is always a fish. The issue surrounding whether to write “tuna” or “tuna fish,” he says, arose around 1914.

Garner cites three more recent examples of this use, including this one in Sports Illustrated (“Letter from the Publisher, July 9, 1984):

“If he had his way, he would rid the world of ‘tuna fish.’ What else can a tuna be? asks Anderson.”

But the term “tuna fish . . . denotes a useful nuance,” Garner observes. ” ‘Tuna fish‘ is the type of processed, canned fish that is commonly served in sandwiches, whereas tuna typically refers to fresher types, such as those found in seafood restaurants and sushi bars.

How’s that for a fishy example for this month’s usage tip?

Do you have an, idea, problem or joke involving any aspect of language or communications? Please share it with me; I’d be delighted to use it in an upcoming issue. 

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SHOP NEWS:

Special thanks this month to the very gifted business coach and facilitator, Deanna Litz, of “Powerful Nature Coaching & Consulting Inc.” In previous years, Deanna has coached me through Praxis’  startSMART, staySMART and digiSMART programs, and through her excellent private coaching program, as I pivoted in 2021 toward teaching English as a second language (ESL/EFL).

Deanna and her husband, Saskatchewan Polytechnic facilitator, Rick Cumbers, own and operate “Lazy Hounds Farm,” located in Marysburg, SK (near Humboldt), where, for over 110 years, Deanna and generations of her family before have been stewarding the land.

Why is this relevant? Because in a recent delivery, Deanna shared with me some of their farm’s tantalizingly flavourful tomatoes, succulent peppers and zesty garlic!

In fact, Deanna and Rick grow free-range, naturally grown fruit, vegetables and herbs, raised by earth- and bee-friendly methods, for humans (and when the wildlife and the couple’s three lazy hounds don’t beat them to the harvest).

You may already have eaten Deanna and Rick’s beautiful fruit, vegetables and spices without even knowing it.

Their food has been enjoyed by folk from all walks of life, from Saskatchewan’s premier to those needing a helping hand. Deanna and Rick supply produce for some of Saskatoon’s finest restaurants, caterers, regular folk, foodies and local food banks. Their produce will spoil you for mass-produced, grocery store crops!

To learn more about “Lazy Hounds Farm,” purchase some of this year’s bountiful pumpkin and garlic crops (still available), or to tap into 2023’s harvest, please email Deanna at this address:

deannalitz@sasktel.net

Delivery to/within Saskatoon regularly and readily occurs.

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Special thanks also go out this month to Lisa Focardi, Community Development Worker at Saskatoon’s Open Door Society (ODS). An Italian-Canadian immigrant, Lisa capably organizes (amongst many programs) the volunteer-led conversation circles, throughout the calendar year.

At Lisa’ s invitation, I offered an introductory presentation on “brain health” last week, pitched at a beginner level of English, and found newcomers from Europe and Asia all very interested in the topic.

Lisa’s organizational efforts and generosity with others makes sharing conversation skills with newcomers a great pleasure. Thank you, Lisa!

Are you a native speaker or are you otherwise fluent in English? Do you have 60-90 minutes (each week) to share your skills with others? Please drop me a line and I will connect you with Lisa, who is always glad to have more volunteers on board.

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There are always new businesses, non-profits and entrepreneurial programs to promote.   

Please write me to share your success stories!

I’m excited for what’s ahead in our entrepreneurial community.

But for now, this is a wrap for mid-November!

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ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now help newcomers to Canada land better jobs and economic immigrants to secure contracts by improving their English skills; I help SMEs close more sales by communicating more effectively; and I help major companies tell their legacy stories.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

Published by www.storytellingcommunications.ca–Storytelling Communications – Copyright © 2022.

 

October 2022 Vol 4 Issue 10

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):

Specializing in Entrepreneurial and Organizational Storytelling

Let me teach you to tell your story!

Welcome Mid-October, 2022!

The shortening of our daylight hours has become perceptible this month. And with the return of at least some professionals to commutes and the pressures of sharing public office space, not to mention the next set of deadlines and in-person training, we may not be surprised to find that regularly getting a good night’s sleep can be a challenge!

So in Article One, this month, some tips for treating insomnia from Australian psychologist, Chris James.

In Storytellers’ Corner, I visit the difference that exists between the words “tautology” and “redundancy,” with help from world-class etymologist, Bryan Garner.

Although our golden and crimson leaves have now mostly fallen, autumn is still beautiful in Saskatchewan. This coming week will bring temperatures as warm as 20 degrees Celsius, to remind us that the season is more than simply a precursor to another Canadian winter!

But as winter does return, crisp, cold days will prevail, encouraging us to pack away those shorts and sandals for warm sweaters and boots; and to replace our iced “bevvies” with hearty soups and hot ciders.

Although these late Covid days bring many challenges to us all, good readers, my hope is that we will continue to feel gratitude for the blessings that we sometimes overlook, but which still grace our lives.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Shih

Principal

Storytelling Communications

www.elizabethshih.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:

ARTICLE 1: Sleepless in Saskatoon? Tips to treat insomnia

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER: The case of “tautology” and “redundancy” with  etymologist, Bryan Garner

SHOP NEWS

ABOUT US

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Article One: Sleepless in Saskatoon? Tips to treat insomnia (as we brace for another winter) . . .

I’ll get to the point: How are you sleeping, these days?

Have you been struggling with a lack of good sleep, while fighting one of the many viruses (besides Covid-19) that have infected our province in recent weeks?

In last June’s issue of the ezine “Psyche,” an article titled “How to sleep well again,” by Australian psychologist Chris James, updated us on effective methods to relieve insomnia—and with methods beyond the usual “pills and potions.”

We don’t need James to remind us that “insomnia” for entrepreneurs and other professionals can be a “debilitating, distressing [and] deeply frustrating condition that affects all aspects of sufferers’ lives.” We all know that we need sleep to recharge our bodies and minds, to allow our bodies to heal and to process the day’s events. If we get seven to nine hours nightly with little (if any) disruption, we should consider ourselves blessed! Good quality, deep sleep can be elusive.

Sleep-deprivation causes us to drag ourselves through meetings, to manage time intended for thinking and writing amidst a groggy, tired, irritable fog. It can, as James says, “feel like torture.”

To diagnose the term, he says, we must have “persistent difficulty with getting to sleep and/or staying asleep, at least three nights per week.”

But who among us hasn’t ever plodded through the “vicious cycle” that can cruelly develop between the desperation to sleep and the frustration of being unable to do so (tossing and turning), that actually “makes it even harder to get to sleep?”

I remember being told to try Zopiclone a few years ago (pre-Covid), by a medical professional who used it herself to catch sleep when she had sick children at home and a demanding, daytime career. Zopiclone is habit-forming, however, and I never felt comfortable relying on it, which undermined its usefulness to me in the first place.

Medical science tells us that about one-third of the population experiences one or more symptoms of insomnia, of which 10 percent have chronic insomnia. James notes that the condition is one of the most prevalent to beset us in current times.

It may consist not only of failing to get the usual seven to nine hours that modern medicine says we need; insomnia can also involve having “highly fragmented” sleep, and struggles to get and/or stay asleep, throughout the night.

Insomnia, James says, is distinct from sleep problems that arise from factors like work-shift patterns, perhaps the late-night parties (that some attend, post SABEX awards!) or noisy neighbours. And the term also excludes those with other conditions like circadian rhythm disorders or sleep apnea.

We don’t have to have long-term insomnia to know how it detracts from work performance, relationships and the motivation to exercise regularly and eat healthily. Sufferers report that they stop doing extracurricular activities and lack the energy to maintain their health.

Feelings of powerlessness and deep depression can ensue. But few insomniacs seek support for their sleeplessness and the field is partly populated with unregulated practitioners. It doesn’t help that most medical students in North American and Australia receive only two-and-a-half to three hours of sleep education in the whole of their degrees!

Therefore, doctors often overlook or minimize symptoms. Patients’ desperation may lead them to try supplements and remedies (“pills and potions”) that offer to quickly fix the problem, without substantiating how.

But James claims that the last 10 years have brought “highly effective treatments . . . supported by solid scientific evidence.” Doctors and psychologists who specialize in sleep disorders say that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is now considered the “gold standard” treatment for insomnia, because it focuses on sleeplessness as the result of self-perpetuating, negative behaviours and thoughts.

If you have experienced more insomnia lately than earlier in the Covid pandemic, this bears out medicine’s claim that insomnia results from changes in routines and periods of elevated stress, due to illnesses, having babies, changing jobs, losing a loved one or other relationships troubles.

Sufferers often try to treat their problem by taking “more caffeine, going to bed earlier, drinking alcohol, taking sleep supplements, sleeping on the sofa” and so on, which tend only to fuel the problem and persist, even if stressful events or bereavements have long passed.

James says that learning about how sleep works, making changes to habits, learning ways to relax properly and debunking damaging myths can all be helpful. This treatment, he says, is more “training than . . . therapy,” because it requires self-discipline and emotional (and physical) exercise. But he says the treatment does work.

As a sufferer of occasional sleeplessness, but not full-blown insomnia, I’m aware that negative thought patterns can coincide with sleeplessness, as though the “world is too much with us” to leave us a few hours to find some peace.

While James says he’s found success as a psychologist offering CBT methods, as outlined in such classic books as Mind Over Mood, I’d personally recommend some strategies that may be less laborious: listening to hypnotherapy recordings (https://hypnoheather.com/may refer you to some) and to CDs of relaxation music (e.g. “Letting Go of Stress” and “Sleep Soundly” by Emmet Miller and Steven Halpern) have been composed to include sleep-inducing rhythms and sounds.

I also urge you to read about and consider taking Dr. Jud Brewer’s program “Unwinding Anxiety,” which assists sufferers in resolving anxiety and depression. (And no, I do not receive any affiliate or other compensation for recommending these providers.)

And now it’s your turn: Do you suffer sleeplessness, or worse, insomnia? What strategies are you using to free yourself from the agony? Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear from you.

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STORYTELLERS’ CORNER . . . .

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:  The case of “tautology” and “redundancy” with etymologist, Bryan Garner

Anyone who has read or studied the Arts or Fine Arts will be familiar with this month’s words: “tautology” and “redundancy.” I can remember first using the word “tautology” when translating medieval poetry in my Middle English course in the early 90s. (Remember translating “The Parliament of Fowls,” anyone?)

American etymologist Bryan Garner recently clarified the difference between these two words.

“Tautology,” he writes, is a term “found mostly in discussions of logic and rhetoric,” and specifically “to a restatement of something already said within the immediate context—in words that are different but do not add anything new.” Tautologies  often underpin circular reasoning, so that the words may sound convincing, but on closer analysis, merely circle back upon themselves.

To demonstrate the term “tautology,” Garner quotes Daniel Mitchell in a 2022 article on the “European Cult of Multinationalism” (“Washington Times,” 7 Nov. 2022, A25):

“Some people in Europe seem to think international bureaucracies and global treaties automatically generate good policy. Indeed, they define good policy as anything that is produced by this process—a rather convenient tautology.”

Garner distinguishes “tautology” from the more general term, “redundancy”: the latter refers to a word or phrase that adds nothing to the overall meaning because its sense has already been expressed (for e.g. “advance planning,” or “first introduction,” etc.).

Redundancies are common in wordy and imprecise writing that can (of course) be found all over online and off-line sources. Prior to retiring, the former Managing Editor of The Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Wilf Popoff, gave workshops to local writers and editors that cited many such laughable redundancies, as  “new baby,” as well as “fatally killed” and “permanently deceased.”

Redundancies can tickle your funny bone, as well as alert your mind. Some of my favourites are “absolutely essential,” “first conceived,” “basic fundamentals,” “harmful injury,” “joint collaboration,” “major breakthrough,” and “very unique.”

Put simply: brevity and precision carry power. And language matters!

And now it’s your turn. Have you wondered about what a “tautology” is, or how it is different from mere redundancy? Please send in your examples for me to use in a future issue!

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SHOP NEWS:

Thanks and kudos this month to the staff at The Franklin (Revera’s senior assisted living building) in Saskatoon, who cultivate empathy and caring for our seniors without sacrificing professionalism.

I’m particularly grateful to Executive Director, Vin Rana; transportation director, Steve, and duty and building managers, Dea, Mason and Charmaine for taking very good care of seniors who need their care and dedication.

If you have a senior in your family who would benefit from assistive living support, please contact Daniel at The Franklin for a tour, at (306) 664-6366.

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Congratulations to Monica Kreuger, Chief Visionary Officer of Global Infobrokers (Home of the Praxis Group of Schools), and her team, including Vice-President Brent Kreuger, Facilitator Deanna Litz and Program Administrator, Elaine Mantyka, for reaching “finalist” standing for “Business of the Year” at Saskatoon’s 2022 SABEX Awards, last Thursday evening, October 13th!

Also included in this thanks are PSE staff, Marie Weinkauf (bookkeeper) and Silvana Cracogna (Coordinator and facilitator of Language Programs).

Of the 400+ attendees of the awards, no business other than Global Infobrokers had provided entrepreneurial training and preparation to more than 1200 Saskatchewanians, including alumni who were present to promote their separate businesses, and even to win awards in other categories.

And no other business hosted a larger number of its team (me included) for the event—more than three lengthy rows of Praxis delegates, who attended to support them.

For more than 30 years, Monica and Brent Kreuger and their team have introduced to and deepened the practice of entrepreneurship in the province of Saskatchewan, shaping and making many, many careers in the process.

Those entrepreneurs remain affiliated with them and become part of a large network, which reflects Praxis’ commitment to excellence.

From among the list of finalists and the winner (Magnus Construction Services), I can think of no company more worthy of the “Business of the Year” than Praxis/Global–and yes, I am partial, as an alumna who also facilitates for them, every quarter. (But no, I am not paid for affiliate marketing!)

Global Infobrokers wins as the Business of Every Year, for those fortunate enough to train through it or work with its team.

So deepest THANKS, Monica, Brent and Team, for all you’ve achieved and continue to do!

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While the above companies are not new businesses, they continue achieve excellence across all fields, including community service, which earns them recognition, here.

There are always new businesses and entrepreneurial programs to promote.

Please write me to share your success stories.

But for now, this is a wrap for mid-October!

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Finally, my spirits as a teacher and writer are regularly buoyed by local friends Laura Van Loon (Parish Nurse), Monica Kreuger (Chief Visionary Officer of the Praxis School of Entrepreneurship), (Lesley-Anne McLeod (Regency novelist), Steve Cavan (Classicist and ESL teacher), Rev. Roberto DeSandoli (Minister of Word and Sacrament), Julie Barnes (professional writer and philanthropist), Erin Watson (librarian, University of Saskatchewan), and Dani Van Driel (painter and director, Action Battery).

When waters get choppy around issues like cutbacks to publicly funded health and senior care in the province, these friends have expressed their support in fortifying. ways and words.  Merci beaucoup, mes amies!

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ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now help newcomers to Canada land better jobs and economic immigrants to secure better contracts by improving their English skills; I help SMEs close more sales by communicating more effectively; and I help major companies tell their legacy stories.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca)

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