It takes 6 to 12 weeks of intentional effort to change the way you think and do things – a surprisingly quick time to refresh your attitude.

For anxiety, results can be seen in 4 to 8 weeks and meaningful improvement in 3-6 months.

This is a process not a quick fix.

One way is to schedule worry time – a short, specific day and time each week when fears and worry are dealt with – every other day, every hour other than that time is free and clear of the anxiety producing issues.

We often worry about worry – anxiety that we think about and then worry about and then enhance with another problem all without feeling better.

Writing it down, making a note on your phone and stashing it away until your scheduled worry day and time can relieve the pressure.

Schedule your worry, don’t let it schedule you.

Pass it along.

Ed Sheeran often talks about rejection early in his career and the need for resilience.

He reminds artists that talent matters, but perseverance and self-belief are what carry you through the long, uncertain climb.

He quoted a Japanese proverb that says  “Persistence is key. Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”

Pass it along.

Everyone wants to be happy or even happier as if a book, a podcast, a psychologist can make it happen.  As of 2025, over 100,000 books have been written on the topic of happiness, according to database estimates from Amazon, WorldCat, and Google Books.

And there are thousands of courses on happiness in one form or the other.

A comedian can make us happy or at least laugh like we are happy but in spite of the popularity of pursing happiness, it’s like chasing a butterfly.

There is another approach that we use in the music business department at NYU where young people devote their lives to making other people happy (at least temporarily) by listening to music.

Concentrate on becoming more resilient – getting up again when you’ve been knocked down.

And cultivating a love for giving gratitude that helps others and empowers us.

“Even in the tough times, you have to find a reason to keep going. That’s where joy starts.” — Alicia Keys

Feel free to share.

One of the few humble multi-billionaires announced his retirement.  94-year old Warren Buffett is retiring at the end of the year.

Buffett is the Oracle of Omaha for lots of reasons.  He says successful people have one two-letter word in common.

No.

No is like yes for people who take on too much, have weak boundaries and who get lost in other people’s work.

Buffett goes further.  He says no to almost everything. 

If you liked this pass it on to others.

“I don’t look at my phone anymore. I spent all my time seeing everybody else’s life, and I forgot that my own was right in front of me.” — Billie Eilish said this after winning multiple Grammy’s.

Billie Eilish didn’t quit her phone — she quit using social media apps to live through everyone else’s life.

She realized endless doom-scrolling was stealing her focus, her energy, her presence — so she chose something better: living her own moments fully.

The goal isn’t to ditch your phone.

It’s to make your real life too good, too vivid, and too real to want to trade for anyone else’s.

Feel free to share.

Learned this weekend that the mother of Pittsburgh Steelers first-round NFL draft pick Derrick Harmon died Thursday night shortly after her son was selected by the team.

Tiffany Saine was on life support in the hospital after suffering a stroke in 2022.

Derrick used some of his NIL money (financial compensation athletes receive in college) to buy his mom a wheelchair accessible van and he said she took him to many practices then went on to work.

The story is touching but the motivating part is what Derrick learned from his mom:

“If I’m tired, I’m injured, whatever it is, why can’t I keep going if she can get up and she keep going after brain surgery.”

“Why can’t I keep going if she can get up and she keep going after brain surgery”.

Life is tough, some people are tougher and all of us can always find good in bad.

Please share if you’d like.

I’ll admit, I am a college music business professor and I’ve had a love affair with music all my life – we know the curative effects of music – now I have discovered this which I am going to share with my students this week before the semester wraps up (and you now).

Singing for 14 minutes a day could have the same positive effect on the heart rate variability (HRV) as light exercise according to a Medical College of Wisconsin study.

HRV, the variation in the time between heartbeats – is one of the key features of cardio health. A high HRV says our bodies are more resilient and adaptable to stress. 

Singing with friends may be even better and group singing promotes emotional health because of social connection. 

My friends Tom and Sharan Taylor love singing in groups.

Music may be the new penicillin.

Feel free to pass this one along.

Removing obstacles to confidence, oddly enough, starts with eliminating anger.  That’s not a common view but a powerful one.

“Forgiveness is a choice that you make to give up anger and resentment, even while acknowledging that misconduct happened.

Forgiveness is choosing a higher path. Forgiveness is for you, not for the forgiven.

Forgiveness is your gift to others, even those who are undeserving of your kindness” according to Dr. Amit Sood.

Confidence grows when you release anger through forgiveness, choosing peace and personal strength over resentment.

Feel free to share.

I’m teaching a class on performance anxiety and imposter syndrome this week and in preparation discovered that 80% of us – not just performers and entertainers – experience it in our lives.

Barbra Streisand famously said “The only way I could perform was to believe I had something important to say.  If I thought about the audience judging me, I’d freeze.  But if I focused on the message in the music — I could sing.”

Lizzo:  “I used to get nervous before every show, thinking I had to prove myself.  Now I remind myself: I’m not here to be perfect — I’m here to be present.”

World renown violinist Hilary Hahn said “Performance anxiety never fully goes away — but I’ve learned to welcome it. It means I care.  I don’t try to fight it anymore; I work with it, like a partner.”

I’ll save you the tuition of taking the course to hearing the answer to performance anxiety that is so rampant in our world today – and it’s so simple but true.

Keep going.

Feel free to share.

Getting down on yourself is a dangerous flirtation.

Bad feelings can emerge.  Loss of self-worth can start pretty quickly.  And depression can take you off course.

My NYU Stress Class students struggle with rejection, criticism and negative thoughts which is a form of self-sabotage that can be stopped in its tracks.  How?

Do good, not just focus on it.  Actually, make a difference in some outcome.  It doesn’t have to be life changing just small or even insignificant compared to earth shattering.

The size of good doesn’t matter because the feeling you get is the same – that you are capable of positivity.  It’s lots of little rehearsals for the big thing that may – no, will come along.

Do good, feel good – banish negative thoughts that are useless.

Feel free to share.