by Lorraine Segal | Sep 14, 2026
Choosing Optimism Choosing optimism helps you navigate conflict. How you view conflict and how skillfully you navigate it is deeply impacted by your attitude. When you are mired in fear or resentment, or telling yourself a negative story of what the future holds, it...
by Lorraine Segal | Aug 17, 2026
Soft Front, Strong Back What does it mean to have a “soft front” and a “strong back” in conversations with difficult people? I heard this phrase in an article from The Greater Good Center by Simon Greer. His focus was on how to have community conversations with people...
by Lorraine Segal | Dec 15, 2025
Choosing the Light of Hope Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Diwali, Solstice—what do these holidays from different religious and cultural traditions have in common? They all take place in the darkest part of the year, and they all bring light in their rituals. The return...
by Lorraine Segal | Aug 18, 2025
Disagree, with Respect Disagreeing about something doesn’t mean you or the other person or the disagreement itself are bad. On the contrary, disagreement and conflict are fundamental aspects of human behavior that inevitably manifest in our personal and professional...
by Lorraine Segal | Jun 17, 2024
Us versus Them “We have met the enemy and they are us.”—paraphrased from Walt Kelly in the Pogo comic strip. How inclusive is your “us”? And how can you expand it? I write a lot about the power of the stories we tell about ourselves and others to exacerbate or heal...
by Lorraine Segal | Feb 20, 2023
Love yourself and don’t be a jerk is good advice for any conflict. Why? While I want my clients to see their contribution, to own their part in any problematic situation, self-blame doesn’t help you do this in any effective way. It actually makes you more likely to be...
