Laura Putnam, Author

10 years ago, I came across an article that suggested the idea of ringing in the New Year by setting couple goals (alongside individual ones). and I, along with my sister and brother-in-law, have been practicing this ever since. I literally run it like a mini-workshop, encouraging others to join in, as we hop from one location to the next. Here’s the typical lineup of questions, along with designated locations (all in Bend, OR):

-Drake: What’s a PERSONAL accomplishment in 2023?
-The Stihl Whiskey Bar: What’s a COUPLE accomplishment in 2023?
-Bar Rio: What’s a COUPLE area for improvement?
-900 Wall: What’s a PERSONAL New Year’s Resolution?
-San Simon: What’s a COUPLE New Year’s Resolution?

What successful methods have you found for goal/resolution setting? Share below.

My words for 2023 were Hope, Confidence and Focus. (And I even created a storyboard to go with them.)

The inspiration behind my 2023 words “hope” and “confidence” came from and ’s book, “Option B”. Shortly after losing her husband, Sheryl’s daughter had a father-daughter dance at school, and when her friend volunteered to attend in his absence, Sheryl cried, “I want Dave.” Her friend went on to say, “Option A is not available. So let’s just kick the sh*t out of option B.” This story has inspired me in my personal life, that when option A is no longer available, to lean into option B and make the best of it.

The third word of 2023, was “focus”. To really hone in on my purpose and what really matters most with my work.

For 2024, my words are Build, Release and Beauty.

What are your words for 2024?

Happy New Year, everyone! As we return to work this week and our schedules shift into high gear, it’s important that we also pay attention to our “inner lives,” a.k.a. our well-being and mental health. I came across a helpful article in featuring 10 ways we can - from using proven methods to sleep better, to tidying up to stopping the worry cycle to being more optimistic about aging. (link to article in my stories)

The suggestion that I am most drawn to - and one that I definitely plan to do more of in 2024 - is to “look for a little bit of awe every day.” As luck would have it - I got a jumpstart on it on the eve before eve (December 30th). An afternoon walk with Chris and Honey turned into a moment of awe. (See photo.) It felt to me like an auspicious way to close the year and ring in a new one.

How do you plan to support your inner life in 2024? Please share below. (And photos are welcome!) #2024

Happy Birthday to Chris, aka, “Sunshine,” partner and love of my life!

Wishing you all a Happy Eve before Eve.

And, finally, a word from Honey on what compassion really means: Be nice (or something like that!).

As 2024 approaches, I encourage each of you to find reasons to celebrate. The past years have been challenging, but they’ve also shown us the importance of cherishing the moments we have and creating joy where we can.

As I reflect on the holidays, I’m reminded of family traditions - and in my childhood, we had lots of them. For starters, every year, we’d travel north to my grandparent’s house in Concord, Massachusetts, the most quintessential Christmas town ever.

Some of our annual Christmas rituals included:

-Ice skating on the frozen-over Middlesex pond and playing ice hockey. (Grandpa, former captain of his ice hockey team at Harvard, was always a standout.)
-And when there was snow — sledding, riding the flying saucer, or wrangling for the one set of flimsy skis — good enough only for backyard skiing.
-Chopping down a spruce tree in the backyard, decorating it with ornaments from Salzburg, lighting actual candles on the tree, and then rounding it out with one run-through of “O Tannenbaum” (in German), before promptly blowing out the candles.
-Warm greeting from Grandma: “Lora Dora, how is thee? I bought thee lots of bananas.” (I loved bananas, and yes, that’s a “thee” – my dad’s side of the family is Quaker.)
-Grandpa announcing our arrival by ringing a big cowbell and at the end, marking our departure with, “Did I ever tell you —Partir c’est mourir un peu?” (Departing is dying, a little.) We’d roll our eyes, smile and say: “Yes, Grandpa, you have!”
-Last-minute practicing of the requisite skit or song on the car ride over to the annual Christmas Eve family reunion — a tradition dating back to the 1800s.
-Gathering around the fire to listen to Grandma read a passage and then a poem written by our ancestor, followed by a group recitation of “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
-Lastly, walking together as a family, down Pope Road and into the woods.

I’d love to hear about your holiday traditions and how you’re planning to celebrate this season. Let’s share, connect, and inspire each other with stories of compassion, empathy, and joy!

“With self-compassion, we give ourselves the same kindness and care we’d give to a good friend.” - Dr. Kristin Neff

In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to be hard on ourselves. I’m as guilty as anyone. But the art of self-compassion is a transformative practice that can change the way we relate to ourselves, benefiting ourselves and those around us.

As Dr. Neff spells out, it’s about 3 core elements:

-Being kind to and understanding of ourselves when confronted with personal shortcomings,
-Acknowledging that imperfection is a shared human experience, and
-Noticing what we’re feeling without over identifying with it .

As the holidays approach, remember to take a step back to be kind to yourself, giving yourself small moments of self-care.

Dr. Neff from SelfCompassion.Org has several helpful resources for tips on how to practice your own self-compassion. If you have any helpful tips you’ve learned on self-compassion, share below.

I’ll never forget the time when I was living in Ghana (see picture below), where I spent seven months working as a volunteer teacher and community organizer a few years out of college. I lived in a small rural village that had no electricity, no phones and no cars.

One night, I had two visiting friends, bunked up in my room, and we told stories and laughed (loudly) late into the night. As you might imagine, everything slows down and is QUIET after sundown – meaning that our late-night conversation carried across the compound where I lived and across the village.
 
The next morning, Jo Jo (who was head of the compound) pulled me aside. “I heard you laughing late last night,” he shared. I answered, “Oh, Jo Jo, I am so sorry to be so loud. I hope that I didn’t keep you and your family awake.” He immediately smiled and said, “No no, I was HAPPY to hear that you were happy.”

To me, this story embodies COMPASSION – which, is my theme this week.
 
Compassion is an important part of leadership and our overall well-being. Having compassion means paying really tuning into feelings and intuition for the people in our communities and on our teams. It’s about giving people the benefit of the doubt, acknowledging feelings, and most importantly, recognizing people for who they are rather than what they do.
 
My alma mater, , launched a Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at its School of Medicine in 2008 with the explicit goal of promoting, supporting, and conducting studies of compassion and altruistic behavior. They have several recent studies around compassion, including whether meditation increases compassion, the act of giving, and several others that I encourage you to read. 

According to their research, the crucial role of compassion in fostering social connections, which can shield us from stress. Additionally, studies indicate that when we are focused on ourselves, we tend to experience less happiness. 
 
If we can actively channel someone like Jo Jo, cultivating compassion in our own lives and workplaces, we can create a more empathetic and connected world.

So happy to see how our city of San Francisco is revitalizing its downtown with last night’s .

Have you noticed how many more drive-thrus there are now? How about the last time you went to Starbucks and the drive-thru was the ONLY option? Or, think about what happened during COVID (and hasn’t changed much since). According to a recent CNN article, there are more than 200,000 estimated drive-thrus in America. We Americans doubled down on our drive-thrus - from getting tested for COVID in parking lots to picking up prescriptions to celebrating birthdays to sipping our morning lattes. In fact, Americans visit drive-thru lanes approximately 6 billion times in a year. It turns out that there’s a long history behind our Drive-Thru Mania.

I’m beyond excited to kick off the New Year with my Live guest, Adam Chandler, author of “Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom.” Adam is a former staff writer at The Atlantic, and his work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, WIRED, Vox, New York Magazine, TIME, and many others.

Adam’s book picks up where “Fast Food Nation” leaves off, digging into all of the juicy stories of quirky fast food founders (“the early prototypes of the American Dream”), vis-a-vis the spinning of the cultural web of big cars, big highways, big corporations and big hamburgers. Are we better off because of it? There are some surprising gains, as well as some self-evident losses.

Learn more and bring your questions for Adam. We look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday, January 24th at 10am PT!

To wrap up a week of sharing what I’m grateful for, here’s my last one: FAMILY.

I, like millions of Americans, joined with my family on Thanksgiving for a day of good food, meaningful connection and a sharing of what we’re grateful for. In fact, prompted by my mom, we took turns filling out a “gratitude wheel” and passed it around the table.

Here’s what we wrote:
I’m thankful for…

-This dinner and all the people here
-Mother Earth
-Roger, Lula & Q
-Elicia’s support for everything I do
-The fact that dogs – and people – can learn new tricks!
-My family and all the times we laugh

What are you thankful for?
# wellbeing

15 years ago, I embarked on an entrepreneurial adventure. I decided to combine my passion for movement (as a nationally competitive gymnast and professional dancer) along with my passion for teaching (I taught history in urban public high schools) and my interest in health and wellness, to launch a workplace well-being company. My goal was to get every organization and team “in motion” - and on the path to better well-being. I’ve now worked with hundreds of organizations around the world. I’ve trained over 40,000 managers and leaders. And, my book - which calls for starting a movement instead of yet another wellness program - has been used as a model for workplace well-being by companies like and .

Thank you for your support, engaging conversations, and the energy you bring to our monthly LinkedIn Lives have been nothing short of inspiring. A big thank you also to 23,000+ people who have taken my LinkedIn Learning course “Managers as Multipliers of Well-Being.”

I am grateful for each one of you – for making a difference and for being an integral part of this collective journey. Let’s continue to drive change, foster connection and impact lives, together.

Gratitude #2: I am grateful for Nature - which I got lots of last week. The Oregon Coast is known for its rugged beauty, and Neskowin, Oregon (population 170) is a gem.

Being in nature has been shown to generate awe-inspiring experiences. Research has highlighted the profound impact of “green” and “blue” spaces on our well-being, stirring awe that shifts our focus outward. In expansive landscapes, we're drawn away from our own preoccupations, enabling us to be more generous, ethical and connected with others.

Think about the last time you watched a sunset, particularly with others – and how this gave you the sense of being together in a moment of peaceful and unified calm.

Share a photo of an inspiring moment in nature below.

Giving thanks shouldn't just be for Thanksgiving. This week, I'm on a mission to keep the spirit of gratitude going. Today something I am grateful for: I’m still able to channel my inner gymnast and do a handstand - and Honey's my witness! It’s a great day for a handstand. What about you? Share something you're grateful for below.

Here’s a message to every manager: You really can positively impact the well-being of your team. In fact, you’re uniquely poised within the workplace to do so.

After a recent keynote for a CGI leadership team, Jon Brax, one of the participating managers pulled me aside. “I’m a Managers on the Move success story,” he shared. “After my team leader, Alisa Bearfield, attended your workshop, she began talking with the team about well-being. She inspired me to invest in my health and well-being, and since then, I've lost 50 pounds.”

This story illustrates the power that every manager holds in bringing well-being to their team. In this case, not only did Alisa positively impact her team, she catalyzed a movement of well-being at home. Together, she and her family shed 100 pounds.

Thank you, Alisa and Jon (pictured below), for sharing your story. I’d love to hear other stories of managers sparking movements of well-being.

If you're curious about how to catalyze a manager-driven movement of well-being in your organization, learn more about our 'Managers on The Move' program.

I recently delivered a keynote at a leadership event, where I talked about the value of having a best friend at work. I shared my personal story about how is my Best Friend at Work, and then followed it up with: Do you have a Best Friend at Work? If you do, you’re 7 times more likely to be highly engaged in your work (Gallup). Furthermore, if your team members have a Best Friend at Work, they’re 7 times more likely to be highly engaged in their work. Meaning, that if you want to build a high-performing team, then you need to be in the business of fostering best friendships within your team.

After the event, Mike and Andy (pictured below), reached out to me - and said, “Hey, this is my Best Friend at Work!” They laughed and then elaborated on how much time they spend together and how their friendship and collaboration have fueled motivation and productivity over the years. They are living testament to the longstanding data. Tag your best friend at work below.

The best part of what I do are the friendships I make along the way.

On Thursday and Friday of last week, I got to spend a joyful and inspiring two days with the amazing Health & Well-Being team members Kim Allen, Director, and Kasey Guyer, Manager, at U.S. CGI. After a year-long “tour” of our Managers on the Move program, delivered at multiple sites, CGI is getting ready to launch the licensed version of the program to be facilitated by Kim and Kasey!

On , let's talk about the stress of work travel, and really, any travel—a familiar scenario for many. Today, I’m headed to Columbus, Ohio for another work trip. (Lately, I have been averaging about one per week!) It goes without saying that travel can be stressful, especially when it goes awry. Here are my self-care tips that help me to keep my stress levels in check:

☑️ My Traveler’s Kit: Cozy down jacket, fuzzy slippers and leg warmers are always packed as first defense against freezing cold airplanes, and of course, water and healthy snacks to stay hydrated and fueled.

☑️ Stay Active: Whenever I check into a hotel, I always ask for a running map. It’s a fantastic way to stay active on the road and get a sense of the local community and the lay of the land.

☑️ Self-Indulgence: After a day (or two) of speaking, I like to treat myself to a massage. It’s not just a luxury; it’s essential self-care to recharge my batteries (and my body).

☑️ Smart Flight Booking: I always try to build in enough lead time before and after. So, no late evening flights that get me in late the night before (and I never do a red eye, unless it’s international). And, often I add on an extra day so that I’m not coming back late at night on the other side. Sleep is a must - allowing for space to adjust to local time.

☑️ Always Have a Book: A good novel is my constant travel companion. It’s a perfect way to unwind and find joy. Right now I’m reading “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.”

Start with Why - Style: And, finally, I remind myself of the why behind my travel. The truth is that every time I step into SFO for an outbound flight to another work destination, I feel a surge of energy. My sense of purpose as a Global Citizen who is doing her part to make a difference is renewed and sharpened.

For all of my fellow work travelers, what are your top stress mitigation tips?

On the night of June 11, 2003, during "a very dark night of the soul", JD Schramm faced a moment that few could fathom. Standing atop the Manhattan Bridge with the city's lights as his backdrop, he made a heart-wrenching leap into the East River.

But fate had a different plan for JD. He emerged from the river's depths with a shattered right arm, broken ribs, and a punctured lung. As he was carried away by the water, a cry for help pierced the night, catching the attention of Staten Island ferry passengers. Their swift action, coupled with the Coast Guard's timely response, became the pivotal moments that saved JD from the river's icy embrace that evening.

Enter Sgt. Kevin Briggs, the renowned "Golden Gate Bridge Angel". He has talked over 200 people off the ledge of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, a location marked by more than 1,800 fatalities since its construction in 1937.

On October 10th at 10 AM PT, in observance of World Mental Health Day, I am honored to have my two good friends, JD and Kevin, join me for a raw conversation around the topic of mental health and human resilience. We hope to see you then! Link in bio.

Indiana - A State that Works - is a great place to keynote about Workplace Wellness that Works!

2023 Indiana Wellness Summit, hosted by of commerce and Indiana Wellness Council, was packed with roster of homerun speakers, including the one and only . Special thoughts and love to Jessica Grossmeier, slated keynote. Your message was still present!

Love that attendees were open to getting real about well-being at work. In my keynote, we explored ways that employers can boost impact by starting a movement (instead of a program), infusing well-being into the organization and into every team. Steps include "imagining what’s possible," shifting traditional fear-based, deficit-oriented programs to ones that help employees to “start with what’s right,” and empowering managers to become “Multipliers of Well-Being."

Thank you to the team of organizers, including (among others) Jennifer Pferrer, Jennifer George, Kerri Begley. Great to connect with the team - Lisa Arvesen, Josh Moser and Jonathan Taylor. Susan Kinzler and - you were both missed! Inspiring to see that the legacy continues forward.

It’s the quiet tributes that remind us of what happened 23 years ago today.

I thought about 9/11 a lot when I was back was these past couple days of weeks, which included time at Boston Logan. First, on a morning run (after staying the night at Logan Hilton), I stumbled upon the 9/11 memorial. I read all of the names listed, including the name of a Stanford classmate. Then, a couple of weeks later, when we were waiting for our flight in the United Lounge, pointed out the jet bridge of Gate B27. “See that American flag,” he asked. “That’s a tribute to the passengers and crew on American Airlines Flight 11 that departed out of Gate B-32.” 🇺🇸

Curious about your movement style? Take the Movement Archetype Quiz (link in bio) to learn more about your relationship with physical activity. This increased awareness can help to set the stage for a more energized you - all part of this month’s movement challenge. Share below what archetype you are! When I’m really on my game, I’m an Always Running Andy, but I definitely lean toward being a Workout Wendy, especially when I’m traveling a lot. Link in bio!

Each of us has a unique way to recharge and take breaks. For me it's enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning, but for my incredible husband , his way of recharging is through open water swimming. As a member of the (established in 1877), he’s able to swim year-round in the Bay regardless of the sub-60 F temperatures.

According to studies, benefits of open water swimming include:

✅Enhanced mood and lower stress levels
✅ Improved sleep quality
✅ Boosted immune system
✅ Improves your body's defense response, including lowered risk of cancer, and neurological disorders.

Are the open waters calling your name? Someday I'll get the nerve to join Chris on one of his swims!

(Photo of swimming with the )

And my annual week of being offline begins: annual trip to a remote island in Maine. This is what going offline looks like for me. A time to have a slow cup of coffee in the late morning, still in my pj’s and do a lot of nothing. A time to recharge for my mental health and reconnect with my family. What does going offline look like for you?

Gen Xer Supermodel Shot.

“Ask a healthy person what they wish for and they’ll tell you a thousand wishes. Ask an unhealthy person what they wish for, and they’ll tell you just one.”

A Chinese proverb that keeps coming to mind, especially in the wake of yesterday’s news about Bronny James. We take our health for granted - until it’s taken away from us.

Over the span of just a few days, I have had multiple friends and loved ones encounter health challenges. One friend had shoulder surgery, another had a stent implanted in his heart, another underwent emergency surgery for an infection that has developed in her ankle (following an earlier reconstructive surgery), and my husband (pictured) is on the mend from yet another surgery, in this case, hip surgery.

We’re all busy. But it’s important that we continue to remind ourselves - and our loved ones - that our health really does matter most.

I am thrilled to announce that my LinkedIn Live guest in August will be Reagan Carey! I had the honor of meeting Reagan a couple of years ago through Google Vitality Lab and I can’t think of a better person to speak to women’s equality in the workplace. Reagan has been the (PHF) Commissioner since 2022, pioneering a new era in professional women's hockey with historic partnerships, player growth, and enhanced infrastructure. Her legacy stretches over two decades in sports, and is fueled by a vision of excellence, evident from her time as the ’s Director of Women’s Ice Hockey and General Manager of the U.S. National Women’s Team from 2010-2018, which resulted in a Olympic gold medal in 2018. Reagan also spent a decade working with ’s Atlantic Hawks and ’s Atlanta Thrashers, with a focus on sports development performance, and marketing.

Save the date 📌: August 16th at 10 AM PT. Trust me, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

This is a follow up to my post yesterday on green spaces vs. blue spaces. What I learned in my blue-space experience in overcoming my fear of waves, making measurable progress, and how all of this relates to workplace well-being best practices.

Tune into my newsletter, coming out on Monday to find out more. In the meantime, any good surf stories (or other forms of adventure-meets-learning experiences) to share?