Accountable grace
A phrase I coined has helped me think differently about what I need and how I want to show up for others.
The Perils of Being Understood
After a year of growth, I reflect on how wanting to be understood hinders true connection.
Scary Septembers
This week brought a renewed focus on the importance of tending to my mental health. Maybe there’s something about this time of year. It seems that often in...
Presenting Extreme Ownership
This week I had the chance to share the basic principles of Extreme Ownership with leaders at my company, O.C. Tanner. While humbling and stressful, it was a...
Owning appropriately
You can’t let extreme ownership of a situation block you from solving the root problem. When I first came back to O.C. Tanner at the beginning of this year,...
Living in reality
My life is filled with impossible contradictions. This week brought one of those to the forefront for me. Sometimes I write because I have something to say....
Mentally healthy ownership
How do I break down my ego without breaking down my spirit? *** This year as I’ve returned to a corporate job, I have been focused on learning and...
Being blissfully unproductive
Last weekend I took the perfect trip to usher in a new life decade. On Tuesday, I turned 40. Surreal. I’ve felt in my 40s for years—my standard answer to the...
Is it serving you?
I can’t get this question out of my head. And I’m grateful. Last week, I got mad. This is not unusual. I feel my emotions deeply, and as I am learning to be...
Unconscious spending
This week I learned an important lesson on being aware of my communication, and especially how it can impact others in my life. I’ve been thinking a lot...
Inauthenticity detection
An experience in a recent one-on-one reminded me of how vigilant I must be to remain authentic. I met recently with a new leader on our team. He and I are...
Finding ownership
We were hit last week with another major outage. I wanted to reflect on how I showed up and what I learned. Near the end of work Tuesday, I was at the...
Neglected and abandoned
What another rollercoaster of a week this was for me. My emotions surged from confidence and excitement at the road ahead to near utter despair at our...
Cover and Move
As I continue on my path to embracing Extreme Ownership, I find myself in a textbook situation in which I need to rely on others. And it’s hard! Last week, I...
MWH: Practicing ownership
In addition to being an emotional roller coaster, this week was a wake up call for me. It was a good exercise in extreme ownership. And I saw clearly where I...
MWH 🧠 #113: Conducting and speaking
I had a powerful experience yesterday jumping in to do unexpected things in unexpected ways. These (near) weekly updates share life with OCD as part of my...
MWH 🧠 #112: Emotional honesty
This week I relearned the lesson that handling challenging situations requires emotional honesty. These weekly updates share life with OCD as part of my...
MWH 🧠 #111: Caring for our selves
During a symptomatic week, I learned how to care for myself better—to view my past and future selves as someone else. These weekly updates share life with...
MWH 🧠 #110: Hierarchy of stress
I was reminded this week of the possibility and importance of allowing seemingly contradictory ideas to both be true. I can be struggling AND doing well at...
MWH 🧠 #109: Dropping rubber balls
Ironically, just on the day I was marveling at how well I’ve been handling everything, I was shown where I was falling apart. These weekly updates share life...
MWH 🧠 #108: Extreme Ownership
This week, I faced an Extreme Ownership opportunity. Would I protect myself and my team, and make clear what was not our fault, or would I own the situation...
MWH 🧠 #107: Stressed or overwhelmed
As I step into a new job, among many other life changes, I’m trying to balance stress and overwhelm in healthy ways. These weekly updates share life with OCD...
MWH 🧠 #106: Building people again
It has been so long since I have written a weekly update that I almost don’t know where to start. Ironically, my last update was titled “Back to work”, after...
MWH 🧠 #105: Back to work
You can read the original post on bennorris.com if you prefer. In this update, I share some good news about turning the page and starting a new chapter, and...
MWH 🧠 #104: Distress tolerance homework
You can read the original post on bennorris.com if you prefer. This week’s update shares about my therapist and me being symptomatic together, giving my wife...
🧠 #103: Pipes and puzzles
After another challenging week, I share a positive spike, taking my kids and winning the organ, and the return of sudoku.
🧠 #102: Xanax & Dr Pepper
This week, I’m trying a new format. I posted each of my sections as individual posts during the week, and my update gathers them. In the update post on my...
MWH 🧠 #101: Tapering off everything
You can read the original post on bennorris.com if you prefer. This update shares the effects of changing medication (not good!), an uplifting chance for...
✍🏻 ⛪️ General Conference Oct 22 Sketchnotes
You can read the original post on bennorris.com if you prefer. As usual, General Conference was a great, uplifting weekend with the family. It worked out...
MWH 🧠 #100: Hitting a milestone
You can read the original post on bennorris.com if you prefer. In this momentous update, I share a low point forgetting a commitment, a reminder that I...
MWH 🧠 #99: Can't get in
You can read the original post on bennorris.com if you prefer. This update shares a vacation win, a vacation struggle, and a new sharing practice. These...
MWH #98: Walks on the beach
You can read the original post on bennorris.com if you prefer. In a quick vacation update, I share a lesson learned from running into my daughter while...
MWH #97: Making friends
You can read the original post on bennorris.com if you prefer. This week I share another step forward in my peacemaking with the monster that is OCD in my...
MWH #96: Confronting the criminal
You can read the original post on bennorris.com if you prefer. In a shocking turn of events (🙄), allowing a known trigger into my life last week caused some...
Falling prey to OCD
I thought it might be helpful to share a recent free writing entry. I had wanted to process my thoughts and feelings as OCD was starting to take over in my...
MWH #95: Experimenting with discomfort
You can read the original post on bennorris.com if you prefer. This week included a reprise in my role as a limited-time stay-at-home dad, a chilly...
MWH #94: Finding monkeys
You can read the original post on bennorris.com if you prefer. This week’s update shares my experience with yet another psychiatrist and noticing my recent...
MWH #93: Flooding and Dragons
You can read the original post on bennorris.com if you prefer. Forced flexibility from flooding, leaning into uncertainty, and my first concert. It was a big...
MWH #92: Cleaning the garage
Sometimes wins are big and elaborate. And others are significant in their smallness. This week was one of the latter. These weekly updates share life with...
MWH #91: Shiny thoughts
My update this week builds on the experience I had last week and shares a new metaphor I identified to help navigate OCD. These weekly updates share life...
MWH #90: Weighted jacket
This week I share a painful therapy experience when I came to recognize the compulsions in my mind. These weekly updates share life with OCD as part of my...
MWH #89: Buying windows
This week, I share the surprising story of how I found a new client, and learned (again!) to sit with my emotions. These weekly updates share life with OCD...
MWH #88: Disallowed emotions
This week’s update shares acknowledging disallowed emotions, a small win in the kitchen, and my reaction to making goals. These weekly updates share life...
MWH #87: The right buttermints
Note: I have moved my domain, and my emails will now come from bennorris.com. You can still view just mental health related content at mentalworkhealth.org...
MWH #86: Mental toll
In this update, I share the exhausting role of single parenting for a few days, success with timeblocking, and publicly announcing my professional transition...
MWH #85: I'm a sailor
After a week off, I share about loss of insight in a therapy session, a delightful sailing trip, and working to restrain crippling perfectionism. These...
MWH #84: The wrong name
This week, I share the struggles I had at our annual homeschool conference, the joys of teaching a class, and processing it all with my therapist. These...
MWH #83: Detached but engaged
This week, I share my success in a difficult area of my life, in the hopes of exploring and extrapolating some of the lessons to other areas of my life....
MWH #82: Yes, we’re open
Big news—I’m taking on new projects! This week, I share the challenges of being flexible, a great moment of connection, and realizing my big news that I’ve...
MWH #81: Bees in charge
This week I share about speaking in church, having conversations out loud, and standing up to bees. These weekly updates are an ongoing series in which I...