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Touchstone Word of the Year 2023
Today I’d like to share something that you can turn into a superpower. It’s a goal setting strategy that may change your life. I don't...

Irene Salter, PhD
Dec 5, 20229 min read


Hello Rejection, my old friend
Rejection. It’s a part of life and often a necessity if we want to make our way forward in this world. For instance, last spring, I was...

Irene Salter, PhD
Oct 25, 20227 min read


Caffeine and Me
As a college student, I loved coffee, especially Peet’s Coffee. I was a two or three cups of coffee a day kind of gal. So naturally, as...

Irene Salter, PhD
Oct 17, 20227 min read


Smoothing out the stop-go, fast-slow pace of life
Have you ever felt paralyzed with fear… then motivated, passionate, and on fire… and then been forced to slow down? Freeze. Go fast. Go...

Irene Salter, PhD
Aug 24, 20227 min read


Making hard new things feel as easy as going to the grocery store
I asked my husband, Jason, “It’s the last morning of our Gap Year. Do you think we’ve changed?” Our family has just spent the past...

Irene Salter, PhD
Aug 15, 20227 min read


How to Come Alive
I was asking a client today when the last time she felt the most alive. When had she last jumped out of bed with enthusiasm, excited...

Irene Salter, PhD
Aug 4, 20227 min read


Why does adventure travel make you come alive? Hint: It's not adrenaline.
The worn tips of my hiking boots dangled over the edge of the Auckland Tower, the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere. The view...

Irene Salter, PhD
Jul 21, 202213 min read


My abortion story
The leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that seems poised to overturn Roe v Wade has dominated my thoughts over the past few days. In...

Irene Salter, PhD
May 10, 20226 min read


What Leaders Need Right Now
Since October, I’ve been engaged in a mini-research project trying to understand the needs of the leaders I serve. I had a hunch that...

Irene Salter, PhD
Jan 30, 20229 min read


Touchstone for 2022
This year, rather than setting a goal, creating a vision board, or making a New Years resolution, consider choosing a single word to...

Irene Salter, PhD
Jan 4, 20229 min read


How to slow down your frantic, overwhelming holiday season
Stacking. Dysregulation. Stress. Recentering. Visions. Armor. A lot has happened since Thanksgiving. My family spent a glorious...

Irene Salter, PhD
Dec 21, 20219 min read


What If Your Shell No Longer Fits? Time to Molt!
Do you ever get stuck on a project, with a big goal, or in life? Do you sometimes feel like you’d rather hide under a rock than do that...

Irene Salter, PhD
Oct 20, 20214 min read


How to Realize an Impossible Dream
Some people seem to live impossibly dreamy lives and achieve things that appear completely unreachable for us normal human beings. I’m...

Irene Salter, PhD
Sep 30, 202112 min read


How to Invest in Yourself
I had a dinner table conversation with my daughter yesterday. My husband and I were talking about spending $5,000 on the kids’ education....

Irene Salter, PhD
Sep 9, 20215 min read


Manifesto: Write a note to yourself about who you are at your best
Some life lessons are harder to learn than others. They are the ones that the universe keeps teaching us over and over again throughout...

Irene Salter, PhD
May 10, 20217 min read


Recovering from the School Year from Hell with Three Forms of Synergy
As educators nationwide limp towards the finish line of the most disruptive school year in living memory, educational leaders face a...

Irene Salter, PhD
Apr 26, 20216 min read


Jedi Mind Training for Normal Humans
I’m an unabashed Star Wars geek. Nearly all of my favorite scenes in the series involve a Jedi leaning into the Force: Luke is hanging...

Irene Salter, PhD
Mar 3, 20217 min read


Being the Lifeguard Versus Empowering Groups
Imagine a public swimming pool with dozens of kids and adults splashing on a warm summer evening. (I know that may be hard to imagine...

Irene Salter, PhD
Feb 23, 20217 min read


A Touchstone for 2021
Rather than setting a goal, vision board, or New Years resolution, consider choosing a single word to serve as a guidepost for 2021. This...

Irene Salter, PhD
Dec 30, 20209 min read

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