Be careful what you wish for. I wished for a break from the steady stream of political attacks. Instead, I got a steady stream of Frankenstorm reports. If you are reading this, you are one of the lucky ones who is inside and has power. 

 

Whether politics or natural disaster rules the day, though, I see a common denominator. We can do a better job of navigating rough terrain, if we use the strengths of courage and gratitude.

 

A huge proponent of using the power of gratitude was the late Chris Peterson, one of the founders of positive psychology. In memory of Chris, who died unexpectedly this month, I am proposing a couple of gratitude exercises for you to try.   

 

On the bravery front, I invite you to read about this year's Brave Thinkers and think about what courage means to you. Related to that, I'm sending along a piece that talks about risk as a metaphor for surfing.

 

On a more mundane - but very practical - level, I bumped into a piece that will help you decide how risky it is to eat the food that sat in your fridge during a period outage, in case you encounter one as Sandy blows through. (Take good notes while you still have power.)  

 

Finally, if you have power and turn to online retail therapy to distract you from politics and storm surges, you'll find some pointers in my latest column. 

 

Positively yours,