Call me a fuddy-duddy, but by 7pm on a typical weekday, I am ready to start winding down. I might add that I wake up at 4:45am, so there’s that. But also, in February, it’s dark at 7pm, plus cold, and frankly, those things are dead giveaways that the NYT crossword needs attention.
Thus it was with great reluctance that I trudged way, waaaay downtown the other night for a dinner party. To make matters worse, it was being thrown by someone I didn’t really know for no apparent reason, except, well, general niceness.
Oh my God, I had the best time.
Why? Because women are wonderful. I mean, people are wonderful, you know I feel that way. I love men! I have sons! But somehow, if you put thirty grown-up women in a room together and say, “Chat away!” they always find a way.
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It was a very noisy party. And joyful.
Now, as it turned out, I knew a few other attendees, and I won the lottery getting seated next to two of my friends (and idols), Chrissy Rutherford and Reshma Saujani. But I also was seated near two women I did not know, both phenomenal entrepreneurs and funny and cool and oh-so-real, and now we are besties too.
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Look, data from our own Values Bridge assessment tells us that friendship, or “Belonging” as we call this value, does not rank all that high for most people, usually falling between 9 and 12 on a scale of 16.
But last night, I saw its power to uplift and recharge us in full blooming color, and was reminded that I too often let other things take precedence. I mean, is it possible that Belonging could happen to me every night if I did not go to bed at 9pm?
Actually, do not answer that question. |
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I was attending a meeting with some of Becoming You’s marvelous certified coaches today when we went into breakout rooms to discuss one of Becoming You’s most important components, the Enneagram. |
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My conversation partner, though, had something else on her mind – and heart. Her dog, whom she had just loved goodbye.
She cried. I cried for her. If you’ve been there yourself, you might be feeling like you might cry right now too.
I hate this about animals, their brevity. And yet, I will take whatever time they can spare us, and always will.
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A crazy thing is happening this weekend. I’m missing the Super Bowl. No surprise why, as there could only be one reason. I have to babysit my granddaughter, and I will literally be driving down I-95 on the way home when it’s on. |
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Here’s the thing. I am not a football fan. I love the event for the huge universal shared living room it creates, and I love the ads. Bring on the giant horses and the weird Dorito commercials.
But at the end of the day, it’s just a game, right? I know that and you know that. A person could miss one or two of those in their life. So why am I so…blue? Could it be my Belonging is still on fire from my (fabulous) late night dinner party? Opinions welcome!
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Speaking of opinions, I am sharing a few of mine 7,000 miles from home next week, as I visit NYU’s campus in Abu Dhabi to teach and speechify. I’m excited, but also only human, and so please enjoy a newsletter-less week without moi. I will be back!
Until then, I’ll be thinking of you,
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What's coming?
→ May 2026 Three-Day Becoming You Intensive here
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How To Never See Anything The Same Again: Part 2
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What if the stories you inherited about where you come from were all a lie? In part two of my three-episode series about the places you travel and the self-discoveries that arise, I'm voyaging to Sicily. Not for sun-drenched escapism or waterfront glamour (hello White Lotus), but to confront the whispered mythology that shaped my childhood and, without me knowing it, my values. This is an episode about ancestry, silence, and the stories families tell to survive.
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