Some thoughts arrive unexpectedly. Others return again and again. You revisit the mistake you made. You rethink the conversation that did not sit right with you. You imagine everything that could go wrong tomorrow. The thoughts may begin automatically, but the longer they stay, the more of your attention and energy they consume. Over time, preparing what I think of as a redirection thought has helped me. If you find yourself dwelling on a specific thought repeatedly, you can

Not too long ago I was at a Cornell event listening to a speaker open his presentation. In an attempt to build his credibility, he shared his title and the name of his employer. Then, before getting to the main point of his talk, he shared a long list of personal accomplishments. Somewhere between his fourth and seventh achievement, my impression of him changed from being somewhat impressed to being somewhat underwhelmed. What happened? The presenter, hoping to impress, had