Migraines: A Public Service Announcement

Migraine headaches hurt. If you are not a migraine sufferer, thank your lucky stars. The headaches I get now are nothing like the migraines I used to get but they can still stop me in my tracks.

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I remember living in Germany, leaving work early and driving home with my eyes squinted tight enough to keep any extra light out but cracked open just enough so I could see the road. I'd come home, take three Advil, darken the house and lay my pounding head back on the pillow. Tugging at my hair and applying pressure to my eyebrows sometimes lessened the ​pain for a short moment. Nausea and vomiting were signs that the migraine was reaching it's peak and I knew that if I could just hold on a little longer, sleep would come and I'd wake up to a new, pain-free day.

My migraines were gone as quickly as they came and in strange convoluted way, I was one of the fortunate ones.

I am not going to try to make a human resource or leadership connection beyond that of migraines hindering my ability to function as a human resource leader - or anything else for that matter. 

So no post today, just a PSA and a link to articles from the Mayo Clinic on migraines and ocular migraines (migraines are not just for heads any more) for your reading pleasure. ​

Many migraines go undiagnosed. Here is a migraine self-assessment for your reading pleasure.

Good night.​

The Geometry of A Post

Earlier this week I wrote about trust and HR. I started to search for a post from the archives on trust to share with you today but I saw this and decided to share it with you instead.  

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Writing can be a real chore. Or, it can be fun.

I read somewhere that writing is fun once you get good at it and being good at it makes your communication skills, your creativity and your powers of reason that much stronger. Blah, blah. 

Well, "good" is relative and you don't have to be good to have fun, you just have to want it. Need a refresh? You can try something new or take a look at  something old from a new perspective. Now, let's have a little fun.  

The Idea

When I can't put two thoughts together, one thing that keeps me writing are the times I've sat down to write with nothing more than my good intentions, a blank sheet of paper and a wisp of an idea only to watch a post develop right in front of my eyes.

Is it ground breaking, is it breathtaking, does it repeat or rhyme?  Does it linger, does it blast, does it spin on a dime? Does it question, does it challenge, does it inquire or suppose? Does it push people away or does it bring them in close? Don't judge, don't measure and don't you fret. Don't format, don't structure, at least just not yet. Capture, observe and don't try to hide, your creativity is showing, go along for the ride.

I write for times like this when I can't write fast enough to capture the flow of ideas.

The Shape

My wisps of ideas come from things I've read, conversations I've had with others, in response to specific requests, insights or questions, or out of the blue on my drive to work. After capturing the idea, I begin to frame it up. I picture it, sketch it and begin to look for its shape.

Does it start from point A and circle around back to there? Or does it have four equal sides, just like a square? Does it start from point A and move in a straight line? Does it blow past Point B, is the idea still mine? Are my ideas parallel, never to meet? Hmmm, what if they intersect, what could that mean? For a rant or a rave to get off my chest, the exclamation point is up to the test. It may build upon a foundation to prove a point but do I need it less triangular to shake up this joint? 

You'll probably never need to diagram a post for your English teacher, but pondering the geometry of a post could be fun. 

The Why

Writing can lead your reader step-by-step from the premises of a proof to the conclusion . . . or it can take them (and you) away to a place they've never been before or even one they didn't know existed.

Writing can be many different things but there is only one thing that writing really is. Writing is an exercise in trust. Writing requires you to trust that, if you write, the ideas will come. Writing requires trust in yourself as a writer and trust your words. No matter what shape they are in.