Emotional maturity is the number one most important thing in relationships, the number one skill set we can work on to get great ones, and the number one most important thing to a happy and effective life. Contrary to some misconceptions, emotional maturity is not about “self-mastery,” or self-development. Mature people may pursue these, but they have nothing to do with emotional maturity.

You’re guaranteed to make a few mistakes in your work life. Some of those mistakes are going to be big ones. You may do something that loses a client, puts a project behind schedule, angers a colleague, or costs your company money.

A few years ago, my team at Inventium completed a strengths finder assessment. I expected my report to tell me that my top strength was something like ‘time optimisation’ (as a similar test had revealed many years ago) or ‘creativity’ - or some other skill that I utilise every day. But no, apparently my number one strength was ‘competitiveness’ (although this would come as no surprise to anyone who has played Settlers of Catan against me).

New research suggests that gratitude plays an indirect role in improving our health.

Being grateful seems to have a lot of positive effects on our lives. In fact, grateful people may have better sleep, healthier hearts, and fewer aches and pains.