Category: Self Help

• When Thinking Too Much Starts to Hurt: A Note on Metacognition, Anxiety, and the quest to get it right.

  

  Metacognition is the ability to think about your own thinking. It is the inner mirror we hold up to ourselves when we pause, reflect, and ask whether our thoughts are actually helping us. Most people tap into this now and then. They notice a feeling, adjust a reaction, and move on. But there is a…

  Matthew Stafford

  January 13, 2026

  Self Help

  anxiety, burnout recovery, cognitive distortion, default mode network, emotional intelligence, emotional resilience, executive function, gifted adults, high-functioning anxiety, inner peace, mental health, metacognition, neurodivergent, overthinking, perfectionism, psychological flexibility, self-awareness, self-reflection, thought fatigue, thought loops

• Cleared for the Shallows

  

  In the late 1990s, a week in the Tennessee woods taught me something no badge ever could. Patience, earned early, has a way of becoming empathy later, and leadership grows quietly in the moments we least expect.

  Matthew Stafford

  December 30, 2025

  Growth, Leadership, Self Help

  emotional intelligence, Empathy, leadership development, Learning Through Failure, Patience, personal growth, Reflection, self-awareness

• Managing Stress as a Hospitality Leader

  

  Fall and football season remind us that calm leadership sets the tone. In hospitality, steady leaders reduce stress, cut turnover, and build lasting teams.

  Matthew Stafford

  September 9, 2025

  Growth, Leadership, Self Help

  emotional intelligence, employee retention, football season, hospitality industry, hospitality leadership, hospitality turnover, hotel management, leadership resilience, stress management, team building, workplace culture