Just things I've noticed.

Usually right after I stopped trying so hard to notice them. A few lay the groundwork; the rest are small, true moments from an ordinary life.

(I also wrote a book called Humans Working that explores what happens when we stop treating people like machines.)

The Foundation

What Happens Here
I don’t fix problems, optimize lives, or squeeze productivity out of exhausted souls. I just sit with people and help them remember what they already knew.
you were never broken
you-were-never-broken
The Amateur Surgeon
A reflection on spending 30 years fixing tech systems, and how that trains us to treat human beings like broken servers.
you were never broken
you-were-never-broken
useful isn't the same as valuable
useful-vs-valuable
The Invisible Contract
An exploration of how high-performing men learn to earn love through achievement, and what happens when that weight is finally put down.
you were never broken
you-were-never-broken
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
A Better Version of Trying
We try to engineer a frictionless existence by removing the bad parts of our lives. But you don't fix an ecosystem by removing the wolves.
you were never broken
you-were-never-broken
The Un-tensing Sequence
I recently noticed the exact sequence of what happens when a human nervous system finally un-tenses.
you were never broken
you-were-never-broken

Field Notes

Shipwreck
Corporate culture isn't a list of values on a wall. It's what happens in the sixty seconds of silence after you tell your team the company is dead.
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
life takes care of life
life-takes-care-of-life
Twelve Days Old
A story from the emergency room with my newborn daughter, and the realization even in the worst of times, life seems to take care of itself.
where it comes from
where-it-comes-from
life takes care of life
life-takes-care-of-life
The Trash Bag
A developer threw a fit and tried to quit. A look at why refusing to catch someone else's panic is more effective than an HR intervention.
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
The Autograph Line
Watching a musician interact with 7,000 fans taught me that people aren't looking for advice—they just want to be completely seen.
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
The Other Guy
One friend faced prison with total calm, while another was miserable about a free house. Proof that the weather outside doesn't dictate the weather inside.
where it comes from
where-it-comes-from
The Inner Cold Feeling
I tried to warm up my freezing 1940s office with heaters and blankets. It turns out, the heat doesn't come from the room.
where it comes from
where-it-comes-from
When the Startle Softens
I cared, but I didn't mind. What happens when you stop bracing against life and the panic finally fades.
what's underneath the fear
whats-underneath-the-fear
The Airport Bar
A 90-minute encounter at an airport bar that proved you don't need a technique, an intervention, or even a probing question to help someone.
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
The Resigning Employee
I tried to convince a key employee to stay for the good of the company. Letting him go was the only honest choice.
life takes care of life
life-takes-care-of-life
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
The Illusion of Control
We may be the one raising the sail, but neither we nor the sail are doing the work.
where it comes from
where-it-comes-from
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
Reflections on Attachment
Reflections on things not worth being attached to.
life takes care of life
life-takes-care-of-life
Do We Need to Teach Tolerance?
Reflections on why teaching tolerance and fighting hate can backfire.
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
Dollar Store, Early Morning
Thoughts on extending compassion even when it seems ill-deserved.
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
letting good come toward you
letting-good-come-toward-you
Downhill
We treat corporate stress like a contagious virus. But misery doesn't flow downhill; it only exists in the mind of the person experiencing it.
where it comes from
where-it-comes-from
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
The Interrogation
The only hiring tactic that actually works is also the easiest: treat people like they're actually people.
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
No Suffering
A story about a survivor of abuse, and how the heaviest, darkest burdens can dissolve not through intervention, but through absolute stillness.
letting good come toward you
letting-good-come-toward-you
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
A Cultural Softening
Even TV seems to be getting kinder.
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
Combating Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome isn't something than be eradicated through effort.
you were never broken
you-were-never-broken
where it comes from
where-it-comes-from
The Magic of Jim Henson and the Muppets
Jim Henson is the ultimate case study in rejecting the corporate machine.
life takes care of life
life-takes-care-of-life
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
The Subtle Art of Forgiveness
True forgiveness isn't a pardon. It's just putting down the gavel.
letting good come toward you
letting-good-come-toward-you
What If This is Heaven
We may be living in heaven but not noticing because the noise in our heads is stronger than the signal.
enough was already here
enough-was-already-here
Planning for 95
We all walk around with a subconscious timeline in our heads.
life takes care of life
life-takes-care-of-life
Hiring the Unhireable
A bakery in New York hires anyone who walks through the door, no questions asked. Why corporate due diligence is usually just an illusion of control.
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
life takes care of life
life-takes-care-of-life
Ducks in a Row
Peace is not the result of getting all our ducks in a row.
you were never broken
you-were-never-broken
enough was already here
enough-was-already-here
All Those Times
There is nothing to change, to have more or less of. Only the gratitude for the privilege to experience the wild ride we call life.
you were never broken
you-were-never-broken
Before and After
Inner transformation is a lot quieter than physical transformation.
you were never broken
you-were-never-broken
enough was already here
enough-was-already-here
The Networking Myth
A story about a joke on the internet, a Zoom call, and the profound relief of actual, unscripted human connection.
take the armor out of the room
take-the-armor-out-of-the-room
You Don't Have to Be Anything
Maybe it's okay to not achieve anything, and just be.
you were never broken
you-were-never-broken
Worst Case Scenarios
A list I wrote after my divorce, realizing that even if every fear came true and I lost everything, I would still be fine.
what's underneath the fear
whats-underneath-the-fear
The Phantom Leak
The mechanics of addiction are obvious when we know where to look.
you were never broken
you-were-never-broken
© Naphtali Visser 2018-2026 · Brookline, MA