Life Satisfaction Convergence: Late Bloomers and the Happiness Curve

Life Satisfaction Convergence: Late Bloomers and the Happiness Curve

Families, Leaders, Officers/Agents
[mc4wp_form id="746"] Dave and Katie Prestwich with their Favorite Non Alcoholic Beverage on New Year's Eve By Sgt. Joshua Browne, M.P.S. My Paradoxical Dissatisfaction Conundrum: As I progressed through my thirties and now into my forties, I could not conjure a satisfactory explanation for the disparity between my positive objective reality and my internal discord, manifested in general dissatisfaction for the current state of my life.  My marriage and family life were thriving, and I felt gratitude for the abundance permeating my existence.  I was growing professionally, academically and personally and I could formulate a concrete list of achievement in all these realms.  While I could appreciate the bounty I was experiencing, including meaningful experiences assisting others in their pursuit of achievement, in quiet moments, I felt haunted by a…
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The Healing Power of Autonomy: Attenuating Career Over-investment

The Healing Power of Autonomy: Attenuating Career Over-investment

Leaders, Officers/Agents
[mc4wp_form id="746"] By: Joshua Browne, M.P.S. The Meme of Autonomy The ability to pursue our own course is embedded as a meme or shared relic in western culture.  The concept of autonomy has been communicated in many cultural traditions throughout time, with its western cultural significance manifested in historical events, government structure, media productions and contemporary philosophy.  The founding document of the United States of America, the Declaration of Independence, can be characterized as a forceful assertion of the cultural tenet of individual sovereignty.  This value was so entrenched in the American cultural tradition, the idea of securing individual freedom was deemed worth reckless rebellion against the preeminent world military power, leading to the American Revolutionary War (Burger, 1988).  While the codification of individual liberty, as contained in the Bill…
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How Leading Emotional Resilience in Law Enforcement Supports a Gritty Culture

How Leading Emotional Resilience in Law Enforcement Supports a Gritty Culture

Leaders
[mc4wp_form id="746"] By: Sgt. Joshua Browne, M.P.S. Fundamental Misunderstandings and Culture I wonder if a significant portion of the deep cultural obstructions in the law enforcement community towards acknowledging and supporting emotional resilience ventures, can be traced to fundamental misunderstandings.  Our legacy cultural principle requiring steely grit, manifested in a “suck it up and drive on” philosophy, must be maintained within our operational capacity.  However, there is an unspoken and insidious rider attached to this philosophy that has been wreaking havoc on our profession for generations.  This deeply rooted cultural tenet was modeled for me beginning in the academy and reinforced by senior officers on the street.  After sucking it up and driving on, while operating in a traumatic environment, I was taught to ignore and mask the emotional implications…
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