<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Lifelong Learning Lens]]></title><description><![CDATA[Lifelong Learning Lens]]></description><link>https://www.lifelonglearninglens.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2026 07:09:25 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.lifelonglearninglens.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Perfectionism Is Exhausting Us]]></title><description><![CDATA[I’m a recovering perfectionist, and if I’m being honest, I still catch myself slipping back into it sometimes. Wanting everything to be just right. Replaying conversations in my head. Overthinking decisions. Spending too much time trying to avoid mistakes or prevent criticism. The problem is perfection is unattainable. We are human beings, not machines. We are all perfectly imperfect. I also think many of us did not develop perfectionist tendencies out of nowhere. Society ingrains these ideas...]]></description><link>https://www.lifelonglearninglens.com/post/perfectionism-is-exhausting-us</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a0e3e2bcb0791383ec3bffc</guid><pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2026 23:21:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_763a6491cbb24e068f6ae8ce93b2138d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Erica Contreras</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Follow Through Shouldn’t Feel Rare]]></title><description><![CDATA[Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about follow through. Not perfection. Not never making mistakes. Not expecting people to operate like robots. We are all human and sometimes things absolutely fall through the cracks. But I keep noticing something that continues to puzzles me. When someone actually does what they said they were going to do, it feels surprising. Almost impressive. They said they would follow up and they did. They said they would send feedback and they actually sent it. They...]]></description><link>https://www.lifelonglearninglens.com/post/follow-through-shouldn-t-feel-rare</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a04d8e2618ba45174fffb5b</guid><pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2026 20:12:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/be2c632522231bd3c200e58f5dc4b4a4.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_683,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Erica Contreras</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Difficult Conversations: The Leadership Skill Most People Avoid]]></title><description><![CDATA[Most people do not avoid hard conversations because they are bad leaders. They avoid them because they are uncomfortable. I know this because I’ve experienced it myself. I’ve had leaders in my career who avoided confrontation almost completely. It created confusion, frustration, tension, and a lack of trust. People were left guessing instead of growing. And if I’m being honest, I haven’t always gotten these conversations right either. I’m human. I’ve had conversations go sideways. I’ve waited...]]></description><link>https://www.lifelonglearninglens.com/post/difficult-conversations-the-leadership-skill-most-people-avoid</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69fce4d0666cfccd9417c4a8</guid><pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 19:17:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a682e2_16d6ed6a67a94e4bbc03c894d16f3479~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Erica Contreras</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Great Leaders Do Differently (April Leadership Lab Recap)]]></title><description><![CDATA[We kicked off the April Leadership Lab with a simple question: Think about a leader you enjoyed working with. What did they do that made them stand out? Before we even got into content, the chat filled quickly. People shared things like: transparency honesty respect giving their team the tools they needed to succeed It was a great reminder that strong leadership is not complicated. It is intentional. From there, we talked about some of the most common challenges leaders face. Three themes...]]></description><link>https://www.lifelonglearninglens.com/post/what-great-leaders-do-differently-april-leadership-lab-recap</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69f64b387b1c42fb24f6028d</guid><pubDate>Sat, 02 May 2026 19:12:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a682e2_30784d375733487cbc2aeeedd97e7fb6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Erica Contreras</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[24/7 Mindset?!]]></title><description><![CDATA[In April 2026, I shared this post in LinkedIn and received over 67k impressions. It definitely hit a chord with many. I just saw a recruiter post a role for an Executive Assistant that required a “24/7 mindset” and “after-hours availability.” Respectfully… what? When did we start writing job descriptions that sound like modern-day indentured servitude? Let’s call it what it is. “24/7 mindset” is not a skill. It is an expectation of constant access. And constant access is not leadership. It is...]]></description><link>https://www.lifelonglearninglens.com/post/24-7-mindset</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69f646ba7b1c42fb24f5f97a</guid><pubDate>Sat, 02 May 2026 18:51:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a682e2_fc754c2960c54d978a0363ae3b893f1c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Erica Contreras</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>