From Donna’s Desk
Subject: Outside Consultants and the Art of Being Helped At
Corporate booked this. Not me. When I schedule a meeting, it has an agenda, an exit time, and far less gym-bro energy.
Milo, with the zeal of a camp counselor, volunteered to “add intention” to the snacks. Translation: he pulverized pine nuts like they’d wronged him and whispered blessings into the frosting. Adorable. Slightly litigable. I checked our EpiPen stash and thanked him for reminding me that sincerity, however crunchy, beats corporate frosting every time.
For the record, I love help. I’m just allergic to performative help: the kind that arrives with a drumline and departs with our Tuesday. So, for the next consultant who parachutes in:
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Respect the clock. If you take two hours, give back two hours. Label it “We stole your Tuesday; here it is again.”
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Ask what we’ve already tried. Honor it. Don’t rebrand it and invoice me.
To the ones who do it right: I see you. You listen first, fix one small thing, and leave us better than you found us.
Takeaways from today:
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Gratitude isn’t loud. It doesn’t need a banner.
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“Mandatory” and “mindfulness” should never share a sentence.
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The right cupcake can be a tiny permission slip.
Your turn:
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What’s the funniest “wellness” thing you’ve survived at work?
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If your cupcake could say what you actually need this week, what would it say?
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How do you practice quiet escape without disappearing from your team?
Drop a comment. Share your frosting. I’ll be at my desk, grateful for doors that close and raccoons who try.
Donna
#IamDonnaLake #MandatoryMindfulness #WorkplaceWellness #QuietLeadership #WorkplaceSatire #HelpWithoutTheHype
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4 thoughts on “Mandatory Mindfulness”
Kem
Wow, I think I might be Milo. I read every single cupcake and selected my top two. My cupcake would say, IV Drip with B6/B12. Also, I like how the Shark/Mindfulness coach is named FORGE.
donnalake
Good call on the vitamin tap, Kem! I wonder what Corporate would do with that…
Alisa
I practice quiet escape by keeping my mouth shut- if you know me, I like to joke around but sometimes need to just relax a moment!
donnalake
That’s a great strength, Alisa! Kudos to you for using your survival tools.
Yes! Send this to me each Wednesday.
About Donna Lake
Acknowledged
February 18, 2026
Submit
February 11, 2026
Form
February 4, 2026
Self Love
January 28, 2026
Boss Adjacent
January 21, 2026
Waft
January 14, 2026
Effigy
January 7, 2026
Foreign Food
December 31, 2025
Party On
December 24, 2025
On the Shelf
December 17, 2025