Reflections

Mark Dunwoody | What Spreads Without Words Hi, You can usually sense a healthy culture quickly—whether in a family, workplace, classroom, or among friends. People breathe more easily, stay open to surprise, laugh, and adapt. Honest conversation and small…

I hope your week has gotten off to a great start! A wise mentor once said to me, “If you have to tell someone you have status, you probably don’t.” For, there’s something about status— the need to be seen, to be known, to be recognised. And often, the louder…

Mark Dunwoody | Not Urgent… Until It Is Hi, I hope you have had a great week! Back in 2008, I found myself in a room in Brussels, representing Ireland, in conversations about youth policy. One moment from that time has stayed with me. Someone quietly named a…

Last week, I got the second round of edits back from my wonderful editor, Stacey. This time, I didn’t end up in tears ;). Instead, I felt encouraged. As I read her notes, I was surprised to see how my scattered thoughts had come together and made sense.…

Over the years, I’ve noticed something in myself and in the people and organizations I work with. We cling to our expectations as if they were life preservers. We expect other people to behave a certain way. We expect our friends, teams, or families to stay…

Mark Dunwoody 24th September 2026 It began with one email… Hi, This is my 350th email! Yep, three hundred and fifty emails, written over six years. When I wrote the first one, there were no books, no website, no retreats and no podcast. There was me, a wall…

Not everything that unsettles us requires an immediate response. A reflection on differentiation, criticism, and creating enough space to choose a wiser response.

Mark Dunwoody | Can You See A future here? Hi, I hope you had a nice weekend. Imagine being twenty-four. You are working hard, doing what is expected of you and trying to find your place in the world. But when you look ahead, you see no clear pathway and…

Mark Dunwoody | The Second Arrival Hi, I hope you had a nice weekend. When we moved to the Netherlands in 2003, a wise man said something I have never forgotten: whenever we move somewhere new, there are really two arrivals. At the time, I thought I…

Mark Dunwoody | You Never Really Know What Lasts Hi, I hope you had a nice weekend. Many years ago, when I was a young youth worker, I took a small group of teenagers away for a weekend in Donegal. I was coming towards the end of my youth work diploma and, in…