Marjorie Malpiede
The media mogul urged Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy graduates to take time to recharge
Arianna Huffington, editor-in-chief and co-president of the Huffington Post Media Group, had a strong, if unconventional, message to graduates of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University: Take care of your health and wellbeing. In her commencement address, the 2016 recipient of the school’s Dean’s Medal Award spoke of the value of wellness and regeneration as building blocks for wisdom and leadership.
“In this buzzing, blinking and notification soaked world, it is very easy to allow your attention and your essence to be frittered away in a million different ways,” she said. “And when we are exhausted and disconnected that’s when we are more likely to make our biggest mistakes.”
Huffington, the author of several books, including “The Sleep Revolution,” spoke on her signature subject: the value of rest, particularly for young people who will become our next generation of leaders.
She admonished political figures from Alexander Hamilton to Bill Clinton to Ted Cruz for glorifying the sacrifices they made putting work over sleep.
“In order to signal their dedication to the institutions or the people they are leading they burn themselves out and proudly proclaim their refusal to sleep – to take time to recharge and renew themselves. As a result, we end up with leaders who are leading with less – often much less — than full capacity.”
Reversing the argument, she cited new science showing the clarity of judgement that can be obtained from sleep. She believes a cultural shift is emerging. “You, Fletcher graduates, can help accelerate that. Please recognize that based on all the latest science you’d be able to fulfill all your dreams and all your obligations much more effectively and with much more creativity and joy if you regularly take time to recharge and refuel.”
