Recently at my mother’s funeral, a cousin commented that my parents were at all the major events in his life, even though it meant traveling great distances.
Their showing up for these events made this cousin feel valued and important, and strengthened their relationship. This made me think of Woody Allen’s famous statement, “80 percent of success is showing up.”
So often when pursuing a goal, we expect the process to be smooth sailing. When we encounter obstacles, we often get thrown into a tail spin and abandon our goal. We may think it wasn’t meant to be, that we are aren’t capable of reaching that goal, or that we are a failure. The reality is that more likely than not, there will be storms and difficulties along the way, but that is part of the process. Read More
Summer can be a busy time with extra activities and vacations added to the mix.
As temperatures rise, so can frustration levels, and you may be wondering, “How can I get it all done?” We all have a multitude of things to do each day, and it is easy to get overwhelmed.
The following are three common obstacles to “getting it all done” and tips to overcome them: Read More
A new year is a time for reflection, for looking back on the year just ending and making resolutions for the upcoming year.
On Jan. 1 our ambitions are high, our goals lofty and our intentions great. However, once we are back to work and the daily grind sets in, it doesn’t take long to slip back into the same old patterns -- then we proclaim, “Resolutions just don’t work.” Turn the tables and increase your chances of success by deliberately setting up a game that challenges you, yet you know you can win. Happy, fulfilled people live their lives intentionally. They actively create their own future. Read on to discover 4 steps to create your game worth playing. Read More
My husband has a truck that doesn’t do very well in the winter on our snowy roads. It slides, fishtails and gets stuck. However, if we stack the back with bags of rock salt, there is enough weight for the tires to engage, and he can get the traction he needs to keep going.
Do you have areas in your life where feel like your wheels are spinning and that you are stuck in a rut?
Three slippery contributors to staying stuck are: Read More
"The unexamined life is not worth living," said Greek philosopher Socrates more than 2,000 years ago. Wow, that’s a bold statement — “not worth living?”
As I contemplated this proclamation, I thought about the power of awareness and the act of “examining” your life.
Life is tough. Life isn’t fair. There, I said it. At some point, we all experience hard things. There are going to be sick days, bad weather and injustice. However, there are also rainbows, jobs well done and celebrations.
Life is full of ups and downs, and while you may not be able to control the storms, you do have control over your happiness. To be or not to be happy, the choice is yours.
“Why are we ALWAYS in a hurry?”
As a mom, have you ever heard this? Why are we always rushing? When you are busy you feel productive, more valued. This can create an adrenalin charge. Being busy isn’t bad, as long as you are “brilliantly busy,” in other words, busy in the right way. However, I regularly hear from women who say they feel they are sprinting through each day, dropping into bed exhausted and frustrated that they didn’t get done what they really wanted. Their health, relationships and personal development start suffering. Here are three simple steps to help you go from “beat” to “brilliant.” Read More
Feeling the weight of all I need to do today, I am tempted to forgo my morning workout. My mind toggles between thoughts of 30 minutes on the elliptical and jumping straight into my work. The elliptical eventually wins.
It’s Monday morning, and I sluggishly step onto the machine, still tired after a full weekend. My arms and legs gradually gain momentum pumping furiously for the 30 minutes. I end the workout more energized than when I started. With a little fist pump in the air and a silent “who-ahh,” Read More
Driving home from the store, m
y air-conditioned car loaded with groceries that I was able to “hunt” and “gather” in a matter of minutes, unlike the time-intensive real “hunting” and “gathering” our ancestors had to do; I thought about the time-saving luxuries I enjoy, from my car to my washing machine. I wondered why, even with all of the conveniences of today, we can still feel like we don’t have time to get it all done or to pursue our meaningful goals. Read More
As a kid, did you ever go to the playground and play on one of those heavy, metal merry-go-rounds? I would kneel on the merry-go-round with my left leg, holding on to the bar with both hands, and then push with my right leg. In the beginning it would slowly grind and squeak, not much of a ride — just hard work. But, as I continued to push, it gradually gained momentum until before long I was flying around, exhilarated by the ride. At that point, it took very little effort to keep it spinning, in fact, it was hard to stop. Success isn’t a result of one earth-shaking event. It is a result of many small, consistent positive choices — “pushes.” What you do routinely is the key. Read More
Do you find yourself so busy you don’t stop and take stock of where you are and what you can do better? It’s time to have a private huddle with yourself. It’s time to honestly evaluate what is working well in your life, and where you can, and should, improve to get to the top of your game. Read More
The beginning of a new year can fill you with the exhilaration of a fresh start, new beginnings, and goals for a better year. Or it can fill you with trepidation and despair from past failed resolutions. Read More
Do you sometimes feel like your life dreams have been hijacked, like your full potential has been pushed out of your reach? If so, your expectations may be the culprit. Expectations are lists we create about how we think things should be.
Here are three ways expectations may be holding you hostage and keeping you from your dreams and from reaching your highest potential:
“Turn off the TV.” “You can’t play until you do your homework.”
“You need to eat your vegetables first, and then you can have dessert.”
Phrases similar to these are uttered by parents everywhere. When you were a kid, if left to your own devices, you might have eaten junk food as your mainstay and spent the day playing video games or watching TV. Likely a parent limited your behavior and made you do what you needed to do, even when you didn’t feel like it. Read More
The other night, my husband burst out laughing while reading a Patrick McManus story called “Sequences.” He read, “…on a farm you simply don’t go out and do a piece of work. No, the first thing you do is determine the lengthy sequence of activities necessary even to begin the job. Then you realize that the sequence of preparatory activities is so long you will never get to the intended task. So you go fishing instead.”
We laugh because we can relate to getting diverted from our intended task. The reality is that we have so many choices available to us today, it’s no wonder we get off track. Read More