Blog: Healing Choices
This blog focuses on the small moments that make a good day into a bad day, or a terrible day into a gift of a day. It’s my belief that developing awareness in these small moments is the practice we need to be able to navigate all the ups and downs of life, from loss and grief to love, peace, and joy.
Emotional Adulthood
My email inbox got to overwhelming proportions this summer. As I worked on clearing it out last week, I realized that I’d missed a number of not-earth-shattering-but-not-trivial emails from a good friend of mine. I sent her an email apologizing for missing the emails...
Perspective = Reaction
I once read a story where someone was in a “Pay It Forward” kind of mood and left notes on six different windshields in a parking lot. The person who left the messages had no connection to anyone who owned the cars. It was a completely random act of kindness, or so...
Body Wisdom
A recent conversation with a good friend reminded of the amazing book, You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise L. Hay. I read the book years ago, and had forgotten all the great information about the mind-body connection in the second half of the book (or maybe I never got...
Decision-Making
I recently spoke to a group about decision-making. At the beginning of the talk, I asked people to get into groups of two and discuss a time when they had made a good decision and why they thought they had been able to make such a good decision. I partnered with one...
Lesson Learned
One day not too long ago I was rushing to get my son to preschool before an appointment. As we were walking into the building, I realized I didn’t have my keys in my hand. I brought my son to his classroom and got him settled in, then returned to my car. Yep, it was...
Compliments 101
How well do you receive compliments? Do you accept them with a gracious “Thank you?” or do you brush them away? How do you feel when you offer a sincere compliment and it is accepted graciously? How about when it is brushed aside? When someone offers you a compliment,...
Stop the Downward Spiral
These days, I spend a lot of time observing my own thoughts. Sometimes I can see myself thinking a negative thought and see how that plays out in my day, and sometimes it all happens at a more unconscious level. When I see it, sometimes I just keep watching. Sometimes...
My Basic Thought Work
“Don’t believe everything you think.” I say this to all my clients, usually in the first coaching conversation we have. I write it on the white board when I speak in front of groups—doesn’t really matter what the topic is, this quote always applies. Most importantly,...
The 3 B’s
One of the tools Martha Beck taught me many years ago that I’ve used the most is “The 3 ‘B’s.” The 3 B’s are three ways to handle tasks or jobs that don’t really float your boat—things you’d rather not do, if you felt like you had a choice. The 3 B’s: 1. Bag It. Just...
My Happiness Project
I’m reading Gretchen Rubin’s book, The Happiness Project. It’s about one woman’s decision to spend a year trying to become happier. The book’s wonderful and Gretchen does a good job of describing her day-to-day struggles to focus on things that make her happier. One...