Holiday Love Challenge #26: Leave a Positive Comment
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Holiday Love Challenge #25: Tell Someone Their Presence Is the Best Gift
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25 Powerful Acts of Love and Kindness
The holiday season has the potential to bring out the best in us. Though the days get shorter and colder, somehow our hearts get bigger and warmer.
Maybe it’s the thoughtfulness handwritten on Christmas cards, maybe it’s the focus on giving over receiving, or maybe it’s the anticipation of celebration with people we love.
For many, it’s the reminder of what’s important in life—not what we do, what we earn, or what we buy, but how we treat each other, how we help each other, and how we use our gifts to make the world a better place.
Yes, the …
Holiday Love Challenge #24: Thank Someone for an Intangible Gift
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5 Unexpected Benefits of Being Friendly
“A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.” ~Charles H. Spurgeon
What are the benefits of being friendly? Some might argue that there aren’t many advantages to it. These people might even tell you that you should mind your own business instead of trying to please everyone.
But is friendliness really just an attempt to please others? Is it really a sign of insecurity or even weakness?
I believe friendliness is a sign of inner strength and …
7 Things Everyone Should Learn Before They Die
“I would rather die of passion than of boredom.” ~Vincent Van Gogh
I attended an interesting event a few nights ago. It featured ten speakers who spoke for ten minutes each on ten things you should know before you die.
The speakers included TV and film stars, CEOs, cover-shooting photojournalists, traveling journalists covering natural disasters, and HIV survivors. As you can imagine, there was a wide spectrum of perspectives shared.
Here are a few of the lessons that stuck out for me. A lot of these can profoundly change your mindset, how you view the world, and how you choose …
Holiday Love Challenge #23: My Way Isn’t Right
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What Are You Practicing—Self-Judgment or Self-Compassion?
“You are what you practice most.” ~Richard Carlson
“What are you practicing?” she asked in a gentle, lilting voice.
The entire class was in triangle pose, and at that moment I was comparing my triangle to the young woman’s right next to mine, scolding myself for wobbling out of the pose and simultaneously harassing myself for not being “further along” in my career. (Because if you’re going to hate on yourself, my motto is GO BIG.)
“Are you practicing judgment or comparison?” she tenderly probed.
“WTF!” I thought. “Does this woman have a direct line to my brain?”
“Are you …
What to Do When Your Partner Disappoints or Frustrates You
“Good relationships don’t just happen. They take time, patience, and two people who truly want to be together.” ~Unknown
We are wired to seek “the right one,” the ever-supportive partner, and the loving relationship.
If we get all three, it’s like winning the lottery of life. When we meet someone, we dream of him/her being our soul mate. When we are in a relationship, we hope they’ll love and support us unconditionally, and the relationship will be loving and everlasting.
That would be the ideal world, and, unfortunately, the ideal world isn’t the one we live in.
It took …
Holiday Love Challenge #22: Cut Yourself Some Slack
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7 Ways to Make Your Workday Awesome
“When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.” ~Wayne Dyer
I wish my first real boss had read the book Fish. It’s the story of Mary Jan Ramirez, a young widow who took a job managing the least productive and most negative department of First Guarantee Financial, in Seattle, Washington. In fact, the department was referred to as the “toxic waste dump” of the company.
One day she had an epiphany as she observed workers in “Pike Place Fish Market,”—people who had smelly, nasty jobs of cleaning, wrapping, cooking, and serving fish …
The Power of Literal Listening: Take the Stress Out of Communication
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” ~Ernest Hemingway
If I’m honest, I don’t think I listened to another person until I was in my thirties. I wasn’t really listening, not completely. It’s not that I’m super selfish or vain; I was just so busy doing the mental gymnastics that I thought I had to do to keep up in conversations that I missed what was actually being said to me.
I grew up in a family where it felt like nearly everything that was said had another, unspoken meaning. I remember feeling really confused as a child, …
Holiday Love Challenge #21: Give the Gift of Forgiveness
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How to Live a Fulfilling Life: 10 Powerful Lessons from Loss
“Make ‘Let go of control’ your mantra today.” ~Tiny Buddha’s 365 Tiny Love Challenges #177
When the phone call came I was thousands of miles from home. My father was suddenly ill, admitted to the hospital. I was a medical doctor by then, and I felt a foreboding.
My mind went back to my childhood.
Imagine being a little child in a dark room. Every small noise evokes images of vicious monsters lurking in the night. They draw nearer.
You cry out, “Daddy!” And cry out once more. Then your hero comes to the rescue.
Your father shuffles in …
Giveaway: Let It Go Coloring Book for Stress Relief
Update: The winners for this giveaway are:
- Lyndsay G
- Beth Casey
- Marsha Lawrence
- Claudia Menger
- Teejayhanton
You can get a copy of Let It Go, Coloring and Activities to Awaken Your Mind and Relieve Stress on Amazon here.
When I was a kid, I could color for hours. I could be a little Type-A about it; if I went outside the lines, I would often rip out the page and throw it away, and I may even have yelled, “I hate coloring!” while cursing my imperfection.
But that was a lie—I loved it. So it was only a matter …
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