Posts tagged with “difficult”
How to Have a Peaceful Mother’s Day with a Difficult Mother
“I’d rather be honest and authentic and disappoint some people than to exhaust myself trying to keep up the facade of perfection.” ~Crystal Paine
“You’re the Best Mom Ever!”
Nope.
“You’ve always listened, loved, and let me lean on you.”
Not really.
For most of my adult life, every year before Mother’s Day I stood in front of a beautiful display of cards fairly bursting with love, and tried to find one that my authentic self would allow me to give my mother, and that my mother would be pleased enough with that the day would be calm and …
That Person Who Irritates You Could Be Your Greatest Teacher
“The teacher you need is the person you’re living with.” ~Byron Katie
On the bus home from Disney World, my best friend sputtered, “Angela, you are such a huge control freak!”
First, I went into an angry rage. I accused her, “How dare you call me a control freak! I planned this whole trip.”
Next, I resorted to pouting and pointing my finger at her, listing every possible way she was the control freak.
I was in complete victim mode. Classic, right? Little did I know that this incident would be an important self-growth tool for me.
She returned …
6 Ways to Deal with Critical, Judgmental People
“When we judge or criticize another person, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.” ~Unknown
We all have people in our lives who unintentionally hurt us. Their words may sound harsh. We may feel judged. And they may question our choices so much that we feel emotionally unsafe around them.
People can make comments about our career choice, living situation, life partner (or lack of), child-rearing decisions, and hobbies—and often when we didn’t ask for their opinion or advice.
Oftentimes, the healthiest choice is to stay away from these …
When Life Gets Hard: Keep Moving Forward, One Step at a Time
“You just do it. You force yourself to get up. You force yourself to put one foot before the other, and darn it, you refuse to let it get to you. You fight. You cry. You curse. Then you go about the business of living. That’s how I’ve done it. There’s no other way.” ~Elizabeth Taylor
Most of us will experience hard choices, stressful events, and difficult situations that will impact us in one way or another for the rest of our lives.
Hard times happen. They teach us lessons, make us stronger, and give us a deeper sense of …
How to Rise Above Difficult Circumstances and Be Happy
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” ~Viktor Frankl
I first got wind of this transformative concept when I was a teenager reading Man’s Search For Meaning.
It has played beautifully into what has become my life theme: how people transcend their adversities. I’ve forever been inspired by how (some) people can go through so much and yet be able to rise above and live well. I call it living well despite…
It seems to boil …
4 Lessons from the Forest on Dealing with Difficult Times
“Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.” ~Victor Hugo
This week I revisited a favorite national park, some fourteen years after my last visit. Despite the long hiatus, the reason for both trips was the same.
When I last visited in 2000, my goal was to seek out the solitude and beauty of the rainforest, the creeks rushing headlong through shade-dappled gorges, and the vast rocky cliffs overlooking the distant ocean.
I had suffered a recent breakup and wanted to spend some time in nature, in solitude, in a place where I could …
Dealing with Difficult People: 5 Effective, Compassionate Practices
“Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists.” ~Eckhart Tolle
It’s morning; you’re in a great mood. You’re relaxed and have plenty of time to practice your morning routine. After a delicious breakfast, you head out to start your day. Then it happens: You encounter a difficult person, and your calm turns to calamity.
We all have encounters with people who prefer to stay miserable, making everything difficult. They exist, and perhaps there was a time in your past when you once where one of those negative people. Perhaps you still can be at times.
As a …
The Most Important Thing to Do Before a Difficult Conversation
“You are your choices.” ~Seneca
After four years of radio silence, a former flame appeared in my inbox.
We set up a time to talk later that week. And when the day came, right on time, he called.
We talked. I had many questions. He explained the best he could. The conversation eased into Taoism and Twitter. Totally comfortable.
But for the twenty-four hours beforehand, I was bracing myself.
I was expecting long, awkward silences, angry words, and maybe even a premature hanging up of the phone. In case it’s not clear, things hadn’t ended so well with us.
And …
Waking Up and Forgetting a Bad Day
“Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.” ~Denis Waitley
Yesterday was a bad day.
My husband and I got really close to buying a car before we walked away—again. This time it was because it was above our budget (with taxes), because the current owners didn’t have the title (their bank did), and because our own car broke down on the way to trying to buy the new car (didn’t see that one coming).
I was fine about the ordeal yesterday, seeing …
4 Easy Steps to Deal with Difficult People
“There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally.” ~Don Miguel Ruiz
It seemed like a simple task. Please switch my gym membership from gold to silver level. I’m not cancelling, just switching.
That was now the third time I repeated my request, each time a little more calmly and a little more slowly, despite the beginnings of blood boiling feelings.
The person on the other end of the phone could not have been ruder. It was as if I was asking for a kidney instead of a membership change. A harsh tone …
Tiny Wisdom: On Risks
“It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult.” ~Seneca
Taking the path of least resistance actually requires a lot of resistance. It’s human nature to want to soar! To venture out, explore the world, expand ourselves and our minds and live with passion, enthusiasm, and abandon.
You might be doing that already, whatever that means to you. Or you may be containing yourself into a safe, predictable box, assuming everything outside it is far beyond your reach.
It’s not—it’s not nearly as far away as you think.…
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