Personal growth
-
Inner compass
“Pay close attention to your inner compass. If you stop steering by your own compass, you’ll hit a rumble strip. Don’t panic. Just question your assumptions and you’ll be back on the road in no time.” ~Martha Beck In the 1950s, most women didn’t have the choices we have today. Typically, they married and had kids, stayed home to raise those kids, managed household chores, and followed the cultural norms of the time. Likewise, their husbands climbed into their cars every weekday morning (or evening) and drove to work to support their families. Breaking that pattern isn’t always easy, even today. We humans are creatures of habit. We follow the…
-
Gratitude
“Of all the practices, I believe that learning to feel and express gratitude may be the most important in achieving and maintaining a happy life.” ~Andrew Weil, M.D. Are you counting your gifts, advantages, and blessings? Numerous studies show that keeping a gratitude journal on a daily basis will improve our life satisfaction within three weeks. You need only list a few items — and they don’t have to be major. Small pleasures add up to a big increase in contentment. Consider the taste of your morning brew, the fall colors on your morning walk, or the lovely handwritten note you received in yesterday’s mail. Record your gratitude list at…
-
Small steps vs big leaps
“The smaller the steps we take, the more likely we are to achieve our goals.” ~Martha Beck Starting anything new can be overwhelming, whether you’re trying to lose weight, start a new business, or write the story of your life. You might get discouraged early on — if you don’t break your goal into manageable parts. As Martha Beck reminds us, small steps are better than big leaps toward progress. If you’re cleaning up your eating habits, for instance, start with just a few healthy changes you can stick with. If you’re learning a new language, master a few words or phrases at a time. If you’re writing a memoir,…
-
How we see things
“We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are.”~Anais Nin Our experience and circumstances shape how we perceive things, as French memoirist Anais Nin reminds us in today’s quote. If I’ve had a bad meal in a restaurant, for instance, I’m unlikely to try it again — even if my dining companions enjoyed everything they ordered. Whenever I find myself offended, annoyed, or angered, I’m tempted to adopt the stance of self-righteousness. That’s when I absolutely need to stop and consider the reasons behind another person’s actions or opinions. And that’s when a little empathy comes in handy. Have I taken time to understand what that…
-
Hit the reset button
“I need to take an emotional breath, step back, and remind myself who’s actually in charge of my life.” ~Judith M. Knowlton How many times have you suddenly realized you’re following patterns or routines that worked for a while, but aren’t serving you anymore? As creatures of habit, we tend to stay on the same beaten path, rarely stepping away from our comfort zone. We might keep buying the same brand of coffee, hanging out with the same people, walking the same route with the dog … or continually putting up with the same negative or disrespectful treatment from others. So maybe it’s time to shake things up. Time to…
