Lara Zielin’s book, “Author Your Life: How One Writer Changed Her Life Through the Power of Storytelling, and How Your Can, Too,” comes out Tuesday.
Archives
What you believe about yourself affects what you think is possible for yourself.
For example, an elite athlete might feel their muscles pushed almost to the point of collapse and think, “I am reaching peak performance! This is what I excel at.” I might feel that same level of exertion and think, “I’m not sure I can do this, I’m afraid I’m going to hurt myself. I should ease up.”
One person might feel butterflies before public speaking and think, “I’m so nervous, this is terrible!” while I might feel the same adrenaline rush and think, “I’m so excited! I can’t wait to do this.”
Deepak Chopra talks about the value of flexibility in the sixth spiritual law, detachment.
“This doesn’t mean you give up your intention to create your desire, you don’t give up the intention and you don’t give up the desire, you give up your attachment to the result.”
Nan Sanders Pokerwinski weighs the winter options: Stay in and make progress on projects she’s been itching to get into or go enjoy activities with friends?
How can you prioritize making and maintaining friendships? Is there something you’re doing that you could ditch to make room for friendships, or could you make better use of downtime? Can you combine socializing with something else that’s already on your calendar?
Tony Marceda shares a deeply personal story of learning to manage his anxiety and panic attacks in a way that leaves him feeling like himself.
Helping you live life intentionallyNewvine Growing Coaching Why do I believe in coaching? Because it helped me propel through a midlife crisis to create a richer, fuller, more adventurous life than I could have imagined. I'd accomplished everything on my checklist: I married a great guy, earned my MBA at a top 10 school, landed a six-figure job on the…
My college newspaper adviser, Jim Wojcik, gave me a pep talk during my first job after I graduated. Woj told me everyone’s first job is hard. Think of it as boot camp. You’re there to get real world experience. Tough it out for a year. If you hate it after a year, you move on to the next place up the career ladder.
Marie Kondo is the author of the cultishly popular book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” which has sold nearly 6 million copies and seems to have taken on an even larger cultural footprint. I’ve asked friends to share their perspectives on clutter in their lives.
A recent visit to my hometown had me reminiscing about one of my favorite high school jobs. As a teenager, I lucked into a surreal collection of work experiences. My first job, if you don’t count baby-sitting in middle school, was as a clown. I hosted children’s birthday parties, painting kids’ faces, making balloon animals and running a series of loud,…
When we met to discuss our 2015 goals, my friend Amanda helped me see a life’s purpose right there in front of me when she pointed out how much pleasure I get hosting parties.
She pointed to the frequent events I plan, from living room concerts to spaghetti dinners, and said those gatherings are making people’s lives better. I am bringing people joy by giving them experiences they wouldn’t otherwise have and connecting them with other interesting people.
I’m planning a day-long marketing workshop with a friend who is, among other things, an improv actress. If you know nothing else about improvisation, you might recognize the foundational concept of “Yes, and,” which encourages actors to accept what others do on stage and build on it. Everything about the creation of this marketing workshop we’re calling “Learning to market yourself…
My husband, John, and I celebrated our 14-year wedding anniversary this week, which had us reflecting on our gratitude for our happy marriage and what we think we’ve learned since we first said, “I do.” Just a few days before our anniversary, Leo Babauta included the following tips in his email newsletter, Zen Habits. I thought it was perfect timing, better…
We’re a little more than a week in — have you already abandoned your optimistic New Year’s resolutions? One of my favorite blogs, Zen Habits, recently had a post that spoke to the reasons we struggle to make change, even changes we might really want or need. The Child That Holds Us Back By Leo Babauta It took me a…
I don’t remember much about the commencement address at my college graduation. We were all crowded into a loud fieldhouse, which as I recall had lousy acoustics, and mainly we were waiting for those few seconds when we’d get to walk across the stage to prove we were graduates. I hope the graduates who heard Chris Sacca‘s commencement speech were able to…
John and I spent last weekend with friends in Newtown, Conn. They have a school-aged child. As they described learning about the terrible events at Sandy Hook Elementary, and how the loss of 26 lives to a gunman continues to play out in their small town, I tried in vain to imagine what their experience must have been like. Shortly…
Do you remember that exhilarating feeling the first time someone you adored said those magic words, “I love you?” And do you remember the gut-wrenching feeling the first time you realized that someone who’d been throwing around the L word didn’t really love you? At least, not in the way you needed? How you demonstrate your love matters. John and…
Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. This week’s question — timely as we head into the holiday season, including the frenzy of big box sales…
Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. Today’s question comes from Lauren McCabe, mermaidchronicles.com, @mermaidtales on Twitter, originally posted on her blog under the headline In…
It seems the socially correct answer to the question “How are you?” is no longer “Good,” but “Busy.” Maybe it’s all the technology that keeps us plugged in 24/7, or the never-ending flow of information from social media, websites and blogs, or the added work load on employees left at downsized companies. Whatever the cause, I frequently have conversations with…