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Personal Development

Your Good-Enough List (A critical Sanity-Saving Tool)

Personal Development

I recently attended a three-day women’s festival that I attended for the first time in 2016. It’s never the same the second, third or umpteenth time around is it? First of all, there’s that ‘first time newness’ that we can only get once. “Wow! Look at that!” “Goodness, that’s amazing!” And so on … because we are seeing things through fresh, first-time eyes.

In our subsequent visits, while we look for that same magic, but logically know it will be different than our beloved ‘first-time’.  We then start to notice what’s not there that we liked the previous year(s), and lament “But I really liked that!”

So this year, I decided to focus instead on what was new, different and intriguing. And that’s how I came across The Release Tree.

... read more

( Posted in: Leadership )

Courage – an expanded definition (It isn’t what I thought it was)

Personal Development

We’ve all heard these definitions …

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquering of it.  (I’ve seen this attributed to Dan Millman)

Courage is resistance to fear.  (Thanks Mark Twain)

Courage is mastery of fear.  (Mark Twain again)

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.  (Kelly Clarkson made this line famous in her pop song)

In other words, grit your teeth and move on regardless. Tough it out. Toughen up.

 

A lot of people who know me say I’m one of the most tenacious, determined, “courageous” people they know. And I’ve always kind of liked this. I’m proud that I ‘hang in there’, dig deep and find my way through challenges.

My father (bless you, dad) had a saying that went something like this: “The real measure of a person’s character is how they handle adversity.” And I liked this too – for most of my life.

Whenever I was going through a tough time, I’d remember my dad’s words and think ‘keep going, Sandi – you’re developing character. People will admire you for the fact that you’ve made it through all this crap.’ And so I did keep going (though I’m not sure this really earned me brownie points in the admiration-from-other-people stakes).

... read more

Happy Independence Day!

Personal Development

OK ... so I'm thinking about indepedence today because I was born in the USA and spent the early years of my life there. And today is America's Independence Day - a national holiday where our break from England in 1776 is commemorated and celebrated.

But it's a subject worthy of pondering ...

How independent are you?

... read more

I've taken the Ultimate Blog Challenge for October!

I'm so delighted with my new web site! And especially the fact that I can easily post blogs here ... so to get me in the habit of writing regularly, I've joined the Ultimate Blog Challenge for October!

... read more

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  • In my work, I frequently speak with people who are disenchanted with their lives.

    “I feel so frustrated … I’ve been doing the same thing at work for years and I just can’t seem to get ahead.”

    “I feel lost. I know I am capable of doing more but have no idea how to achieve what I really want to do.”

    “Maybe I’m just not meant to do anything else. I mean, who am I to want more?”

     

    I find this very sad. 

  • Work/Life Balance doesn't exist - and while we continue to strive to achieve it, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment.

    Why?

    The phrase itself suggests a couple things that are inherent in the problem:

  • Frankly, no. It's not possible - and we are causing ourselves untold frustration and disappointment while we keep trying to achieve it!
     
     
    Why do I say this?
     
    Well, think for a minute about the phrase itself - 
  • (WARNING: Your life as you know it is about to change)

     

    “How can I handle difficult people?”

    Answer – you can’t.

    “Wait – what? You mean I’m stuck with them in my life?”

    Answer – it all depends on how you look at it.

  • I recently attended a three-day women’s festival that I attended for the first time in 2016. It’s never the same the second, third or umpteenth time around is it? First of all, there’s that ‘first time newness’ that we can only get once. “Wow! Look at that!” “Goodness, that’s amazing!” And so on … because we are seeing things through fresh, first-time eyes.

    In our subsequent visits, while we look for that same magic, but logically know it will be different than our beloved ‘first-time’.  We then start to notice what’s not there that we liked the previous year(s), and lament “But I really liked that!”

    So this year, I decided to focus instead on what was new, different and intriguing. And that’s how I came across The Release Tree.

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