“What would you say to watching a movie, tonight?” my husband asked on a random Tuesday evening. My first thought was no, we can’t watch a movie — it is a weeknight and we have “shows” to watch on the DVR. But I said, “I don’t want to watch a movie. Why don’t we watch […]
The turn of the new year was clunky for me. Clunkier than usual. We had a crazy few weeks leading up to the holidays and, of course, the holidays are always crazy (in a fun, seeing family, lots of together time, still overwhelming kind of way), so we took the last week of the year […]
And here is what blew me away: In response to this suggestion, Mr. Rogers says, “What do you think is the most important thing in the world for me right now? To speak on the phone to Lloyd Vogel.”
When I heard this line I audibly gasped.
The quote got me thinking: How often do I miss conversations or important moments because, in my head, I am already moving on to the next thing? How often does my worrying about what comes next distract me from the important things that are happening right there in the present moment?
Yes, I wish we had more adventures. Yes, I wish we had fewer restrictions on our time. Yes, I wish this living intentionally, having self-compassion and empathy and showing up for life was a little easier. But overall, I love the messy imperfection that is my life.
I love that I have a life based on my values, and when things get messy and confusing, I can come back to them and remind myself, yes, right now this is what I want for my life.
In today’s episode, I explore how values are the foundation of your life. How they are the guiding principles on which everything else builds. And how when we work through our anxiety to narrow our down our list of values, we can use them to find what is most important to us.
Postponing our plans for change looks great under the glow of the holiday lights. But when we wake up each year on January 1st, hungover from too much celebrating, realizing with dread, that all of our plans for change in the New Year need to magically start RIGHT NOW, it is a very different story.
All of the plans that we have been putting off until the New Year are suddenly very real and very pressing. We need to get it together and act before our Monger catches on.
The deadline had arrived.
For people with High Functioning Anxiety, the days leading up to the New Year are days full of possibility. Set the resolution, do the prep work, and, poof like magic, we will be different people.
No wonder we are so depressed come the first week of January when we realize that the change we want is only going to happen with work and that the work is going to be hard.
Michelle Steinhour came to me a few years ago consumed with self-doubt, insecurity and constant questioning. It was showing up in her marriage and in her work. She was looking for practical strategies that would help her feel less doubtful about herself.
I introduced her to my Coach in Your Pocket and Michelle has seen a big shift in her anxiety. But, as she reminds us in today’s episode, it’s a life-long process.
This is the darkest week of the year. Next Saturday is the winter solstice. I have always been drawn to this week, even more so than the summer solstice. A day of darkness. A day of reflection. It is also a day of hope. It is the shortest day of the year, which means it […]
Our BFF enables us to rebel against the voice of our Monger. When we get tired of our Monger criticizing us, we bring in our BFF for a little self-compassion.
Our BFF is the one who always has our back. She is the type of BFF who is always willing to risk getting into trouble and is always there to defend us.
But she is not about holding our feet to the fire or keeping us accountable.
There are other voices in your head–the BFF and the Biggest Fan–but of the 3 characters that are at the core of The Happier Approach, the Monger is the loudest of them all.
A friendly reminder that you are okay just as you are. In my world of personal development and growth, I want to pause from time to time and share lovingly that you are perfectly wonderful right now, even if you never changed or grew again. Growth is awesome. Wanting to improve is a fabulous and worthy […]