Category: Learning

When you think of the phrase “life-defining moments,” what comes to mind? It might seem silly to think about, but I see it as a moment bringing meaning and purpose to my life. A memory or event giving me direction on this journey, where I often feel like I’m stumbling.  I was walking through an airport shop to pick up …

Practice makes perfect is an old proverb traced back to the 1550s. Its purpose was to encourage someone to persist in achieving a skill, behavior or goal. I wonder how often we put the emphasis on perfection rather than practicing progress? I started going to Yoga classes at our local rec center, with the intent to strengthen my core. During …

When I was a young mom, I took on a night job restocking new clothing lines at a children’s store. It was only a couple of times a month, but the benefit was so alluring. I felt it was worth giving up a good night’s sleep for a 40% discount (which was a big deal to this frugal mom).  Have …

We all know what stress feels like, and it isn’t fun. The stress levels in our house have been at a record high, and it’s been interesting to see how what affects one person trickles down to affect us all. There is no doubt, stress is bad for your emotional, mental, and physical health, but learning how to slow down, …

Is it possible to improve memory and brain function? There are vital elements to get a good memory working in your favor! Do I forget things? Have I lost my mind? These possibilities have always been a bit of a hot topic in our home. With a family history of dementia and Alzheimers Disease, I’ve realized the burden of care …

Years ago, my husband was laid off from his job. I was in the process of going back to school to finish my degree, and we had a house full of teenagers. It was a great wake up call for us to evaluate our finances and discover ways to save more money in our monthly expenses. I’m glad the stress …

Have you ever felt the frustration of unmet expectations quickly turn into intense negative emotions? Bound in bitterness, it is sometimes hard to see a way out. I recently had frustrations quickly escalate into negative emotions that sent me spiraling.    I’ve always looked forward to the “empty nesting” phase of our life. The time to pursue new hobbies, interests, …

Happiness is often considered one of those ever elusive emotions. We seem to search for it as if it were some tangible object. The truth is, happiness is something we feel despite what might be going on in our life – it is a state of being independent of circumstance. There is no magical switch or special pill to change …

These gaps represented, to me, the various traps or stumbling blocks we can fall captive to if we are not mindful as we move along in life.

Isn’t it fascinating how good we are at procrastination when it comes to things with the promise of long-term pleasure, and we’re terrible at putting off things that produce short-term satisfaction?  Tim Urban calls it the instant gratification monkey.  Sometimes instant gratification has a stronger pull than the long term pleasure of being proactive. I get it. The struggle is …

Depression can be a hard one to understand, especially if you’ve never experienced it first hand yourself. Learning to support a loved one with depression is not intuitive when what we want more than anything is to offer help. Someone I love is struggling with depression, and it’s been hard for me to understand. I’ve had been periods in my …

Last fall I was challenged to “unplug” for a full week. During this digital detox, I was asked to pay attention to how I felt, notice any changes in my behavior, and watch for how many times I had the impulse to pick up my phone. The challenge helped me gain some interesting insights and learn to think twice before …