A Potent Practice
In this extra busy season, when we can veer in the direction of exhaustion and burnout, I'm practicing giving in a way that feeds me - to be giving of myself instead of giving up myself. (And for me, it's definitely a practice - messy and imperfect and growth-oriented!)
Savouring the Rest of Our Summer
Let’s Seize the rest of our summer by savouring some of our favourite summer moments or actiivities! What do you want to savour?
Hope You Enjoyed Mother’s Day
I hope you enjoyed some moments of goodness, even joy, yesterday, however and with whomever you celebrated.
I savoured some time outside in the backyard reading our book club choice this month, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain. A highlight for me was taking in the beauty of our young magnolia tree, which is covered in blooms for the first time ever.
Permission to Be Kind to Ourselves
In the last few years, I’ve become increasingly fierce about promoting and validating qualities that have been labelled “feminine”, such as kindness and compassion, and therefore seen as weak or at best, secondary to, “masculine” qualities like rationality and logic. It's time for us all, as human beings, to own the power of these "feminine" qualities within us and each other, and using them for more good, for ourselves and for the world.
Celebrate? Right Now? Pardon?
I’ve had the concept of “celebrating” swirling around in my head for the last few weeks. It was an intuitive decision and since I made it, I’ve been trying catch up with my intuition about it. ("She" tends to be a bit more audacious than the regular "me". :-)) I’ve been asking myself, why was it so important to celebrate, in this very difficult year, of all years?
It’s Time for Us to Be Smarter with These Big Feelings
These times are providing an opportunity for us to grow and become more emotionally intelligent. Emotional intelligence is about being smarter with our feelings, bringing our cognition and our feelings together. (Definition from SixSeconds.org) Our feelings are important data to take in; we ignore them at our peril.
More About Love 2.0 - It's So Important!
Previously, I shared a message about the re-definition of love, sourced from research by the brilliant Dr. Barbara Fredrickson and her team and set out in Love 2.0: How Our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything We Feel, Think, Do and Become (2012). This note builds on the ideas in a bit more detail - they are so important for us to take in as we become more and more immersed in our virtual worlds. The research contained in Love 2.0 emphasizes the importance of being together in flesh and blood. In fact, being together in person is a requirement of Love 2.0. The in-person requirement is what I want to highlight here.
Love 2.0 - A Super Powerful Re-Definition of Love
On Valentine’s Day, when the focus is on romantic love, I want to deliver a message about a re-definition of Love, sourced from research by the brilliant Dr. Barbara Fredrickson and her team. Dr. Fredrickson is a pre-eminent authority on “positive emotions”, where Love reigns supreme. She is the author of Love 2.0: How Our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything We Feel, Think, Do and Become (2012), as well as Positivity (which I blogged about years ago).
Savouring - A Very Pleasant and Effective Tool for Success!
Savouring is a positive psychology "happiness intervention", meaning that finding ways to savour the joys in life has been shown to lead to increased happiness and well-being. And studies have also shown that increased happiness and well-being lead to more success in life - and not the other way around as many of us assume.
I Hung Up on Myself
I shut the conversation inside myself down. I disconnected from my feelings and intuition in favour of logic and common sense. And then I paid a high price for many years – I gradually became very unfulfilled in my work, overwhelmed by life, and was completely lost professionally for many years.
Why I Now Love to Share a Room at a Retreat
When I went to my first 10-day Feminine Power retreat a few years ago, I didn’t even consider sharing a room. I wanted to be able to have that refuge of a room to myself. I have a husband, three kids, and a dog and this was my chance to not have to worry about anyone but myself. I love to spend time by myself as much as I love being with others.
From Isolation Into Connection
What would it be like for you to be able to be in a circle of women where it is completely safe and, in fact, you are encouraged, to show up as your biggest self, sharing your deepest desires? Where you don’t have to show as perfect - you can show all of yourself, including your vulnerabilities, and still be embraced?
Unexpected Gratitude
The other day I was working at a café here in Toronto, with a view through the window into the climbing gym where my youngest was in an after-school program. This has been our weekly routine for some months now and it is working beautifully. As I sat there, feeling stressed by what was on my plate, I felt a huge wave of gratitude come over me.
The Sweet Fruits of Transformation – A Story
I want to tell you the story of Vanessa, an imaginary woman who is a combination of many of the women I have talked to and worked with over the years, and me. I want to sketch out for you her “before and after” coaching story – so you can see the benefits of transformation. The fruits of transformation can be very sweet indeed!
I Do, and I Don’t, Want to Transform
If you are anything like me, you probably have mixed feelings about the idea of transforming certain aspects of yourself or your life. When I would hear Claire Zammit, the founder of Feminine Power, talk about how we were going to transform in the first course I took with her, I would feel a good dose of fear along with any excitement. I feared that transformation would mean that everything I had built - my marriage, my family, my friends, my work - would be on the table for transformation.
Fun is Not a Luxury
In my conversations with other women over the years, I have heard over and over about their yearning for Fun. But they often hold themselves back from creating fun in their lives - they see it as a luxury. I too am guilty of this. But Fun is not a luxury. It is not selfish. It is an essential ingredient in our lives. And we need to Make Room For It.
Why I Love Our Street Party
We heard about the party because neighbours were selling tickets to a raffle to be held at the party. We were curious, so on the day of, walked up and checked it out. We loved the community feel to it.
Acts of Kindness Elevate Us - Inspiration From Paris
When was the last time you felt that open, warm or glowing feeling in your chest when you witnessed an act of kindness? I had the privilege of enjoying and savouring that sensation of elevation a number of times on a recent trip.
Appreciating the Power of Gratitude For Greater Happiness - Part 2
You may have heard that choosing to be grateful is one of the most powerful ways to boost your happiness. That's why I am really dwelling on it here.
Appreciating the Power of Gratitude for Greater Happiness (Part 1)
Did you know that practicing gratitude regularly is one of the most powerful ways to boost your well-being, especially your happiness? Contrary to what you might think, happiness fuels success, not the other way around.
- authenticity
- brain
- change
- coaching
- collaboration
- confidence
- courage
- energetic
- energy
- feminine power
- giving
- gratitude
- growth mindset
- happiness
- humility
- international womens day
- intuition
- leadership
- perfectionism
- potential
- pride
- receiving
- reflection
- replenish
- resistance
- savouring
- self-compassion
- self-doubt
- selfishness
- silence
- social change
- success
- vulnerability
- wisdom
- workplace
- yearning