Earlier this week I was walking in a place I’m not familiar with when a tall and alternatively dressed male came sauntering round the bend in the opposite direction. Gulping, I suddenly realised I was in a potentially vulnerable situation. However, as he walked past he tipped his cap, grinned and said, “Good morning!” I smiled back and responded in …
Where’s your focus?
View PostHow to remove mud
Sometimes you need to know how to remove mud. Peter and Kate were quietly helping out their kid’s footy team with the canteen each week when a committee member came and asked them for feedback over a problem they’d found. In good faith they gave it, only to find themselves in the middle of a power struggle where their good …
Five reasons to smile!
I had an encounter with Mr Grumpy this week. I met him at a checkout, where he was supposed to be serving me. Whilst I tried to help by being prepared, saying hello and having my payment ready to go, he avoided eye contact, threw my groceries round and didn’t even bother to speak. As we walked away, my friend …
When life’s tough, do you know your choices?
Have you noticed how quickly negative feelings and bad experiences darken your world and seem to limit your choices? You’re having a quiet cup of coffee (it is the holidays!) when your kids start World War 3, and by the time it’s sorted your relaxed mood’s gone. Or you’re basking in the afterglow of Christmas goodwill when the credit card …
Nobody likes me, everybody hates me…
Do you know the next line to that old song? “Think I’ll go and eat worms…” Ugh! Until it’s the latest trend in gourmet cooking circles, swallowing the common garden variety has zero appeal to me. In the same way that miserable people have little appeal to anyone! I recalled the ditty after witnessing a teary little girl meltdown. You …
Dangerous comfort zones
(And how to avoid them) Comfort zones. The places we relax and feel safe. Where life’s easy. Where it’s not necessary to think or work too hard…and where everything happens by habit. They’re the psychological equivalent of your mind’s favourite old couch – the place where you curl up and retire to when life’s just a bit too challenging. Comfort …
7 ways to brighten your day
I consider myself pretty even keeled and happy as a person. Most of the time I’m appreciative of the good value folks around me, and my life’s decent. I walk in my neighbourhood feeling safe, and when I get home – well, it’s a great place to be. I also enjoy my work and mostly feel as though I’m moving …
Are you guarding your heart?
A friend introduced me the concept of guarding your heart last year. She’d landed a new position, and over coffee she told me her husband had warned her he’d be checking in regularly. To see if she was guarding her heart!! It caught my attention, being so unusual. After all, she’d just got something she really wanted: a great job. …
7 ways to be well
Lose weight. Get fit. Eat better. Quit smoking. Quit drinking. According to one Australian website, these are the top resolutions we made as 2018 kicked in. We see these as ways to be well, and the most important areas to start improving in, I guess. I find it intriguing they’re all aspects of our physical health. It’s important to care …
Are you suffering the what the heck effect?
I love reading and learning, not the least because you sometimes come across the most intriguing ideas. The what the heck effect is one such novel discovery of recent times. What is the what the heck effect? And why might you be suffering it? Let me answer those questions in turn. The ‘What the heck?’ effect is a term coined …
Peace on Earth, goodwill to all?
It was probably a Christmas carol being played in the background that triggered my thoughts of angels in the Christmas story and the idea of goodwill. What was it they said? ‘Hark the herald angels sing…!” Anyway, after the concept rattled round the edges of my brain for a few days, I decided to go re-read the story and find …
How to handle your difficult relations
Difficult relations. They’re one of the challenges of the season, and most of us have them. An aunt who talks non stop. A brother who drinks too much. Nephews or nieces who run amok; someone who’s simply mean. And that’s before you add your workplace challenges! Many people can suck the ‘happy’ out of your Christmas. And though you’ll meet …
Do you have soft skin? How not to take offence
I have a daughter who breaks out in welts whenever she’s bitten by a mosquito: not good in our climate! But I know more people who have soft skin of a different kind; they break out in offence at the slightest occasion. My question for us today: Is your skin so soft you spend your life suffering unnecessary pain because …
Living the good life?
Ah Christmas. Here it comes. The time of year where we seem to run faster and fit more in – and when we’re suddenly supposed to be happier. When we get to catch up with people we haven’t seen for ages and maybe don’t really like. When we eat and drink so much we put on an average of 1-1.5 …