Hello and Happy New Year everyone! Yesterday on my personal blog, I shared that my theme for 2025 is intentionality. Sometimes, simplifying life and living intentionally means letting go of some things. With that in mind, I’ve recognized that I need to take a break from Wise & Shine so this will be my last post here for a while. Before I go, though, I … Continue reading Intentional Living Sometimes Means Letting Go
Can you believe it has been 25 years since we welcomed the year 2000? Earlier this month on my personal blog, I reflected on how life has changed since December 1999 when an IT issue called Y2K raised concerns of planes falling from the sky, and a complete failure of healthcare, financial systems, and public services. With the wisdom of hindsight, there are several life … Continue reading Y2K Life Lessons – 25 Years Later
With just over a week to go until Christmas and Hanukkah, you may be starting to feel your stress level rise. Do yourself a favour! Pause, take a deep breath, and make a conscious choice to prioritize your wellbeing this holiday season. Setting aside time for you is an investment that will pay great dividends by reducing your stress and helping you be more present. … Continue reading Prioritize Your Wellbeing This Holiday Season
On Friday, I spent a lovely day in a nearby town with my high-school girlfriends. We visited small shops and enjoyed a delicious lunch at a Mexican restaurant. It was a refreshing change from shopping online or at generic big box stores, and it reminded me of the wonderful benefits of shopping local. In recent years, shopping has become very impersonal. We do more of … Continue reading Consider the Benefits of Shopping Local
At this time of year, many of us put pressure on ourselves by striving for perfection. Whether it be the perfect gift, the perfect meal, or the perfect gathering, we set standards that create unnecessary stress when our loved ones would be happy with something simple. If you’re facing the task of planning a get-together, read on for five ideas for low cost and low … Continue reading Ideas for Low Cost and Low Fuss Winter Gatherings
American readers have an opportunity at their Thanksgiving celebrations this week to make this year’s holiday season less costly and more meaningful. If you’d like to simplify your holiday celebrations, it could be time to have a conversation with family about shifting the focus of the holidays from presents to presence. Joy Doesn’t Come from a Store The original animated cartoon of Dr. Seuss’ How … Continue reading Make the Holidays About Presence, Not Presents
With the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday coming up next week, the festive season will soon be in full swing. For many people, stress and the holidays go hand in hand, but it doesn’t have to be that way. For the next few weeks, I’ll continue the “No”vember thread I introduced last week with ways to reduce stress and focus on what matters this holiday season. Today, … Continue reading It’s Time to Make Your Holiday “Don’t Want List”
Last weekend, I saw a couple of posts about NOvember. I was intrigued. I’d heard of November and Movember, but NOvember was new to me. In fact, a quick look at the Days of the Year website that I depend on to tell me these things turned up nothing. How I Heard About NOvember Although I usually avoid labelling myself a minimalist, I’m always looking … Continue reading What Will You Say No to this NOvember?
On Saturday night, most of us in North America turned our clocks back an hour before going to bed. No matter how you feel about it, the much-debated practice of switching between standard and daylight time is a good opportunity to review sleep habits and consider ways to improve your sleep. Some people hate the practice of changing the clocks, but the twice-yearly time change … Continue reading Improve Your Sleep with These Helpful Tips
Why is it so difficult to form healthy habits or overcome bad habits? In many cases, we have good intentions, and we know what we need to do. Yet it’s so difficult to translate those good intentions into action. Read on to learn how you can bridge the gap between good intentions and healthy behaviours. A few weeks ago, I saw a presentation by Monica … Continue reading The Keys to Forming Healthy Habits
On Wednesday, I attended the first session of an 8-week Brain Booster Challenge hosted by Booming Encore. This free webinar series is a journey into the world of brain science and successful aging. The speaker for the series is Dr. Gillian Leithman, Assistant Professor at Montreal’s Concordia University and founder of Rewire to Retire. Despite what many people believe, Dr. Leithman made it clear that … Continue reading Five Surprising Facts About Your Brain Health
Can you believe it has already been a year since I published my first post here on Wise & Shine? As we celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada today, I’m counting my blessings. One of the things I’m grateful for is the opportunity to start my week and yours by having my thoughts appear in your inbox on Monday mornings. In today’s post, I thought it would … Continue reading Highlights of My First Year on Wise & Shine
Yesterday on my personal blog, I wrote about why I decided to try Action for Happiness’ Optimistic October challenge. Today, I continue that thread with a look at the benefits of an optimistic outlook, and ways to be more optimistic every day, even during difficult times. The Benefits of an Optimistic Outlook As an optimistic person, I always wonder what goes on in the brains … Continue reading Approaching Each Day With Optimism
We often hear of the power of 3, the rule of 3, or even the magic of 3. What is so special about the number three? After hearing two different people extol the value of three this week, I decided to investigate the science behind the number three and consider ways it can improve our lives. Earlier this week, at a presentation on leveraging LinkedIn … Continue reading Can the Power of 3 Improve Your Life?
Are you a list maker? Like most people, you probably have a daily or weekly to do list. You may even have a bucket list or a list of long-term goals. But do you have a curious list? If you’ve never heard of such a list, keep reading. My goal for today is to inspire you to start one. I’ve always been a list maker. … Continue reading What’s on Your Curious List?
A couple of weeks ago, an email popped into my inbox with tips on having productive conversations about climate change. In an increasingly divided world, where the need to be right puts relationships with others at risk, the email was an excellent reminder of the importance of seeking to understand different points of view in all areas of life. The email, from The Carbon Almanac, … Continue reading Tips for Productive Conversations
Here in North America, it’s Labour Day (or Labor Day for my American friends). The unofficial end of summer also means it’s back to school time for students across Canada and in some US states. But heading back to school isn’t just for kids. There are many good reasons for people of all ages to set some learning goals. A few years ago, I attended … Continue reading Back to School … Not Just for Kids
Since retiring from my full-time job at the end of June, I’ve been working on establishing a morning routine that works for my new life. My weekday morning routine has looked the same for about the last 20 years. Now I have an opportunity to reinvent myself and establish new habits and routines. Benefits of a Morning Routine Adding structure to your day has many … Continue reading Establishing a Morning Routine
I’ve turned into a bit of a couch potato this week as I’ve been glued to my TV watching the Olympic games from Paris. I am in awe of these athletes. To compete at this level, you need to be blessed with a certain amount of natural ability. Beyond that, though, you need passion, strong work ethic and focus. I think it’s safe to say … Continue reading How You Can Experience Flow State
More years ago than I care to think about, I first learned about Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of needs in a university organizational behaviour course. In Maslow’s original work, self-actualization was the pinnacle—the ultimate goal. Later in his career, though, Maslow expanded the hierarchy beyond self-actualization to self-transcendence. If you were paying attention in your business or psychology classes, you may remember that Maslow’s … Continue reading Beyond Self-Actualization to Self-Transcendence
