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
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”
One friend of mine told me about Albert Einstein‘s philosophy on questions. You surely know that he is often celebrated for his brilliant mind and revolutionary contributions to science, but his true genius might lie in something far simpler: his insistence on the power of asking questions. I didn’t know about it. More than once, Einstein hinted that the process of inquiry mattered more than … Continue reading Why the Right Questions Matter More Than the Right Answers
Do you spend your life rushing from one task to another? Do you struggle to say no and end up exhausted from taking on too may commitments? Do you spend your life trying to win the approval of others? If you said yes to any of these, there’s a good chance you’re an overachiever. In last week’s post, Done is Better Than Perfect, I … Continue reading Breaking the Cycle of Overachievement
“Practice makes perfect.” You probably heard that expression hundreds of times growing up. It sounds like an admirable goal, but the pressure to be perfect creates stress and anxiety, with little payback. Today, I challenge you to say no to perfectionism and embrace a new expression: “Done is better than perfect!” My Journey Toward Imperfection Let me tell you a little secret: I am a … Continue reading Done is Better Than Perfect
Good morning! As I shared in last Monday’s post, I took some time this past weekend to fully unplug and recharge. It was refreshing! I don’t have a full post today, but wanted to drop in to share a quote that I wrote down during one of the videos on my weekend retreat. If only we could live two lives: the first in which to … Continue reading Mistakes! I’ve Made a Few!
Last week, my younger daughter left on an extended work trip, leaving us with no kids at home for the first time in almost 24 years. This prompted me to do some reading and thinking about empty nest syndrome. As I usually do in these situations, I made a list of practical ways to cope with what can be a challenging time for many parents. … Continue reading Coping With Empty Nest Syndrome
Do you consider yourself a minimalist? My focus on decluttering and sustainability might lead some to call me a minimalist. I’m not a fan of labels, but I prefer the term essentialist. If you’re not familiar with essentialism, read on to learn about its core principles, and how they can help you get more out of life. I heard the term essentialism for the first … Continue reading How Essentialism Can Help You Get More Out of Life
It’s official. I’m suffering from the winter blahs, the doldrums, or perhaps it’s just the post-holiday letdown that plagues many people this time of year. If you’re feeling the same way, I hope you’ll enjoy my list of 8 remedies for the winter blahs. I said to my daughter the other day that I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me. I was feeling very … Continue reading 8 Remedies for the Winter Blahs
Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe it’s 2024. Are you a new year’s resolution person, or is today just another day for you? Regardless of how you feel about resolutions, opening up a new calendar at the start of the year provides a blank page and a new opportunity. Are you ready to write your best chapter in 2024? Let’s get started! Let’s be … Continue reading A Blank Page – Write Your Best Chapter in 2024!
With so much conflict in our world these days, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. How do we shut out the noise and find that feeling of peace and tranquillity that feels so elusive? Understanding what’s behind all the turmoil is a good place to start. Continue reading Restoring Peace and Tranquility in Our Lives
As we approach the end of November, the holiday season has officially shifted into high gear. For many, this time of year is synonymous with overindulgence, overspending, and overscheduling. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Read on for ten ways to reduce stress and bring the peace and joy back to your holiday season. Continue reading Reduce Stress by Rethinking Your Holiday to do List
When faced with unplanned travel disruptions, do you get frustrated or take it all in stride? This week, as I experienced the latest in a long string of travel delays, I had a chance to think about how far I’ve come in coping with these frustrations. In today’s post, I’ll share the tricks that help me stay calm when things don’t go as expected. Continue reading Making the most of travel delays
There’s nothing like a funeral to make us aware of the passing of time and the shortness of life. Listening to the tributes at my brother-in-law’s memorial service, I recalled a poem called The Dash that I heard years ago. It was a reminder of the importance of making the right choices about how we spend our time. Are you making the most of your dash? Continue reading A Life Well Lived – How Are You Spending Your Dash?
I have a serious beef with some of our tried and true inspirational sayings. It’s bad advice! In fact, I’ve discarded it for most of my life and that seems to have worked out pretty well so far. But, I’m tired of seeing others suffer needlessly as they cling to this nonsense, believing they’re doing the right thing. Continue reading Bad Life Advice I’m Tired Of Hearing
So I hit a roadblock with my writing recently. I stalled. Ironically while writing a book about stalling and the need to let go to regain lift in life. Instead of doing that, I kept smacking my head against a brick wall. I am the master of not following my own advice. Eventually, I ceded defeat, downed tools, and went on the first holiday I’d … Continue reading Writer’s Roadblock
The Four Forces of Flight There’s an analogy I want to imprint on your mind today. It’s one I intend to come back to repeatedly as I go about writing my high-flying book. It concerns something known in aviation as the four forces of flight. To give you a quick lesson in aerodynamics, those are thrust, lift, weight and drag. Thrust counteracts drag, whereas lift … Continue reading Stalling: The Aerodynamics of Life
People are afraid to grow old because they don’t want to lose their cognitive abilities. An important part of healthy aging is staying active, both mentally and physically. There are plenty of opportunities to keep your brain stimulated as you age that will not cost much money or take up too much time. Image Credit Here Are 7 Ways To Have Fun So That You … Continue reading 7 Fun Ways To Keep Your Aging Mind Healthy
