1+ “There is nothing worse than happy children.” I overheard my mom saying this phrase to adults hundreds of times when I was a child. I would put on a quarter-size smile but I did NOT understand. How could nothing be worse than… sweaty loud on a summer day? Was she kidding… that was the best! How could nothing be worse than… sitting at the pool with dozens of kids? Was she kidding… that was […]
6+ I believe my real first step towards “growing” was when I started to take yoga classes. On one of our trips to Sinai with my twin sister and her family I watched her practicing her yoga on the beach and I was so overwhelmed that I promised myself to find a teacher back in Amsterdam, where I was leaving with my family. That is where I met Ute. I started to take Vijnana Yoga […]
5+ It wasn’t until I started working with my sister about 10 years ago that I finally understood what she meant when she would say “it’s good enough” as she would use this phrase frequently. We were working on a project for a client. The solution was basic without a lot of bells and whistles. But, the client was very happy with it as it achieved the desired goals and outcomes. A new person joined […]
5+ It was a weekend when all my siblings were in town visiting. My daughter was about 3 years old at the time. She had long curly hair which was pulled back with a barrette with a BIG PINK BOW. She was so proud of it. She loved it as it was a gift from her grandmother. I did not share her feelings of adoration for this item. Being completely truthful, I would never have purchased […]
3+ My daughter was less than a year old when I got divorced. Around the time she was 4-5 years old, there was a horrible and ugly court battle with my ex over custody….among other things. There were several events that occurred where the safety and security of my daughter was in jeopardy when she was with him. We were working with a therapist at the time. I remember tell her about what happened at […]
3+ I used to travel for work. And during one of those trips I met KC – who made me think about how our realities are constructed in our own mind. The conversation started out normal – until she said “For years I thought Alaska is right next to Hawaii.” Wait, what?? That is the sort of thing that gets me from “oh, that’s a nice person” to “I have to find out more. How […]
5+ I share something in common with Sheryl Sandberg, the intelligent, driven COO of Facebook and world-renowned author of ‘Option B’. Unfortunately, it is not in her high-powered, influential position in the business world that we are kindred spirits, it is that I unexpectedly lost my husband last year just as she had the year before. In an instant, my best friend, my husband, my ‘Option A’ was gone. I found myself alone, lost and […]
4+ Mother Nature was angry and she was punishing us with heavy winds, high seas, and the kind of rain that stings when it hits your face. Dad was at the helm and I was trimming the sails. We were about three hours from home and the only choice was to keep going. I’d never been in conditions like this and I was scared. I looked to my left and could see that dad was […]
4+ I’ve always been afraid of disappointing people. Early in my career, I naively thought if I did everything right, worked harder than the next guy, and had a solid plan, I could avoid having to encounter people who were unhappy. Now, fifteen years into my consulting career, I know better. People are people. People get disappointed. People get angry. People get frustrated. It’s no easier on my heart and soul, but one of the […]
6+ I was about a year into my divorce journey and thought I’d be further along in my grieving process by that point. But my grief was coming out like a child with a balloon who is just letting little bits of air slip through the hole. I was sitting at her island in her kitchen creating a puddle of tears. Again. I said, “I feel like I am standing on the shore of this […]