Do you ever feel like absolutely nothing is going your way? And like there’s nothing you can do about it but somehow endure this misery? In this podcast, find out how you can take charge of your life’s experiences and get to the happiness and success you deserve!
Listen to all Up! Podcasts here.
Whether these social media comments are harmful or beneficial isn’t the point. The point is that we are far more sensitized to others’ opinions of ourselves than we were a generation or so ago. It means that we tend to conform to how we think others want us to be or behave, and to not be who we truly are too much of the time. After all, we don’t want to be socially disapproved of. We don’t want to be swiped left.
Enough! Rebel! Take your life back! It’s about setting boundaries. We don’t need to be liked by everybody. We do need to be socially appropriate and responsible to our families, our communities and our work, but that’s about it. Boundaries can be set with respect and mindful of others, but they do need to be set if you intend to live your life in a way that pleases you, as opposed to pleasing everyone else who might weigh in on how you are and what you do.
I had an interesting experience with boundary-setting recently. I was on vacation, a rare treat for me, enjoying a boat ride along with half a dozen other vacationers. I didn’t know any of the people on the boat, which was fine with my introverted self. I was happily enjoying the sun, the ocean and the boat ride. A lady sitting near me asked me where I was from, I answered “California” and she immediately launched into “Isn’t it terrible about all those fires?” and went on and on about it.
Indeed, California had just been through a succession of devastating fires and it was on the news for days. I said nothing, just nodded, until she asked me, with considerable gusto, “So how did you do? Were you in the middle of all that? Was it really awful for you?” I made an executive decision with myself: time to set a boundary. “I prefer not to talk about it,” I said, as neutrally and politely as I could. “Oh!” she exclaimed, very surprised at my non-social response. But I didn’t want to talk about fires with anyone, certainly not a stranger, because after losing my home to a wildfire a few years ago, any talk about fires tends to trigger my PTSD symptoms.
I didn’t care what she thought of me. She could “swipe left” me the whole rest of the trip, it didn’t matter. I had taken back my life, done it “my way” as it were, with respect and appropriately, but taken it back nonetheless.
Do you sometimes let others’ opinions of you matter too
much? Diminish your individuality, your uniqueness? Something to think about.
When you find yourself overly conforming just to be “liked,” take a breath. Ask
yourself, “Do I need to set a boundary here? Take my life back?” and act
accordingly. You deserve to be who you are, who you want to be.
Too many decisions to make about too many things every moment of every day. Yikes! Welcome to the ever-increasing number of choices offered to us daily from big decisions like house/car buying to which laundry detergent will really clean your clothes.
In this podcast, you’ll discover a 3 step technique to help you deal with our exponentially expanding universe of choices, without going nuts or giving in to “whatever.”
Listen to all Up! Podcasts here.
As Valentine’s Day rapidly approaches, how about checking in with yourself as to your lovability? Yes, you know you’re a great person, terrific, but are you loveable? Great question! In this podcast, you’ll explore how to find out where you’re at in terms of your lovability – beyond your pretty/handsome face and winsome personality – to genuinely answer the question: Would you marry you?
Listen to all Up! Podcasts here.
You can sprinkle love anywhere! Anytime. Just like fairy dust. It’s not love as in “hugs and kisses,” as nice as those are, it’s love by a different description. Namely, “to delight in the presence of.” Nice, huh? You won’t find that definition in any dictionary. I heard it many years ago in a seminar and it hit home with me. I never forgot it.
In this month of love, with Valentine’s Day as its pinnacle, what if you chose to sprinkle love (aka fairy dust) in the form of “delighting in the presence of”? It doesn’t cost a dime, although it does take a bit of effort. Not much, really, and gets easier as you do it more often.
How do you do it?
It’s easy. Notice that when you appreciate someone or something, the appreciation makes you smile, even if only inwardly? I brought a rose in from my garden yesterday, and I can’t help but delight in its presence. It’s beautiful, and as the petals unfurl, it gets even more beautiful. Such delight is a little thing. It takes but seconds, and yet . . . a little more love just got sprinkled into the Universe.
It's really a question of focus. You can focus on your partner’s or your children’s flaws, or you can focus on how much fun it is to do things together that you all enjoy. Every time you focus on something about your partner/child that delights you, you’ve sprinkled more fairy dust.
Don’t have a partner or children? Not a problem. You can delight in literally anything, including yourself in the mirror. Really? Of course! Focusing on your crow’s feet, that new pimple or your receding hairline just makes you unhappy. Instead, sprinkle some fairy dust your way. Delight in how smooth your skin is, how pretty the color of your nut-brown/blue/green/hazel eyes is and how your smile lights up your whole face.
Try it. Sprinkle fairy dust wherever and however you can as you go through your day. The results may surprise you, and you don’t even need a wand.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
When did your relationship togetherness become a drag rather than a joy? What happened to the fun-loving happy-together couple that you once were? Wouldn’t it be nice to have that feeling of “happy together” once again? Well, in this podcast, you’ll find out just how to re-discover the closeness, the joy in your relationship.
Listen to all Up! Podcasts here.
Does the seeming impossibility of reaching your New Year fitness goals have you beyond frustrated? How can you pay attention to something as seemingly selfish as personal well-being when there’s so much else to take care of: family, work, etc.? In this podcast discover how to easily get to that energized self you want to be and truly deserve!
Listen to all Up! Podcasts here.
As I stood in line waiting for a table last week, a couple of people were leaving the restaurant. One of them was complaining about the fo...
