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Anxious attachment relationships? 4 reasons why personality types are problematic
Whether you have secure, avoidant, disorganized, or anxious attachment relationships you need to be wary when using personality types. It’s understandable why we are attracted to personality types and tests. Human relationships are challenging. Whether you’re dealing with someone very difficult at work or trying to connect with someone you love, there are challenges. Everyone
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How to Deal with Difficult People You’re Stuck with
Do you remember the nervous energy you felt in school as your teachers or professors read out the student pairs and groups they had assigned for a chemistry lab, group project, or field trip? At that moment, you may have mentally pleaded, “Oh, call my name with his!” Or perhaps it was, “Please, please, anyone
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Why I Fed My Children Paste or 5 Steps to Get Over Mom Guilt
During the Q&A after a recent workshop, a participant asked me how she might get over “mom guilt.” Before I could answer, a memory that had haunted me appeared once again: I was holding a bag of groceries I had just picked up with my younger daughter while waiting for my older daughter to be dismissed from preschool.
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How to deal with bossy family and acquaintances in 2 easy steps
As the holidays approach, many of us will have to deal with bossy family and acquaintances. Instead of feeling festive, we can sometimes feel dread. Interactions with bossy people can happen all the time. Mothers, for example, seem to be easy targets for those who love to give unsolicited advice. We all have the potential
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Good Questions to Ask to Select Your Personal Board of Directors
Instead of relying on one or two mentors, select your personal board of directors. Just as you can’t be another person’s everything. One person can’t do everything for you. We all need a team supporting us and inspiring us. But rather than try to assemble a board all at once, here is a step-by-step process
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How to Avoid Being Disappointed on Mother’s Day
If you have felt disappointed on Mother’s Day, you are not alone. Over the years, I have had many candid conversations about the holiday. Each of the stories was quite different from the next. Yet the underlying emotion was the same. These mothers did not feel fully appreciated. The conversations prompted me to conduct a
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Do small things for love
Instead of grand gestures on Valentine’s Day, I suggest we do small things for love, often and all year round. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of big acts of passion and sappy romantic comedies. I’ve even written personal essays on a long war and big battles fought in the name of love.
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Finding the Support You Need Now: Friendly Faces and Kind Voices
Right now is a great time to search for friendly faces and kind voices. This is Part 5 of a series on alternatives to making plans and beating yourself up–two things that become obstacles to getting unstuck. Be sure to check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. Why we need friendly faces and kind
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Bad Advice for Perfectionists: No Pain No Gain
Common maxims are well-intentioned but some are just plain ol’ bad advice for perfectionists, especially smart and caring women because they reinforce messages that burden them and hold them back. This is Part 4 of a series on alternatives to making plans and beating yourself up–two things that become obstacles to getting unstuck. Be sure
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Elder Care Caregiver Stress: How to Cope with the Unpredictable
Most smart and caring women will likely have to cope with elder care caregiver stress at some point in their lifetime. It isn’t something you can prepare for. And, I admit I avoided thinking about caring for my parents…until I couldn’t. When I first left advertising research and went to graduate school, my plan was
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Two Questions Smart and Caring Women Need to Ask… Right Now
There are two questions smart and caring women need to ask themselves right now. And, this is especially good to do if you’re feeling depleted, directionless, or dissatisfied. But first, if you are feeling wiped out, know that you are not alone. I’ve certainly felt this way. And, in the past 18 months, families, workplaces,
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Empty Nest Syndrome Symptoms Getting You Down? How to Cope as Kids Become More Independent
As children grow older, early empty nest syndrome symptoms begin to appear. I haven’t been myself this past week. I’ve been irritable, lethargic, but mostly sad. My older daughter celebrated another birthday. While I am so proud of how she has overcome challenges big and small and appreciative of all she has taught me, her
