Blog
You know how it goes.
Something major happens in government, media, or on the global stage. Then, the next day (after a night of cable news and scrolling through Facebook headlines), you may find yourself with coworkers, or out for a drink with friends, or having dinner with your partner or another family member, when the political topic comes up and the conversation starts to get heated.
Everyone has their own mantras for meditation. Words and phrases you tell yourself routinely. Some serve you well…others, not so much.
What about you? How well do speak of and to yourself?
Are you a friend to the rumpled person in the bathroom mirror? Do you soothe your inner employee after a misstep at work? Are you kind and supportive to your inner self when a friend or loved one lets you down or walks away?
Your beginnings matter.
The who and how of your initial life experiences made lasting impressions that ripple through your life today. For better or worse, your family of origin is the place to start for key information about who you are and how you relate to others.
For all of us, the family dynamics in our original family system impact our values, core beliefs, and our self-perceptions.
Whether you love your job or wish you clocked in elsewhere, burnout happens. “Content” and “calm” are not words that most of us would readily identify with when we are on the clock.
Between busy schedules and demanding projects, it’s easy to feel weighed down by the stresses of the workplace. Unfortunately, many of us don’t handle the pressure well.
There are so many articles around about personal growth and living for the moment. Life would be so much easier if we could just follow their advice and—presto!—suddenly be on the right path. Unfortunately, reality just doesn’t work that way.
So how do you find clarity?
Consider all of the things you do in your life. Are they geared towards your enjoyment, fulfillment, or personal growth?
When you scrape your knee, you clean the wound and maybe add ointments and bandages to help it heal.
But, what if that wound appeared to be healed on the surface, but underneath it was still painful and caused discomfort?
Could the problem be what you can’t see? Perhaps some leftover debris, irritating the wound further despite your efforts on the surface?
Are you having trouble relating to others? Understanding your partner and other loved ones? Communicating with your coworkers? Have you started to wonder whether you might be the common denominator in your relationship misunderstandings?
Every relationship comes with its unique set of challenges but relating to others shouldn’t feel foreign. Cultivating more empathy will enhance your relationships and encourage you to forge strong connections with other people. Use the following tools to increase your empathy levels and build successful relationships.
While effective communication may come easily for some, it is far more difficult for others.
What about you?
Does it seem that communicating with others is increasingly difficult and disrespectful? Do your disagreements feel less like interacting and more like overreacting? Are your rants making their way into your everyday conversations more and more?
You’re not alone. Communication can be tough for many of us, especially when our emotions take over.
What gets in the way?
Who’s the most important person in the world for you to know? Not your boss, not your lover, not your best friend. The answer is - YOU! Self-awareness is fundamental to personal growth, good relationships with others, and success in life. Self-awareness is no small thing. Lack of it can break you. Some spiritual traditions even teach that the biggest cause of suffering is not knowing what is going on inside yourself.
We all want to improve our relationships, our occupations, our income, our health, and our happiness. Unless we build our self-awareness, we risk failure before we even start.
We often associate personal loss with the death of a loved one. Grief, however, is not confined solely to death. A health crisis, career change, a home sale, or the termination of a relationship or marriage– there are numerous pieces of life, that, through the progression of time, we might eventually lose.
Grieving the parts of life that we once loved and cherished is painful, and the steps we take towards recovery may be very similar to the grieving process of losing a loved one.
