“Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.”
— Voltaire
Madeline¹ is a client and health care professional who is realizing the power of communicating more effectively with her patients, staff, and others. Recently she summed up the benefits of what she calls “communicating clearly while holding my peace”: Read more
“In the midst of winter,
I finally learned that there was in me
an invincible summer.”
— Albert Camus
Upon moving from Connecticut to the Valley of the Sun in 2006, I quickly learned during our first winter that just one night of frosty temperatures could seriously harm trees and plants. After a three-night frost two years ago, the damage was evident all over town. Badly affected were two of my favorite hibiscus plants in container pots. Now after nursing them back to health and patiently waiting, they have produced blooms galore this spring. Delighted by the abundance of their colorful flowers, I appreciate the vivid reminder that resilience is part of our nature, too. Read more
Three years ago on a summer day in August, I was visiting my parents in Somers, NY. It was lunchtime and we were about to take our first spoonfuls of the chicken soup I had made the night before. As I looked across the kitchen table at my father, I expected to see a satisfied smile but instead there was a glazed look in his eyes and I noticed he could barely hold himself up. I sprang to my feet, and while my mother and I bolstered him on each side, I reached for the phone to call 911. Fortunately this turned out to be a case of syncope (his blood pressure had dropped too low) and was easily rectified by an adjustment in his medications. At the time though, we thought it might have been a stroke, and that alarming is-this-it question lingered in the air. Read more
“The sooner I fall behind, the more time I have to catch up.”
– Unknown
“I’m digging out.” That’s what my friend, Tim, said with a definitive sigh when I asked how he was doing back at work after knee surgery. “I’m catching up.” Those were my own words when my friend, Monica, posed a similar question to me about a month ago. I told her it felt good to be returning to projects that I had put aside last winter in order to care for my mother. Yet Monica sensed a degree of heaviness in my choice of words. “You think you might want to reframe that catching-up part?” Seeing as how this reframing business is something at which we coaches are experts (ahem), I’m usually open to the suggestion. This time I found myself yeah-butting: Okay, but even if I call it something else, aren’t I still catching up? Read more
My last article entitled Own It! addressed what it means to take ownership of your life. Today I bring you perspective from two clients¹ who have both landed on their feet after layoffs and who are extraordinary examples of taking ownership. I’ll use what I identified as the three components of ownership —feelings, energy, and power— as the framework for sharing their experience. Read more
Taking ownership. Employers expect it from their employees. We expect it from our service providers. Often thought of as going the extra mile, taking ownership is being responsible for what is within your purview and believing you can make a difference. It comes across in everything you do and in the way you do it. Read more
When Marcella called me, she introduced herself as a long-time ezine subscriber and stated, “I’m ready to make some changes.” Having gained perspective on a long-term and unhealthy relationship that ended two years ago, Marcella summarized what she learned: “You can’t put your life on hold because someone else isn’t ready to do something.” Recognizing that she has “experienced a shift,” Marcella now wants more for herself. Read more
Mariana is one of the wonderful companions who took care of my mother the month after my father passed away. Having lived most of her life in Romania, she learned English fairly quickly “on the job” over the last few years. Her distinctive accent punctuates her personality and wraps around you warmly like one of her grandmotherly hugs. While reassuring my mother one day, she said — and you’ll have to use your imagination to hear the accent — “Don’t make worry.” Read more
At my high school, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker was the dance club’s annual tradition. Soon after the school year began, roles were assigned and months of dedicated practice would follow. There were no tryouts, and as I recall, the two teachers who ran the production determined lead roles over a bottle of wine. Furthermore, seniority ruled: As a freshman, I marched in formation with all the other toy soldiers in musty old band uniforms inherited from the local boys’ prep school; in sophomore year most of my classmates were gingerbread men and flutes, so I was lucky to be dancing the Waltz of the Flowers; and in junior year, I ascended to the role of Snow Queen. Read more
It feels great to be writing again and reconnecting with you after a three-month absence. During this time, other than coaching work with active clients, it became necessary to put all other business activities on hold. Since I’ve never had to skip a single issue in seven years of writing this ezine, I found myself composing articles in my head and wishing I could transmit them to you instantaneously! Thank you to so many of you who reached out to see if everything was all right or to simply say that you missed hearing from me. I am finally digging out of my email pile-up and looking forward to responding to you individually. Read more