This blog is inspired by a quote from codependency expert and self-help author Melody Beattie: “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” (Confession: Usually I tend to shy away from a lot of the self-help authors who came into the public awareness as I was growing up in the 1980s, but … Read More
6 Keys to Get and Stay Organized
A friend recently had a house fire. She forgot a pot of soup broth on the stove. Her last memory was of the broth gently boiling. Hours later she returned to find her home filled with black smoke. The family has since moved into a hotel and the house is in the process of being steamed and scrubbed. Ever optimistic … Read More
How to Bring Reason Back Into Conversations
We often allow our predetermined beliefs to guide how we relate to other people. Look no further than politicians who speak about each other or groups they disagree with, using negative and, at times, highly charged rhetoric. I don’t know about you, but I find some despair and anxiety seeping into my psyche every time I read about, witness, or … Read More
Strengthening Relationships Through Positive Connections
What is of one of your favourite memories of a loved one? Try and think of one that has the power to help you feel calm, more secure, or just a little better about life. These memories hold an important key to what can help us have stronger positive connections in our current relationships. I can remember my mom brushing … Read More
When Life Hands You Lemons
A couple of years ago we were on vacation and our flight home was cancelled. As a result, we were transported to a resort for the night, along with several hundred other passengers. The airline told us we would be taken back to the airport the next morning and given unlimited food and drink. It wasn’t convenient, but it wasn’t … Read More
10 Strategies for Dealing with Passive Aggressive People
We’ve all tried to avoid confrontation or felt we couldn’t directly express our thoughts and feelings to someone, which can sometimes cause us to act in ways that are passive aggressive. Like most personality traits, passive aggressiveness occurs along a continuum from mild to severe characteristics. While we may be passive aggressive from time to time, there are those who … Read More
The 5 Parts of a Meaningful Apology: Couple Relationships
5 Parts of a Meaningful Apology for Couples We hurt the ones we love all the time. It’s usually unintentional, or we don’t see the impact coming, but when this happens in our close relationships, the sting can be especially deep and enduring. I work with a lot of couples, and often there are metaphorical cupboards full of wounding memories … Read More
Focus on Presence, Not Presents
As each holiday season approaches, I must admit, I get a little grumpier every year – I may even be approaching “Bah Humbug!” status. Now before you label me a modern-day grinch, let me tell you, it’s not because I don’t like Christmas carols, cold weather, frosty windchills, or days that begin and end with darkness. It’s not even because … Read More
How to Make a Lasting Change
Do you have anything you would like to change? Is there something you do too much of? Or, is there something you do too little of? Would you like to change the way you interact with someone close to you, but feel like you are short on the willpower needed to take action? Maybe it feels like you’re in a … Read More
How to Spot a Bully
Bullying has become an increasingly prevalent topic in schools, homes, online, and in the workplace because this behaviour greatly affects the target. Victims of bullying behaviour feel unsafe in their workplace or school, and their mental health is impacted. A 2013 study published in the journal of Psychological Science found that “bullies, victims, and bully-victims are at risk for negative short … Read More
