This week I’ve been struggling with doubt. Self-doubt. I was sitting in a meeting a few days ago and I wondered, “am I really contributing here?” “Am I the right person with the right skills to help? There is so much this organization needs and I feel so inadequate to help it move forward. Am I the right person? …
Turn, Turn, Turn
A friend mentioned that she was impressed that I could generate thought-provoking articles each week. I replied, “It’s just whatever I’m thinking about at the time.” I don’t believe I was trying to deflect the compliment, because I do write about what I’m struggling with, what I’m learning (or relearning), and/or what I’m noticing about myself and my environment. Lately …
What Do You Look At But Don’t See?
We are staying at a cabin in Central Oregon, amongst the Ponderosa Pines and beside a fast-running creek, that joins the Metolius River. The smell of pine is so pervasive I feel intoxicated and slightly giddy as I watch the water. I’m pretending that I need to memorize the sights, sounds, and smells. It is part of my practice to …
Self-Compassion
I used to think that I had most things figured out. It took a serious health event a few years ago to quickly convince me that I didn’t. I hadn’t realized until that experience how important self-compassion is to resilience and recovery. Basically, self-compassion is a critical factor in well-being. In the initial stages of my recovery I was, fearful, …
How Resilient Are You?
How often do you grit your teeth in silence and/or tell yourself to “just hang on a little longer?” Perhaps you allow friends or family members to invade your physical or emotional boundaries and say to yourself “never again!” What do you say to yourself when you fail? Do you berate yourself, blame someone else, or think “well that was …
Brain Science, Math and Life Lessons
I read an article this week that got me excited thinking about how we learn, and the brain science behind how we face life’s challenges. The article described the math scores of U.S. students compared to students in 65 other countries. (The US ranks 36 out of the 65.) What interested me was that the researchers also collected data on …