I’ve made it a focus of my life to teach others how to be braver. Courage and bravery aren’t fixed qualities about yourself that can’t be changed. Much like building muscle, you can learn to have more courage and build your “bravery muscles.” Just imagine in your own...
Walk with people who make you think bigger, feel bigger and act bigger. Yesterday I had the privilege of dining with movie director Oliver Stone at a Game Changers Symposium in Melbourne. If you're under the age of 30, like my kids, his name may not ring a bell. If...
A friend recently shared with me how she'd heard via her teenage son that one of his friends had been dabbling with drugs. She knew his parents would want to know but was nervous about how they'd react. She considered sending a text - it seemed easier. But the brave...
Yesterday my 15-year-old daughter Maddy emailed me to say she’d just received a rejection letter from McDonald's where she’d applied for part time work. She was feeling deflated. I emailed her right back. “Maccas Shmaccas,” I said. “One day you’ll look back on this...
We are all prejudice is some way. Every single one of us. All of us hold conscious and unconscious beliefs about other people - particularly those who are different from us in some way. Different heritage or ethnic background Different social class Different religion...
If we aren’t growing and changing then we cannot possibly thrive in this magnificent and mysterious experience we call life. If you do a quick audit of your life right now (your work, relationships, well-being, finances, home life, social life & daily joy), any...
Do you need to ask for more help, more often? Last week I received an email from a woman I know professionally, asking if I would do her a favor. Her son moved from Australia to New York a year ago to pursue his ambition of working in media, but has had a hard time...
Last Friday my eleven-year-old son Matthew had a spill off his bike, broke his arm and needed surgery to realign the bend in his arm! He’s now in a full arm cast for the next six weeks and then has to wait another six weeks before he can get back to his...
There’s no doubt that the Ebola virus is deadly. It has buried thousands of helpless victims in the western region of Africa and challenged the world’s best health specialists in how best to contain its spread. News of the tragic death of the first US Ebola victim,...
So early this morning I kissed my sixteen-year-old son Lachlan goodbye. He has left our nest; he has spread his wings. Despite steeling myself for months for this moment, it didn’t lessen the wrench on my heart as I waved him goodbye. I am not worried about Lachlan...
Saying yes is easier (at least in the short term) than saying no. It gives us an immediate hit of people-pleasing gratification. If it were easy to say no when we need to, everyone would be doing it. If it were easy to say no, there wouldn’t be so many busy people so dissatisfied with their lives. But whether in our work, relationships or how we manage our daily lives, sometimes we are called to make a change, to let go the familiar, and say no to something that is “good” to open up the possibility for something better.
What you focus sets off a ripple effect that filters into every corner of your life. It’s not about white-washing those things which need your attention. It’s about not wasting your precious energy focused on things that amplify negative emotions, smother positive ones and fuel your misery.
Perhaps your Facebook status updates reflect what’s really going on in your life. However if not, then I encourage you to be more courageous in connecting with those around you, dropping your guard, letting go the need to show you’ve got it all together, and sharing how you really are (i.e., the stuff you might never post on Facebook). While our fears drive us to avoid situations that put us at risk of rejection or ridicule or criticism, only when we have the courage to do just that can we forge the rich, and incredibly rewarding relationships that help to buoy us over life’s bigger waves, and retain our sense of humour as we go.
We all like to be liked. Nothing wrong with that. But too often we let what OTHERS think matter more than what WE think. Next time you find yourself at a moment of indecision, ask yourself what you would do if you had didn’t need to impress or be liked; if you were being really courageous.
Real love is a verb. Poetic words of love are nice, but real love is about doing things that make others feel loved – it takes courage, it takes compassion, it requires generosity. So as you go about your day today, I invite you to think about what you could do differently to make those you interact with feel more valued, more appreciated, more acknowledged… more loved in some way, large or small.
Of course I also want you to have a happy year ahead also. But we human beings live along a spectrum of emotions as diverse as all the shades in a rainbow. To wish only to feel ‘happy’ would be to deprive us of the full human experience, living only on a very superficial level, and unable to infuse the tapestry of our lives with the contrasts of human experience that make it truly meaningful. – See more at: https://margiewarrell.com/?p=7812&preview=true#sthash.4yG4VKvn.dpuf
Relatives push our buttons because they created our buttons. So while you may love them, but you might not always like them, and expecting that you should always get along like the Waltons can set you up for extra anguish. What matters more than anything else is not how they behave, but how you respond. And while hurts and animosities can run very deep, if you’re willing to do the work, you can always learn to respond in constructive ways.
While I realise you may have very different plans over the festive season, I hope you will also make time to stop all your busy-ness, turn off your gadgets and have some genuine ‘play time.’ It’s so easy to get so caught up in the seriousness of life that we forget to simply have fun. Yet unleashing our ‘inner child,’ letting our hair down and just having fun is such an important part of living well.
The quality of our relationships is built on the quality of the conversations we have in them. Too often though we play safe and avoid the possibility of an awkward conversation — too raw, too difficult, too sensitive, too risky, too uncomfortable, too much effort. As a result we stick with a status quo we aren’t really happy about. Sometimes for decades. And all because we’re afraid. But at what cost? Here are 7 keys to speaking up about the issues that are weighing you down and holding you back.
Marriage doesn’t have to be all hard work, but unless you are committed to working at your marriage, it’s unlikely to last the long haul (or at least be one you enjoy being in.) As I reflect on the last twenty years of married life, here are seven ways to help keep love alive and your marriage strong.
