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Archive for the ‘Life Coaching’ Category

My family and I watched the movie, Evan Almighty, again last night. Directed by Tom Shadyac, Evan Almighty is the sequel to Bruce Almighty. The storyline is simple, Buffalo newsman Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) is elected to Congress with the slogan, “Change the world.” His wish to change to the world is not only heard by America, but also by God (Academy Award winner, Morgan Freeman).

During the movie, Morgan Freeman, in his role as God, asks Evan’s wife (played by Lauren Graham) the following 3 questions: Read the rest of this entry »

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”  Reinhold Niebuhr

My mother had a little plaque with the above quote on it strategically placed in our kitchen …. It hung in the window above the sink. She always said it was to remind her that it was “all ok”. I had no idea what she meant. I’m not sure what happened to the plaque when we moved out of my childhood home, but because washing dishes was one of my occasional chores, I spent a lot of time staring at that plaque.

It’s a saying that has stuck with me into adulthood and I am slowly but surely discovering the meaning of it. The bit about acquiring the wisdom to know the difference is the most difficult for me. I think I have courage to change things, but I am learning the serenity bit because I think it is a precursor to the wisdom bit – almost like courage sits slightly apart. Read the rest of this entry »

For those of us who have teenage children, the question of lying or dishonesty is often a problematic one. A recent Cosmopolitan article stated “that all teenagers lie” and suggested that as a parent we should not be too confrontational with our teenage children when this occurs. They said that to confront the teenager on the spot would lead to more aggression and aggravate a potentially already volatile situation. Further suggestions are made to try and deal with that aspect of lying in a more subdued matter such as “dealing with the topic of the moment at a later period when you can discuss the situation when the teenager is in a more receptive state of mind.” We bring our children up to tell the truth, however sometimes now it seems that this lesson is sometimes forgotten when they reach the age of 16 or 17. Confucius is purported to have said “if a man has seven children, he will tell you of the seven different ways of how to raise children”. While it is true for most that the teenage years are turbulent and a time of change, many teenagers and children turn into adults that we, as parents, can be proud of.

There is another truth in life and it is this “we teach other people how to treat us”. Therefore by allowing our children to lie to us at any stage we are condoning such behaviour. What we are in fact teaching is “it’s okay to lie to me or anyone else for that matter if you think I do not need to know the truth.” Many may take the moral high ground and rely on religious teaching to find a benchmark. Many scribes and scholars, rabbis, ministers and priests are divided on this issue. The hardline approach of being black and white is that one shouldn’t lie! However after some further study it is interesting to note that in the old Testament there are a number of situations where one is permitted to lie. Read the rest of this entry »

Wikipedia had one of the simplest definitions and called it “a broad concept including proper prioritizing between career and ambition on one hand, compared with pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development on the other” Related but broader terms include “lifestyle balance” and “life balance”.

As the separation between work and home life has diminished, this concept has become more relevant than ever before. As a young working adult, I thought the right thing to do was to work so that my employer was pleased and therefore I got my increase when it was due, got the occasional bonus for good work and above all, kept my job.

I think by now, that all my readers know I am a woman, and as women do, we get married, sooner or later have children, but continue to work full time. Our expectations of ourselves do not necessarily adjust and so we continue to work hard at work, while keeping a husband and growing family happy as well as being a home-maker. It’s a vicious cycle and one that I am not going to belabour here, suffice to say that one must spare a thought for husbands – they don’t actually have it as easy as we sometimes think. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others, it is because we are different that each of us is special.

Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important, only you know what is best for you.

Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart, cling to that as you would your life, for without them life is meaningless.

Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or the future, by living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

Don’t give up when you still have something to give, nothing is really over … until the moment you stop trying.

Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect, it is the fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Don’t be afraid to encounter risks, it is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find.

The quickest way to receive love is to give love. The fastest way to lose love is to hold on too tightly and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don’t dismiss your Dreams. To be without dreams is to be without hope.

To be without hope is to be without purpose.

Don’t run through life so fast that you forget where you’ve been, but also know where you’re going.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored every step of the way.

Author Unknown

This is the true joy of life. The being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. The being a force of nature instead of a feverish and selfish clod of ailments and grieving senses complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and that as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die. For the harder I work, the more I live.

I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got to hold up for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

by George Bernard Shaw

Today, 28 September, marks the historic birth date of the legendary Chinese philosopher, teacher, ethicist and political thinker (551-479BC), Confucius. Confucius was born in Shantung, China. He was one of 11 children, his father died when Confucius was three. His early life was spent in poverty. He was born K’ung Fu-tze, but his name was Latinized to Confucius by Jesuit missionaries. Largely self-educated, he became China’s most noted educator and learned man.

Confucius (551-479 BCE), according to Chinese tradition, was a thinker, political figure, educator, and founder of the Ru School of Chinese thought. His teachings, preserved in the Lunyu or Analects, form the foundation of much of subsequent Chinese speculation on the education and comportment of the “ideal man”, how such an individual should live his life and how he should interact with others and which forms of society and government he should participate in. Fung Yu-lan, one of the great 20^th century authorities on the history of Chinese thought, compares Confucius’ influence in Chinese history with that of Socrates in the West.

Our best source for understanding Confucius and his thought is the book, The Analects. The Analects is a problematic and controversial work, having been compiled in differing versions long after Confucius’s death by disciples or the disciples of disciples. The book is not an easy read as it prompts you to think about the meaning of life and more importantly, about how you are living your own life.  Much of what we know about the “correct and good way” of living our life was written by Confucius a very long time ago. Some have argued that, because of the text’s inconsistencies and incompatibilities of thought, there is much in The Analects that is non-Confucian and should be discarded as a basis for understanding the thought of Confucius. The Lunyu or Analects is a recording of Confucius’ teachings and his conversations and exchanges with his disciples. Read the rest of this entry »

We have re-opened our Amazon Store with a personally selected range of books and products.

I read a quote today by Katie Couric that struck a chord deep within. I’ve always tried to stay true to my authentic self. I think sometimes people project things on you, but I’m trying to handle everything that’s happened to me with a certain amount of grace, dignity and good manners. You just can’t necessarily win all the time.

During my final year in school, my English teacher asked us to develop a quote that we would be happy to publish;  mine was similar to the quote above. I said that “I want to live my life with grace and dignity, elegantly dressed and that the first wrinkles I got, would be laughter lines”. I certainly have the laughter lines, but my dress sense is eclectic rather than elegant and I must say that I find being graceful and dignified a little challenging sometimes! Read the rest of this entry »