Blog Posts

Who’s More Important, a Doctor or a Priest?

The moment when I truly realized that I am just as important as anyone else was one of those life-changing perspective shifts for me. The lesson started for me one wintery Sunday morning.

The Game

We were gathered in the large gym at our church for Sunday School. My boys were quite young at this point and I volunteered at the Sunday School, along with other parents. This week I was working with Nancy, a teacher, and she shared a great exercise that I helped prepare. We had cue cards with a different title or role on each one (e.g. doctor, lawyer, mom, grandpa, teacher, 5 year-old, 18 year-old, movie star, etc.). We put the kids into groups and they had to organize the cue cards in order of the importance of the imaginary person on the card.

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You are the CEO of Your Life: Perspective is everything

Do you ever feel like you have little control over things in your life?

In a previous blog post, I share how the current pandemic has taught me that I don’t have control over many things in life outside of myself. Happily, I’ve realized that there’s something I control. In fact, I have a very important role. I’m the CEO of my life! I control my actions, set intentions, express my values, needs and talents and set boundaries. It doesn’t matter if I’m working for a company, looking for a job, homeschooling my kids – whatever my situation, I’m the CEO of my life. I gained this impactful perspective about two years ago as a result of a talent management exercise at work.

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The Power of a Dream: One Step at a Time

Have you ever had a powerful dream? A recent dream reminded me that all I can do is live life one step at a time.

The Dream

In the dream, I was on vacation in Italy. Even though the coronavirus is running rampant, I flew halfway around the world. I was with an older woman, also named Barb, and her grandson.

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For 2021, Set Intentions, not Resolutions. But First . . .

A bright, fresh year is before us. With it comes an opportunity to say goodbye to 2020 and welcome 2021. Focus on gratitude and intentions, not New Year’s resolutions.

There is no doubt that 2020 will be a year to remember for everyone around the globe. It dished up a challenge that every country across the world is facing. In a way, it has united us in our shared predicament. Yet we each have our own stories and experience from the year. No matter what our personal situation is, the end of this year marks an opportunity to reflect.

Before we dive into the list of things we aren’t happy with about the year 2020, and the things we want to change about ourselves and our habits, let’s first consider what we are grateful for from this remarkable year.

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The Good Place – a show that gives perspective to life

We found a fun, family show that addresses my favourite topic – happiness. We are always trying to find great TV shows that we can watch together as a family. With two boys (13 and 10 yrs old), along with my husband and I, it is always a challenge to find something we all enjoy. My husband would prefer something sci fi, I like dramas, and the boys favour superheroes. While together my husband and I might choose shows like Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad, these just aren’t appropriate for the kids.

Invariably we land on a comedy series. Throughout the pandemic we have been thoroughly entertained by The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Kim’s Convenience, and most recently, The Good Place.

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What to get the most important person in your life

Are you done your Christmas shopping yet? Me neither. (And for those who said yes, well done! And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, this post really isn’t about the holiday anyway, it’s about much more, so please keep reading!).

I was thinking about my gift list this morning and realized that there was one important name that was left off the list. How on Earth could I forget to include the most important person in my life? Unfortunately it can happen a lot. And not just during the holidays. Sometimes it’s in the middle of a busy week. After a morning of helping to get my two boys out the door for school, followed by a nonstop day in virtual meetings at my home office, some days I barely break to use the washroom, let alone have lunch. My mind skips busily along and forgets to pause on this important person. I’m more worried about meeting deadlines, expectations and needs of others at the time.

Who is the most important person in my life?

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The Yin and Yang of the Holidays

The 2020 holiday season is going to be unlike any we’ve ever experienced. And yet I still have the familiar feelings that arise for me every year around this time – the Yin and Yang of the holiday season.

On the one hand, there is the beautiful music, church services, nighttime ambience with house lights and decorations. These are the peaceful elements.

On the other hand, there are large to-do lists, with gifts to buy, parties to plan (maybe Zoom get togethers this year), cookies to bake, food to prepare and cards to send. While these are good things, it is the volume of it all, and the short time span to jam it in, that causes my anxiety to rise.

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