Have you ever struggled with the weight of expectations? What others think you should or could be doing, or what you envision others are thinking of you? In life, there are both stated and unsaid societal expectations. Go to college, get a job, get married, buy a house, have children. Deviations from those norms can […]
Without fail when my husband and I are traveling – no matter how good a trip may have been – something happens at the end that encourages us to go home. I thought we had escaped it this time. If you’re superstitious, perhaps I jinxed it. We had a lovely vacation in San Sebastian with […]
I’ve thought about this a lot before… one seemingly small decision can change everything. Recently my friend lent me the book Maybe in Another Life which covers this very topic. Perhaps you chose between two colleges or two jobs. Maybe you considered one city and moved to another. Or something even smaller, less meaningful – […]
Would you rather be an expert in one thing or adept at many things? Perhaps you’ve heard about the 10,000 hour rule to perfect your craft. You spend all of your time learning or practicing everything possible about a particular area. You have significant depth in this area, but as it’s been your primary focus, […]
Sometimes I think about opportunities I’ve lost. Primarily these are related to work and money. Leaving a company before stock vests. Not buying into stock that ends up doing well. Turning down a job opportunity. Then I think about what I would have given up to have said yes. Flexibility. Travel. A big move. Personal […]
None of us chose to arrive into this world. Not one of us chose our parents, our upbringing, our financial status. It just was. We were born into our circumstances. Some capitalize on these circumstances. They make the best and more of the cards they were dealt, even if a bad hand. Others squander their […]
As the song by The Clash goes, “Should I stay, or should I go now? If I go, there will be trouble. And if I stay, it will be double. So come on and let me know.” We all face that period in life where we need to decide: should I stay or should I […]
I’ve found that life is never made up of just one thing. To be successful, it requires working hard and making good choices and also a bit of luck. We all have seen stories of someone who worked hard and luck wasn’t on their side. Or someone who’s made some bad choices along the way […]
I believe in silver linings. That sliver or shimmer of hope in a bad situation. While I don’t believe all things always are (or aren’t) meant to be, I do think there’s some small bit of good often to be found if you look hard enough. Sometimes it’s obvious. A big positive change after something […]
Almost 5 years ago, I wrote a post titled “Masking Rather Than Fixing” and it’s been coming to mind recently. At the time I had written, “…in some cases, our only option is a mask. Some issues cannot be fixed no matter how hard we try.” I then followed with all of the things that […]