June, 03 2006

Change

I'm going to move to a new city/state and way of life. I don't know anyone in the metropolitan area that I have selected. I have spent a couple of years researching where I might go when certain commitments I made were completed and I picked a place with the climate, pace and amenities that I think will please me. I expect to love it and, if I don't, I will move again. Will it all be happiness and light? I don't know. I do know that I'm excited about the change and thrilled to be embarking on this new adventure. Why then are so many people looking at me as if I have lost my mind? The other day a friend said that I handle change better than she does. I'm not sure. But here's what I know for sure. At any age -- I'm 69 -- life is meant to be lived to the fullest -- and that may have nothing to do with where you hang your hat. For me, this time, it does. I am choosing a new lifestyle. Could I have it here? Probably, yes. I have an abundance of family, friends, and contacts in the Washington, D.C. region. But as much as I love this place and those people, I am really looking forward to going to a slightly warmer, slower paced community. Age, economics, and psychology are not deterrents to transitions. In fact, each can be a positive factor in determining what follows the place that you are currently in. As I contemplate my next steps, I love the thoughts I have of forging new relationships, acquiring new clients, building a new lifestyle. It's electric. I'm energized. And, finally, I don't think of it as a final action, but as a part of my continuum. So in this time of graduations, weddings, school endings, I think it's a great time to remind all of us that it doesn't have to be just the traditional transition that causes change -- we can make changes on our own. Break out the champagne. Bring on the confetti. Celebrate every minute of life in whatever way works best for you.

May, 26 2006

Think you are good enough?

I know some extraordinary women. Truly. They have made their mark in their careers -- they have wonderful families -- they are good, good friends. They are smart, attractive, enthusiastic, committed people. So what comes next may surprise you because even with the best and the brightest there are insecurities. Often these fabulous people will have conversations and discussion about what they are not. I am told about their fears or challenges or lack. It happened just the other day with a group of these exceptional, outstanding people and I wanted to shout (maybe I even did) -- don't you know that you are not only good enough but even better than most by any indicator? And so are we all. And so are we all. I wish that I had a magic pill that I could give to everyone I know that would change every negative thought to a positive one. But since I don't, I offer this advice: Choose to know your strengths. Choose to feel confident. Choose to give your best stuff all the time. Choose excellence. In your head, right now, know that I know that you are good enough.

May, 14 2006

Happy Mother's Day

I love being a mother. It has provided me with all of the extraordinary moments in my life. I do, of course, love my daughters (3 of them who are all mothers too.) They probably have never realized that they need to do nothing on Mother's Day to celebrate me because their lives and their ongoing gifts have done that so well. Isn't it true that gifts, while we like them and use them, rarely hold the significance that a passing thought or message or note can give -- am I different about that? I don't think so. I want to be appreciated just like everyone else but I know for sure that my appreciation must come from within first and then it will show up on the outside.

My girls are great. A matter of good genes as well as any upbringing I may have provided. They excel in business, work and in motherhood.

And then there are the grandchildren -- NOW, we're talking -- they are the gifts that keep on giving.

Happy Mother's Day today and every day that we remember the miracle of birth or the special moments of our lives with our families.

May, 04 2006

Say it isn't so...

In the last week or so, a number of people have reminded me about their "truths." It could be about how much sleep they and therefore I need -- what is best for me to eat to make sure my heart stays healthy -- and what I must do to find and keep work. Oh, please...I could give them a gazillion examples of people who are rested, fit and successful who have not followed the prescription. In fact, it's the folks who march to their own drummers that rarely proffer advice. There's that old saying, "What's good for the goose may not be good for the gander." Or, what's good for the goose may be good for gander. OR...what makes a difference in what is good for you is how you think and feel about the issue. A really long time ago, I knew a guy, who loved twinkies and all manner of processed food. His cholesterol was low, his weight really low, and his attitude terrific. The French -- they eat lots of butter, drink wine, enjoy food way beyond the boundaries of what we do in this country and it seems to agree with them entirely. Hundreds of scientists have studied this phenomenon -- what's up? I don't know, of course. I also don't know why a colleague seems alert on 4 hours of sleep while another spends 9 hours in bed. And why some people work really, really hard and don't get very far and others seem to succeed at a delightful pace. MAYBE...it's the brain and what we tell ourselves. MAYBE...it's what we choose to believe rather than what we choose to do. Something to think about, yes?