Do you practice mindfulness? The concept that your thoughts need supervision is something I learned in Thomas M. Sterner’s book, The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in your Life. It’s all about mindfulness and it’s a powerful concept at all ages and stages, not just midlife. It’s also a concept that gives you...
Continue readingTime flies when your kid turns 21
Friends…time flies. I remember hearing my parents and grandparents say this over and over throughout my childhood. And then…I had my own kids and my firstborn turned 21. In. A. Blink. The passage of time and my own impending empty nest became something I also experienced at breakneck speed. I live in Canada. The...
Continue readingTennis and Exercise: 3 Steps to Love More and Resist Less
I have always loved tennis. I never had lessons when I was a kid though. I just used to goof around and play with friends every now and again. Tennis wasn’t part of my childhood in any big way. Well…there was this guy in high school that I used to flirt with while we...
Continue readingAre you hiding from change?
You’ve been thinking about making a change. So much so that the change itself has become noisy chatter in your mind. It comes and goes, but it’s there. You hear it even though you’re hiding. It’s not constant, but you hear it. You try to ignore it when you notice it. Sometimes you can....
Continue readingTop 4 ways retired friends can be good for your health
I’m only 53 and am surrounded by retired friends. I love having friends of all ages. Lately, I find myself going to retirement parties just as frequently as 50th birthday parties and baby showers! It’s a phase of life that I know less about and I’m fascinated to learn more. Just fascinated. Not because...
Continue readingHow to navigate college and midlife transitions better
Life transitions can be hard. I find myself frequently surrounded by handsome young men at the brink of making some pretty stressful college and university choices. Unfortunately, it’s not because of my charming personality. It’s simply because of the age and stage of my high school and college-aged sons and all of their friends....
Continue readingBig dogs and little owners: How I avoided a midlife crisis
Dogs were always part of my life. Big dogs, little dogs, slobbery dogs, messy dogs. The works. My family bred St. Bernards when I was a young child. We did the dog show thing too and I showed in the puppy class. My dad even became a dog show judge. Having five St. Bernards...
Continue readingWhen being green with envy is a good thing
Have you ever had that not-so-wonderful shade of “green envy” wash over your body? You know what I mean. It was a time that you noticed you actually felt green with envy, or inadequate or envious because you wanted what someone else had. Now that you’re older, you may have even thought that...
Continue reading12 Signs You Need a Change
Something isn't quite right with you. You've been feeling it for awhile now, but it was hard to put your finger on. Maybe you've been at the same job for a really long time and need a change; perhaps you've had a milestone birthday. Maybe you or someone close to you had a serious...
Continue readingHow often do you think about what you want?
Did you ever wonder how you spend your “thinking time” on any given day? The first time I was asked to track time and do a time audit was at my first professional job as a tobacco use health educator in a health department. We needed to think about and tally up the time...
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