In the past four weeks, I have clogged a toilet, broken my car’s windshield washers, broken a mammogram machine, and broken the fancy goggles that the vestibular therapist in Canada uses to look at my nystagmus. And last week, my computer went into constant kernel panics. A lesser person might say I was jinxed. I […]
Some choices are easy for me to make. Dinner, for example. If I’m making dinner for Mark and me, it’s easy. In the summer, it’s fish, steak, eggs or chicken and veggie or salad of some variety. In the winter, it’s the same protein with a winter veggie such as cauliflower or broccoli. (And, those
You need to have faith that you can make it through whatever is going on in your life. But you can’t afford to be blindly optimistic. (My original title for this post was “Blind optimism kills” and I thought that might be a little extreme.) Admiral Stockdale actually said this the best about his survival
Faith Tempered With Reality, Not Optimism Read More »
When I was in 10th grade, I struggled with my foreign language, French. We were translating The Sword of Roland, “L’Epee D’Roland.” I am pretty sure that when I spoke in class, it sounded like “Leh pee (!) deh roa-land.” The correct pronunciation would be “Leh peh deh roh-land.” My teacher that year told me
Learning Something New Read More »
The one person you can fool the most is yourself. At least, I can fool myself—a lot. Maybe you are smarter than I am! When I give my talks about creating an adaptable life, I talk about our old analog scale. I was a master at losing weight—on the scale. I could make that scale
The One Person You Can Fool Read More »
I promised a few posts ago I would answer the question, “Why did it take you so long” when Daniel asked me about using a cane. You see the same behavior in other situations: Widows who can’t clean out their husband’s clothes after 20 years, the woman who’d been laid off for several years who
“Why Did It Take You So Long?” Read More »
One of Yves’ comments got me thinking about asking for help vs. when I get help inflicted on me. As a handicapped person (!), I use a cane now. I find it helpful to have a third leg, so I don’t lose my balance. And, it often means that people hold doors for me. Sometimes,
Inflicting Help vs. Asking for Help Read More »
I have to admit. I was (still am?) the obnoxious person who argued for the change in that feature because it “was the right thing to do.” Or that we should do things this way because it was more efficient. I still tell my husband to go this way because it’s faster. When Esther drives
“Don’t Care So Much” Doesn’t Help Me Read More »
It’s funny. In my consulting work, I meet a lot of people who think that change never happens in their organizations. Or they say, “Only death and taxes are sure things.” But I know that change is the only sure thing in life. We change from the time we are born until we die. Sometimes—indeed,
Change is Inevitable Read More »