Month: January 2016

Sunday Purrs: Lessons from a Blizzard

Author's Life, Sunday Purrs| 27 Comments

blizzard

Allegra, Ruby and I made it through the Blizzard of 2016! I admit that I don’t handle severe weather as well as I should. I get pretty anxious when weather forecast contains words like “monster storm” and “life-threatening storm” – especially when my trusted forecasters at the Washington Post, who are not known for hype, use those words. Weather anxiety is becoming a recognized psychological disorder, which is not surprising, given our obsession with the weather. Checking weather apps is the number one smartphone use.

I’m a firm believer that when life throws a challenge our way, the best thing we can do is look for the lessons.Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: Do You Have a Vision of Where You’re Going?

Sunday Purrs| 5 Comments

vision-reflection

Do you have a vision of where you want to be a year from now? January is a good time to think about your dreams and goals for the year, but there’s a difference between planning and having a vision of where you’d like to be. Planning usually involves concrete steps on how to get to a defined goal. A vision statement answers the question “what would it look like if I achieved all of my goals?”Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: 3 Simple Ways to Get Into (and Stay in) The Flow

Sunday Purrs| 1 Comment

getting-in-the-flow

The “flow” is a much batted about term in self-improvement circles. It is also sometimes referred to as the “zone.” When you’re in the flow, you’re completely absorbed in an activity. Your perception is heightened, you’re feeling a sense of joy, and you’re probably losing all track of time. You feel in tune with who you really are. You’re at peace.

What you experience when you’re in the flow is complete mindfulness.Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: Choose to Be Happy

Sunday Purrs| 6 Comments
choose-happiness
Ruby chooses to be happy on my lap

I’m a firm believer that happiness is a choice.

Everything around us is energy, including our thoughts. We have the power to choose our thoughts – so why not choose thoughts that make us feel good rather than  thoughts that focus on what isn’t working in our lives?Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: Do Cats Make New Year’s Resolutions?

Sunday Purrs| 10 Comments

new-years-resolutions

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I stopped making them several years ago. Since I still like the idea of the “fresh start” a new year offers, I set New Year’s intentions instead. I think New Year’s resolutions are destined to fail, because there’s an inherent flaw in the term “resolution.” The difference is subtle, but one (intention) implies that we are actually determined to do something differently, whereas the other (resolution) simply states that we’ve decided to change something.Continue Reading