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Pushing past scared
I’m a chicken. A scaredy cat. A cowardly lion. Always have been and probably always will be. But I’m a chicken with aspirations. Which is why the zen saying that popped up on my Facebook feed in late summer from a local writer and editor I know really spoke to me. “Leap and the net will appear,” it said. It reminded me of something very similar I’d heard at a conference almost exactly a year ago. Take a chance, the speaker encouraged us. “Jump out of the plane and build your parachute on the way down.” It sound so exhilarating – freeing… Read more…
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When the view of gratitude is hazy
My Facebook feed is awash with gratitude postings right now. It’s a good thing, I think, to focus on what makes you happy in life, and I certainly have much for which to be grateful. I’ve read that by thinking positively, we can make more positive things happen and that should make it easier to show and feel gratitude. Experiments have been shown that the simple act of being grateful can make you happier and healthier – this blog from 2013 is one of many that references several scientific studies to that effect. But come on – let’s be real – at… Read more…
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My sad, sad attempt to temporarily give up tech
Back in mid-July, I mentioned that I was going to try and go on a short holiday without any devices. It was only a few days, after all, so how difficult could it be? Apparently, harder than I thought! With my iPad and computer safely stored at home, I headed out for a few days of peaceful solitude, interspersed with some of the best theatre Canada has to offer. My phone came with me for safety, and just in case there were emergencies at the kid’s camps. All sound and vibration was turned off and the plan was for it… Read more…
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About leaning in, thriving, and not having it all
Last year, like many other professional women, I’m sure, I read Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In, from cover to cover trying to learn from her spectacular success as Facebook COO. After all, she has a demanding job and a family. How does she do it? And was there anything in there that I could adapt for my life? I even participated on a Women in Nuclear panel discussing the book alongside some other senior women in the industry. Like them, I definitely recognized myself in some of the traits Ms. Sandberg describes as holding women back in the workforce, how the… Read more…
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Rekindle – or shelve – the dreams of youth?
Ah, youthful dreams. Our whole live are ahead of us. We haven’t had to make choices that narrow the field, so the sky is the limit in terms of what we might be and do…. If you reader my blog regularly, you probably know that I spent the last year of my high school days living in Istanbul and that I fell in love with the city and its people. Of course, those exchange years come with an end date, and I knew I had to come home at the end of it, despite how difficult that was. I had… Read more…
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Living safely in the shallows: What’s the cost?
I’ve been thinking recently about relationships and musing about how the advent of social media has affected them. Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others have all it possible to peek into people’s lives; to reconnect, however briefly with people we left behind. In years gone past, you would simply move on and occasionally wonder, ‘‘what ever happened to….’’. So we have hundreds of virtual friends, instead of a handful of “in real life” ones. But are we trading shallow – and potentially easier – online friendships for deeper, more difficult ones? And in doing so, are we unintentionally cutting ourselves off… Read more…
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Pop culture psychology
“Do you know who you are? Do you understand what has happened to you? Do you want to live this way?” If you’re a lover of Thursday night TV, you’ll recognize that line from Shonda Rhimes’ Grey’s Anatomy, just a few weeks ago. As crazy as it sounds, those words from character Dr. Cristina Yang resonated with me, as I journey through figuring out what’s next for me. When you’re a young professional, you define yourself by your career. You know who you are, you likely have clear and maybe goals. You feel you have lots of time to accomplish them… Read more…
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Out of the gate
Omphaloskepsis. That’s Greek for navel gazing, something I’ve done a lot of in the past six months or so. I’ve been wondering about shaking things up in my life and doing something different — or more meaningful — and what that might look like in the coming years. It’s time to stop being so inwardly focussed, and to share ideas and ask for opinions. Many years ago, I had dreams of seeing the world, learning about other cultures and really giving back. As so often happens, practicality got in the way of those dreams, and in the intervening years, I’ve… Read more…
