Tag: communication
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The Problem with Your Good Intentions
Well, I meant well. Recently a friend of mine was getting ready to celebrate a milestone birthday. This friend is awesome. She’s just so good at knowing what to say to you and how to care for you and which kind of munchy snack to bring when you’re feeling blue. And so, a group of…
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A Sincere Letter from Me to You
Dear You: I hope you are doing well. No…scratch that. I hope you are doing wonderfully. In fact, I hope you are as happy as you can possibly be. Are you? My guess is you’re not. You might be somewhat happy, or you might be pretty happy some of the time…but as happy as you…
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The Problem with Life’s Pop-Tarts
I’ve noticed a troubling personal trend lately. Here’s just one example. See if you can relate… I’m on social media and see a news headline, likely about whatever daily debate is going on. I read the article. Despite feeling my blood pressure rise a scooch, I click on links within the article to get more…
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The Truth About Your Guts
Guess what? I’m a quitter. Yep, Deirdre’s a quitter. A QUITTTT…TER! Why the proud proclamation? Because I am proud. And because lots of people wouldn’t be. Or think I shouldn’t be. Because lots of people believe that quitting says something terrible about us. It means we can’t hack it. It means we’re weak. You’ve heard…
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The Truth About Your Factory Settings
Guten tag! I’m writing this trip in the midst of a visit to the lovely country of Germany. The whole family is really into it. This being said, and despite LOTS of planning, not everything has gone as…planned. My finest example? Our reservation at a hotel located smack dab in the middle of all the…
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A Request to PLEASE Do This Important, Simple Thing Already
So I’ve noticed a trend lately, and it’s not a good one. In fact, it can be hurtful for all involved. I being with a few examples from just the past few weeks. See if you notice a pattern. Friend #1 recently won a major cooking competition. When I excitedly told him how proud I…
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The Problem with How You Spend Your Time
There’s a dangerous trend afoot. And it has to do with this thing: Yes, that’s my planning calendar (and yes, I have a paper planning calendar. Keep those comments to yourself, please.) You might notice the calendar is pretty filled up…lots of meetings and commitments and things to do. But this dangerous trend isn’t about…
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The Single Word to Make Your New Year Better
Recently, my house was bugging me. Actually, it was just a part of my house. A relatively small part. The closet. The thing was cluttered with stuff…kind of. Now, some readers may recall that the Maloney family was involved in a move just a few months ago. You also might recall it was a biiiiiiit…
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Why You MUST Do “That Thing”
Last week I found myself having a coffee chat with a woman I met at a recent event. It was meant to be a “let’s-get-to-know-each-other” kind of coffee. But then…she started talking (a lot) about her work. It’s the kind of business where she sells a product that she believes in, then recruits other people…
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3 Words to Stop Making People Mad at You
A few weeks ago Hubbie and I found ourselves traveling to Prague for a quick weekend of touring before a work project began. All was going just peachy for the first 11 hours of our first flight…until we realized we were landing very late. And our already tight layover time…was now super-duper tight. Which led…
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What to do About the (Stupid) Stuff You Can’t Do Anything About
So last week saw the Maloneys taking part in a ritual that most of us – even in the best of circumstances – hate. I mean really, really hate. We moved. Which meant that, for a loooong time, our former living room looked like this: As if the move itself wasn’t enough of a…challenge, a…
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How to Stop Making Your Life Worse
So I had a bit of a revelation last week. It began first thing one morning, just as the alarm went off. As my arm swung over to shut it off, the following thought rushed in… …Man, that was a terrible night sleep. I’m going to be off my game today. I then began thinking…