Tag: purpose
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How to Have a Crappy Conversation
This week brought an interesting theme. Two of my colleagues – and me – all found ourselves in a universally dreaded situation. We had to have crappy conversations. And they Stressed. Us. Out. (Nooooo sleeping here.) Colleague #1? He had to tell his somewhat-non-performing staff member who really loved working from home…that he would no…
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The Boomerang Effect
A recent work trip found me networking with two women I hadn’t met before. It didn’t take long before I noticed a pattern pop up. Let’s see if you catch it. Woman #1: Whew, it’s so great to be here because I thought I might not make it. My daughter just had her wisdom teeth…
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The Pesky Mind Game You Don’t Know You’re Playing on Yourself
Last week I went to see the new Star Trek movie. On a Wednesday. In the middle of the afternoon. It was lots of fun, even though we didn’t take the whole things as seriously as…other couples. While I’m not a big Star Trek fan, it turns out that Hubbie is. And partnerships are about…compromise.…
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The Three Letters That Change Everything
So here’s a bit of random Deirdre trivia for you (which, I promise, will lead to a greater point). I can’t cook. I’m not a good chopper, I’m not good at putting flavors together, and I’m impatient…which means I hike up the oven temperature to save time, leading to messes like this: I’ve staked my…
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The Happiness Ratio
I recently found myself chatting with a woman I hadn’t met before. She was working a whole lot of hours. She had several kids. She didn’t sleep much. At all. I was overwhelmed just listening to her, and asked if it was all worth it, if she was happy. She turned the question around and…
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The Number One Way to Get What You Want
So…there’s an interesting trend to report in the life of Deirdre. At first it might sound like it’s the high-and-mighty variety, but I promise you it’s not. The trend? People tend to give me things I want. A few examples: The guy in front of me at Starbucks let me go ahead of him in…
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Digging Out of the Talking-Trap
I fell into a trap recently. A talking-trap. A guy-who-wouldn’t-stop-talking-to-me-no-matter-what-I-did trap. It happened while Hubbie and I were vacationing in a rented RV up in the wine country. It turns out the small-ish living space inside the RV had nothing on the teensy space outside of it. Case and point? Here’s a photo of our…
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The Super-Simple, Super-Awesome Word that Makes You Happier, Less Stressed, and Less Disappointed in Life
Recently I took a trip to the poker table. Actually, I took a return trip to the poker table. You see, I used to play a lot of poker tournaments. A lot. In fact, I played in the World Poker Tour. (Note: Just kidding. I’m totally posing in front of the official backdrop after the…
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How to NOT be Oprah
I used to want to do great things. I mean REALLY great things. Sometime around the age of nine I decided that I was put on this planet to do truly amazing, transformational, really, really great things. I aimed high, my friends…as many of us do from time to time. Me? I wanted to be…
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The Truth About Your Stuck-ness
So…you may have missed it, but we recently passed through another holiday. Groundhog Day. It’s a funny little holiday with a funny little tradition, involving – some might say – a funny little animal. While most of us don’t get too caught up in Groundhog Day, many of us do remember the famous Groundhog Day…
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Your Critical Choice for the New Year
Well, the days leading into this fine new year had a bit of an unexpected flavor. I present to you two different scenarios, and invite you to figure out which one is true. Scenario #1 Just as we were getting down to the holiday, I pushed my body to the point where I caught a…
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When Frustration Hits…Ask Yourself This
Recently I found myself engaging in an annoying pattern of behavior. In just the past two weeks there have been several instances when I’ve tried to open a package of some kind. Once it was a hotel bar of soap. Once it was a packet of Vitamin C. Once it was a bag of airplane…