The best gift ever: Love
By Barbara • July 7, 2024
Holidays and special occasions often mean buying material things for our loved ones. My son’s birthday is coming up and we are scouring the internet for the…
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Barbara's Blog
Mindfulness, happiness, and life lessons.
My New Year's gift to you
By Barbara • January 6, 2024
It's the beginning of a new year and I wish you a happy year. I have a gift for you that I hope will help it be so. Although we may not have met, know that…
Read more →"This is Torture" and How Perspectives Impact Happiness
By Barbara • April 8, 2023
"This is torture", I heard from the woman standing next to me. I was standing in line waiting for food at a Wendy's restaurant in the Montego Bay airport. The…
Read more →The Courage to be Disliked
By Barbara • February 4, 2023
I've learned from research that as social beings, connection and feelings of belonging are strong drivers for our happiness. So when a friend introduced me to…
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An unexpected lesson on sustainability
By Barbara • April 24, 2022
My 14-year-old woke his Gen-Xer mom to her unhealthy consumer mindset. After school one day last week, my son announced he was interested in improving his…
Read more →Purpose - Part 2: Aligning purpose and happiness for success
By Barbara • March 27, 2022
With a clear purpose and vision, our life and business can soar and happiness can be at the core. In Part 1 I shared my personal vision statement as we dove…
Read more →Purpose - Part 1: What's your end game?
By Barbara • March 19, 2022
With a clear purpose and vision our life and business can soar, and happiness can be at the core. I just finished reading the book Delivering Happiness by Tony…
Read more →Love like you love your cat
By Barbara • February 12, 2022
This Valentine's Day my cat Jackie reminds me what unconditional love is and the importance of having an open heart. As I woke up and reached over to stroke my…
Read more →I want to be happy. Where do I start?
By Barbara • January 23, 2022
A friend recently confided that she doesn't feel as happy as she'd like to be in her life. She hasn't been feeling at her best and wants to be happier. Her…
Read more →The dance of a lifetime
By Barbara • December 23, 2021
I don't think I truly realized how much I love to dance until I was much older in life. As a kid my mom enrolled me and my siblings in Scottish highland dance…
Read more →How I learned to tame my anxious energy
By Barbara • December 11, 2021
I realized that I have an anxious energy problem during my first coaching experience. It came early in my career when my company had a Life Coach, Joshua…
Read more →The blame game
By Barbara • October 3, 2021
One of the most practical lessons I've learned on my journey to happiness is the role of blame. When I stop blaming and take responsibility, the road to inner…
Read more →Labels and limitations - the good, the bad and the ugly
By Barbara • September 6, 2021
We use labels to describe each other based on characteristics, gender, roles, backgrounds, affiliations, etc. The labels are limitless but their impacts can be…
Read more →Mindful media: Is social media friend or foe?
By Barbara • August 15, 2021
Social media is like our mind and mindfulness is the key to making it a friend My family and I recently spent a beautiful summer evening on the lakefront in a…
Read more →Finding time with mindfulness
By Barbara • August 3, 2021
Practicing mindful awareness helps me find time to do the things I love. I recently listened to an impactful podcast with Michael Singer, author of The…
Read more →My hidden self
By Barbara • July 3, 2021
When I stopped hiding parts of myself I found freedom and true happiness. When I was a child I was on the shy side. There were moments when I distinctly…
Read more →Change and mindfulness lessons from a kitten
By Barbara • June 6, 2021
Every day provides an opportunity to practice mindfulness. As we welcomed a kitten to our family and introduced him to his new home this week, he reminded me…
Read more →Dandelions and mindset shifts
By Barbara • May 16, 2021
This spring I was reminded of the importance of awareness, curiosity and openness, which led to a mindset shift. When the spring arrives, so does a subtle…
Read more →The secret to sticking with good habits
By Barbara • April 18, 2021
Despite practicing mindfulness for almost twelve years, I still need reminders to stay mindful. Even more important than these reminders is remembering the…
Read more →How a powerful, simple question changed my life
By Barbara • April 3, 2021
A few years ago, I learned the power of a simple, well-placed question when combined with an honest response. It can quite literally change a life. As a bank…
Read more →Happiness superpowers - part 3: gratitude
By Barbara • March 20, 2021
When I was about to get married a common piece of marriage advice that I often received at bridal showers and pre-wedding events was, "Never go to bed angry."…
Read more →Happiness superpowers - part 2: curiosity
By Barbara • February 28, 2021
In my last blog , we discovered that ordinary humans, like Avengers, have superpowers. I learned that trust is a superpower for happiness, and now let's delve…
Read more →Happiness superpowers - part 1: trust
By Barbara • February 14, 2021
"If you were an Avenger, what would your superpower be?" This is a common question I get from my boys. Like a good mom, I immediately delve into my imagination…
Read more →Who's More Important, a Doctor or a Priest?
By Barbara • January 31, 2021
The moment when I truly realized that I am just as important as anyone else was one of those life-changing perspective shifts for me. The lesson started for me…
Read more →You are the CEO of Your Life: Perspective is everything
By Barbara • January 17, 2021
Do you ever feel like you have little control over things in your life? In a previous blog post , I share how the current pandemic has taught me that I don’t…
Read more →The Power of a Dream: One Step at a Time
By Barbara • January 10, 2021
Have you ever had a powerful dream? A recent dream reminded me that all I can do is live life one step at a time. The Dream In the dream, I was on vacation in…
Read more →For 2021, Set Intentions, not Resolutions. But First . . .
By Barbara • January 1, 2021
A bright, fresh year is before us. With it comes an opportunity to say goodbye to 2020 and welcome 2021. Focus on gratitude and intentions, not New Year's…
Read more →The Good Place - a show that gives perspective to life
By Barbara • December 28, 2020
We found a fun, family show that addresses my favourite topic - happiness. We are always trying to find great TV shows that we can watch together as a family.…
Read more →What to get the most important person in your life
By Barbara • December 13, 2020
Are you done your Christmas shopping yet? Me neither. (And for those who said yes, well done! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, this post really isn't…
Read more →The Yin and Yang of the Holidays
By Barbara • December 6, 2020
The 2020 holiday season is going to be unlike any we've ever experienced. And yet I still have the familiar feelings that arise for me every year around this…
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