I Now Avoid Narcissistic Friends. Here’s How.

I’ve spent most of my life living in the shadow—especially in my close friendships.

Throughout my young adult life, I gravitated toward close friends who were charming, magnetic and lots of fun to be with. And they were certainly happy to have me in their lives: I was a great listener—the kind of person everyone would go to for advice, to complain, or to talk about themselves. I would always listen patiently. I was a warm and loving shoulder to cry on, a dependable problem solver, a loyal, available, and agreeable companion. I had a good sense of style that my friends admired and often even copied. Who wouldn’t want to be my friend?

Of course, I had never learned to be a friend to myself.

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5 Things About My Millennial Kids I Finally Stopped Judging

As a mother of two twenty-something daughters (27 and 25), my opinions and thoughts on “millennial life” are constantly being challenged.

We all want our children to be safe, healthy, and happy—and as parents, we often think we know best. What I’ve realized is that we don’t.

Like most parents, sometimes I find myself judging and doubting certain aspects of my kids’ lives. Yet once I was willing to notice my judgments, I realized many of the things I believed about them weren’t facts—but conjectures based on fear.

With that, here are five things about my twenty-something kids that I’ve learned to examine, open my mind to, and change my thoughts about.

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How a Narrow Rocky Hiking Trail Taught Me the Secret to Going After What I Want in Life

You know when you really want something—a relationship, a new career, more fulfilling friendships—but you just can’t seem to make progress towards getting it?

Do you procrastinate in one of a thousand ways?

Do you focus on all the reasons why you can’t get what you want?

Are you afraid to take that first step to do what it takes to get it?

I’m going to tell you a story about my hiking trip to Utah this past summer, and how I learned a secret on a narrow, rocky hiking trail that helped me not only conquer trails I never thought I could climb, but also showed me how to take steps ahead in my everyday life—how to get unstuck, so I can get things done, and start moving towards getting all the things I want in my life.

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9 Things I Learned In My 60s That I Wish I’d Known In My 20s

You know those moments when you look back on certain things in your past and you can’t help but cringe? Sometimes, you may not even recognize the way you acted. Well, me too.

We’ve all been there. There’s no one on this planet who hasn’t felt at least a twinge of regret, embarrassment, guilt or shame (or any other of those “fun” emotions) about their past. But the irony is that the “regretful” things we say, do, don’t say, and don’t do allow us to know who we are, who we want to be, and learn what we really want in our lives.

When I look at my difficult experiences, both past and present, I see gifts, even if they’re not wrapped in particularly pretty wrapping paper.

With that, I want to share my list of the nine things I learned in my 60s that wish I had known in my 20s:

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I Like Tattoos So Why Didn’t I Want My Daughters To Get Them?

When my older daughter was 19 and in her sophomore year of college, she started mentioning that she might want to get a tattoo. I didn’t react and hoped that it was a passing whim that she would soon forget about. Well, that didn’t happen. Don’t get me wrong, I like tattoos and I’ve even stopped a few people on the street when I admire their tattoos—their creative expressions. And some tattoos are like paintings and they are gorgeous. But, there was something about my daughter getting a tattoo that bothered me, maybe even upset me. And I needed to figure out what it was.READ MORE

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Lessons From My Mother

If my mother were alive today, she would be over 100 years old.

My mother had the most beautiful silver hair—it turned that color when she was in her late 20s.

So, when I was little, everyone thought my mother was my grandmother.

Her name was Belle and quite fittingly she was very beautiful.

My mother was a role model for ageless living before anyone even thought about that concept.READ MORE

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