When I've gained weight (as I have in the pandemic), I have a tendency to engage in some really negative self-talk about my body. Not out loud. To myself. I would never say these things to another human, but somehow it’s acceptable to say them to myself. Why?...
When I was young, I must have thought time was infinite. I mean – time is infinite in the grand scheme of the universe – but my ability to use the time I have available is very finite. When I was young, I would say yes to every activity and commitment that I wanted to...
You’ve done it. You’ve gone and set an intention (or resolution) for 2022. You may have all that nervous, bunny-like energy to get started, but you’re not sure where to start. Or you started really fast out of the gate with the new habit, and just five days in you’re...
Happy New Year, wonderful humans! I had a wonderful, restful Christmas holiday. I didn’t travel to see family, though we did share a Zoom meal together on Christmas Eve. I didn’t even attend a party, just one church service. On Christmas Day, I made some cookies and...
Pay attention, and tune into hope. That’s what I’ve been asking people to do in my weekly yoga classes and my Mindful Advent Yoga Series. So I thought I’d put my hope-filled reflections out there, too. Here are five things (plus an honorable mention) that have...
In the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to make exercise a higher priority than it’s been in the past year. My gym location closed due to COVID, which meant my master’s swim group lost its space to gather. The pressure of starting a business ate into the time I would...
“When your mind turns to judgment, instead turn to wonder.” This was one of the guidelines for behavior at a retreat I attended years ago. It really grabbed my attention and caused me to reflect. My habit of judging others’ behaviors, choices and mistakes is deeply...
I am having to work double-time at hope this year. Fall was busy for my business, so I hopefully embarked on building an online store (with the help of at least two other people). I promoted holiday gift ideas for weeks, and...
I’m conflicted about the holidays, but not for the reasons you’d expect. I’m not stressed out about holiday cooking and shopping; I gave most of that up years ago. I’m not anxious about holiday travel; I’m not doing that anymore either, thanks to COVID. I’m not...
When I was about six years old, at Christmas time a very large, rectangular-shaped object covered with a blanket appeared in our living room near where the gifts were kept. My brother and I were intrigued, wondering who could be getting such a large gift. I...
When I was a senior in college, I became the co-editor of the college newspaper — The Knox Student — along with my friend Rob. When introducing us, Rob would say, “Hi, I’m Rob. I’m in charge of happiness. This is Nicole. She’s in charge of everything else.” His...
I had a revelation the other day: My ministry is a grumpy teenager. For people new to my blog, I should mention I am an ordained clergy person in the United Church of Christ. I also teach yoga and meditation and do leadership and organizational development and am a...
Spoiler Alert: I wasn’t one of the popular kids. I went to a small Catholic school growing up, and there were only five girls (including me) in my class. The upper elementary girlfriend dynamics played out rather harshly with so few girls. There weren’t enough of us...
I hung up the apron for the last time. If you’re tracking, I quit working at Starbucks just six weeks after starting. I’ve had many jobs, but I don’t think any of them lasted for such a short time. The primary reason Iapplied to and went to work for Starbucks was...
I really never intended to be a time management guru. What I really wanted was to help people identify their dreams, then coach, train and support people and organizations while they implemented those dreams. Over the years, I’ve coached lots of people through change....