Category: Life Skills

Learn how to focus on the soft skills, the people skills like good communication, effective leadership, positive motivation, and managing your emotions.

It’s Vital to Stop Asking for Permission: Surprising Ways We Can Regain Power

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Dream Big - Start Small, EMERGE Method, Life Skills, Women in Leadership.

At first glance, permission seems harmless. It’s simply the courtesy we extend to others and expect in return, right? Actually, for many women, permission has become a quiet habit that restrains us. Before acting, we check in, explain, and wait for someone else to nod. That conditioning runs deep, and it often undermines our confidence. But now, in this next season of life, we can stop asking for permission. But first, it’s important to recognize how and when we seek permission.

How to Say No Politely. It Begins with Aligning Your Boundaries

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Dream Big - Start Small, Life Skills.

Every year, as soon as the first leaves turn, she feels the beginning of a quiet pressure to say yes. Yes to family dinners and extra clients before the holidays. Yes to volunteering at the school fundraiser, hosting the friends’ get-together, baking for the office potluck. She loves the season and all its warmth, yet beneath the cinnamon-scented glow, she wishes she knew how to say no nicely, but decisively.

She tells herself it’s just a busy stretch, that things will slow down soon. But somewhere between coordinating schedules and remembering everyone else’s needs, she loses sight of her own. Her calendar fills, her energy drains, and the joy she meant to create slips quietly out of reach.

If this feels familiar, you’re not alone.

Are Your Life Goals Aimed High Enough?

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Handling Change, Life Skills.

Does it seem like your life goals are a moving target you never seem to hit? There’s always a lot of talk about setting life goals and achieving life goals. But the more important conversation centers around this question – are you setting the right goals?

Rather than settling for what’s comfortable and easily within your range, it’s also important to ask, How do I know that I’m aiming high enough, without making it unrealistically impossible to achieve?

Are You An Empty Nester? 5 Ways to Fill Your Life with Renewed Purpose

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Dream Big - Start Small, Handling Change, Women in Leadership.

One of the most profound transitions many women face is when children leave home for college or their own adventures. The house feels quieter. The routines you once lived by suddenly shift. Often, this stage of life is called the “empty nest syndrome” and moms are the “empty nesters”. But what if we reframed it? What if instead of emptiness, you began to see spaciousness, giving you room to grow, dream, and thrive and giving the kids room to do the same?

Permission to Slow Down, Relax and Unwind Even When Things Speed Up

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Controlling Stress, Dream Big - Start Small, Life Skills.

Fall has a way of pulling us into its whirlwind. The long, lingering days of summer give way to calendars packed with deadlines, school schedules, family events, and the unspoken pressure to keep up as life speeds up around us. Sometimes it feels like we have to force ourselves to relax and unwind, which causes more stress, rather than relieving it.

Slowing down feels like a luxury you can’t afford. Rest becomes the reward for checking everything off your list or something you earn after the work is done.

But here’s a new way of looking at it: rest isn’t the reward for finishing everything; it’s the foundation that makes everything in your life sustainable. It’s what fuels your energy, creativity, and clarity. Without it, you’re running on fumes.

Category: Life Skills

It’s Vital to Stop Asking for Permission: Surprising Ways We Can Regain Power

How to Say No Politely. It Begins with Aligning Your Boundaries

Are Your Life Goals Aimed High Enough?

Are You An Empty Nester? 5 Ways to Fill Your Life with Renewed Purpose

Permission to Slow Down, Relax and Unwind Even When Things Speed Up

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