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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.

The Secret to Living a Fulfilling Life: Less is More When You…

Written by Maria Connolly on . Posted in Life Skills.

Living a fulfilling life depends not on how many activities you cram into your life, but rather on how much you mindfully appreciate each moment you live.“You have everything you need for complete peace and total happiness right now.” ~ Wayne W. Dyer

Is your idea of living a fulfilling life like Linda’s? As soon as Linda graduated from college, she set out to live life to the full. A 9 to 5 job wasn’t for her. She wanted to see and experience everything — rock climbing in Yosemite, spelunking in Belize, swimming with the dolphins, traveling El Camino de Santiago in Spain, visiting museums across Europe, eating exotic foods, immersing herself in the culture of each location. 

Along the way she worked at a vineyard, in various kitchens, on a fishing boat and more. She was determined to cram her life full of experiences. Constantly on the move, she searched for a feeling of deep satisfaction with her life. Yet she was driven to try more intense activities to feel alive. The thought of staying in one place filled her with dread. In her quest, she focused on external sources for excitement, losing touch with her inner strength, peace and balance.

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How to Relate WITH Others — Healthy Love Relationships Master This Skill

Written by Maria Connolly on . Posted in Healthy Relationships.

Learning how to relate with others becomes easier when you follow these steps to forming,maintaining and enjoying a long-lasting love relationship.Like peanut butter and jelly or boots and sweaters, some things naturally go together. When you met the love of your life, you just knew the two of you belonged together. You wanted it to last forever. Yet in the day-to-day realities of life, the spark and sparkle may have grown a little dim, maybe you don’t think you’ll ever get the luster back again. This is when fortifying your skills on how to relate with others can help.

Did you notice I put the emphasis on relating with not relating to? Relating to others puts the emphasis on you in relation to them. Relating with others puts the emphasis on them.

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The Best Conflict Resolution Techniques Are Based on Love

Written by Maria Connolly on . Posted in Embodied Leadership, Leadership Skills, Life Skills.

Does it surprise you that the best conflict resolution techniques are based on LOVE? At the office or at home, you don’t have to be tough to be heard.“The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.” ~ Thomas Merton

At sea, mutiny can endanger lives because while fighting, the sailors are distracted from their destination. They can’t see the storm on the horizon, the pirate ship approaching, or the iceberg beneath the surface. The ship, and all lives upon it, could be lost if conflict resolution techniques and a cohesive team spirit aren’t maintained. When your life depends on those around you, you long for a strong bond of respect and trust and even better, one of love.

Since we’re taught to question authority, to stand up for our rights, to be in control of our own destinies, maintaining a balance between self-determination and interdependence can be hard. Being in control isn’t what makes conflict resolution techniques work. Fighting for control is counterproductive. It distracts you from what’s really important.

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Thrive Despite Life’s Ups and Downs by Learning to Weather the Storm

Written by Maria Connolly on . Posted in Handling Change, Self-Leadership Skills.

While sailors have to live in the moment it also requires planning and foresight to weather the storms, which is a good analogy for life's ups and downs.I’m fascinated by sailing — you’ve probably noticed that theme on my website. I think it interests me because it’s a highly dynamic activity, so while sailors have to live in the moment it also requires planning and foresight. We’ve learned through life’s ups and downs in 2020 that we can’t control “the weather” but we can learn to use self-leadership tools to navigate through the elements and head in the direction we want to go! 

Does it feel like you’ve been blown off course — maybe a little or maybe way off course? It’s difficult to stay inspired day after day, no it’s not difficult. It’s impossible! There are days where we just don’t feel inspired. It might be the world situation or it might be something going on in our personal life. So then what, do we just let the wind blow us in any direction?

No, even on days where we don’t feel particularly inspired we can stay the course. Let’s talk about two things that will help.

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Change Your Attitude Change Your Life — You Have the Power!

Written by Maria Connolly on . Posted in Change Your Life, Self-Leadership Skills.

The right attitude is one of the most important ingredients for personal and professional success – learn how to change your attitude, change your life…“The ship’s gone, the stores are gone…so I guess we’ll go home.” ~ Sir Ernest Shackleton, after his ship the Endurance was crushed by ice and sunk, stranding them in the Antarctic, in 1915.

Twenty months after casually speaking the above words, Shackleton and his crew did emerge from that icebound landscape. He was a genius for setting the right attitude that would enable him and his 27 men to survive 20 brutal months of isolation, deprivation and below 0˚F weather. They did so in high spirits and not a man was lost. How did they do it? What can we learn about thriving during isolation and times of uncertainty? How can you use their experience to change your attitude, change your life?

As the men left the ship, they each took 2 pounds of provisions. The captain also made sure a 12-pound banjo came along for evening concerts and sing-a-longs. After reflecting on how the crew of the Belgica — the first expedition that overwintered in the Antarctic in 1897 — went mad and perished, Shakleton learned that having the right attitude, filling each day with healthful activities and keeping a routine were essential for survival.

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