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Category: Healthy Relationships

Setting Family Boundaries: The Somatic Approach to Staying Safe & Closely Connected

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Dream Big - Start Small, Healthy Relationships, Somatic Embodiment.

Your body knows when your boundaries with First comes the sudden tightness in your chest at the family dinner table  – before the thoughts, before the words. Your body knows. Even as your aunt reaches across the table, inches from crossing that invisible line with another well-meaning but invasive question, your stomach coils into familiar knots. These aren’t just random sensations; they’re your body’s wisdom alerting you to whether or not you’ve been setting family boundaries adequately.

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Know the Difference Between Thankful and Grateful to Live a Richer Life

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Healthy Relationships, Mindfulness, Positive Mindset.

Knowing the difference between thankful and grateful is important because one is a passive emotion and one is an active attitude that moves you to act.If the words “grateful” and “thankful” were colors, in the shade of red, which would be the darker, richer red? Many of us use those words interchangeably. They are closely related. But there are fundamental differences between the two. Understanding the difference between thankful and grateful will deepen and enrich your mindfulness practices.

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How to Build a Strong Social Support Network for Women in Leadership

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Great Circle Community, Healthy Relationships.

s our interests and needs shift, our social support network must evolve, giving up relationships that no longer work and pursuing new ones that do. Part of being human is going through different phases of life. As children, we’re dependent on our parents. Then in the adolescent years, we push for a more autonomous position. Then finally as adults, we learn to become interdependent.

However, whether by nature or nurture, a person may not fully evolve as he or she has the potential to do. Because our society values independence to a fault, often individuals aren’t taught or don’t learn skills to develop interdependent relationships.

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Afraid of Disappointing Others? This Insight Will Liberate You!

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Healthy Relationships, Stepping Forward.

If fear of disappointing others keeps getting you into situations that are uncomfortable, painful or unfulfilling, then this might be just what you need.We’ve all experienced it — that crushing, heart-wrenching, stomach-churning, bitter sensation when someone disappoints us. Perhaps the pain is even worse when it’s you disappointing others because you’re also disappointing yourself.

When we intensely want something we think about it, dream about it, and make detailed plans for it until we can taste it and see it like it’s already happened. And when these hopes and expectations go unfulfilled, that disappointment makes us bereft, drained and deflated. We feel like such a failure.

It’s no wonder we do our best to avoid putting this emotional pain upon ourselves or others. Too often we make unwise decisions or hold back from stepping forward because we’re driven by this thought —“I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

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