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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.

Why Is Change So Hard, And How to Support Your Body Through It

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Change Your Life, Dream Big - Start Small, EMERGE Method.

Discomfort, struggle, and frustration can be perceived as signals to stop, But they may be signals of a very different sort.Your nervous system is designed to keep you safe, not necessarily to ensure success. Understanding this has been eye-opening and transformational for many of my clients. I’ve heard them say so many times, “Why is change so hard?” And that thinking throws up roadblocks because it believes that discomfort, struggle, and frustration are signals to stop. But in truth, they may be signals of a very different sort, as we’ll see in a few moments.

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Feeling Resistance to Change? How to Listen to Your Body’s Hidden Clues.

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Dream Big - Start Small, EMERGE Method, Handling Change.

Sometimes trying to make progress feels like you’re pushing a boulder uphill. When that happens what do you do…push harder, give up, or pause to see what your body is trying to tell you?Sometimes, trying to make progress feels like you’re pushing a boulder uphill. When that happens, what do you do… push harder, give up, or pause to see what your body is trying to tell you? For example, 

Maya had made the decision. She was finally launching her new business after years of dreaming about it. She invested in a branding coach, mapped out her offer, and scheduled her first announcement email.

But as launch day approached, she felt herself slowing down in ways she couldn’t explain.

Her neck seized up. She couldn’t sleep. Tasks she normally breezed through now felt impossible. The email draft sat untouched. The excitement she once felt dulled under a fog of procrastination and tightness in her chest.

“What’s wrong with me?” she wondered. “Why am I resisting the very thing I said I wanted?”

The truth is — her body wasn’t sabotaging her. It was trying to tell her something.

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The Profound Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Our Ability to Connect

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

We, who are on a path of personal growth and authentic living, need to connect on a deeper level. Otherwise, we lack clarity, resilience, and meaning.The number of times we check our phones every day is shocking! Studies estimate the average person taps, swipes, or clicks their device over 2,600 times a day, and heavy users check in at more than 5,400 interactions daily. Each notification, scroll, or quick message offers a fleeting sense of connection. But here’s the paradox: while these micro-interactions promise closeness, they often leave us feeling more isolated, anxious, and emotionally starved than before. And that’s not even considering the impact of artificial intelligence!

A false intimacy has become part of the digital age we live in. Being in constant contact isn’t the same as being truly connected. We, who are on a path of personal growth and authentic living, need  to connect on a deeper level. Otherwise, we lack clarity, resilience, and meaning.

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Being in Relationship with Ourselves: The Foundation of Healing and Growth

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

eing in relationship with ourselves means we’re not a problem to be fixed, but we’re worthy of spending time, attention, and care on ourselves.Today, something clicked for me while listening to a conversation between Simon Sinek and Lewis Howes. They were exploring what truly fosters healing, and Simon, who typically gravitates toward evidence-based concepts, expressed some hesitation around ideas like self-love and gratitude practices to promote being in relationship with ourselves.

What captivated me was when Simon used the metaphor of falling in love with your partner. He described how love isn’t something that simply appears fully formed, but rather develops through consistent attention, care, and presence. In that moment, I had a profound realization: we need to approach being in relationship with ourselves in exactly the same way.

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Five Basic Survival Skills We Must Learn to Thrive in Today’s Challenging World

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

Five Basic Survival Skills We Should Have Learned as Kids

When people talk about basic survival skills, they usually mean foraging, hunting, fire-starting, or shelter-building. But in the 21st century, we need additional kinds of survival skills.

Thinking back on my childhood, I see how my parents prepared me in some important ways for life in the 21st century. My parents taught me basic survival skills: how to adapt, deal with change, and be prepared to face any challenge. Yet there were other key skills I had to learn the hard way.

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