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.

Are You Showing Up Authentically? Be Proud, Be Courageous, Be You!

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Life Skills, Mindfulness, Self-Leadership Skills.

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let out true selves be seen.” ~ Brene Brown

Being authentic is an overused buzz phrase today, yet I think it still has value, because when it comes to showing up authentically, don’t you find that there are parts of yourself that you hide from others, perhaps even from yourself? And when you’re called on to do something out of your comfort zone, do you say, “I can’t,” when you really can? Or perhaps you promise you can, when you know you won’t.

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

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Life Skills.

“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.

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

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Healthy Relationships.

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.

The Best Conflict Resolution Techniques Are Based on Love

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

“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.

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

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

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.

Category: Life Skills

Are You Showing Up Authentically? Be Proud, Be Courageous, Be You!

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

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

The Best Conflict Resolution Techniques Are Based on Love

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

Let's get started with 30 free minutes

How to Step Forward to a Future You've Created

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE INTRO TO STEPPING FORWARD TODAY!