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Tag: Positive thoughts – Negative thoughts

The Ultimate Meaning of Life Reveals Itself if You Listen

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

You can find your ultimate meaning in life by mindfully listening for what life asks of you as each challenge, opportunity, and crisis comes your way.“The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning.” ~ Joseph Campbell

After suffering a severe crisis, people often contemplate the ultimate meaning of life. After surviving the holocaust, Victor Frankl wrote Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything. After a different pandemic claimed two of her children, Mary Shelley wrote The Last Man which explored what makes life worth living. Walt Whitman wrote of this same question, after he suffered a paralyzing stroke.

These people knew suffering intimately. They didn’t try to forget. They didn’t try to pretend it never happened. They didn’t become embittered. Each one emerged from their crisis, with a valuable gift for the world. After allowing themselves time to fully experience their life, including the pain, they derived a sense of meaning from it. Then they bared their souls and we benefit today from their insights.

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Overcoming Imposter Syndrome with Curiosity

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Positive Mindset.

Overcoming imposter syndrome takes nonjudgmental curiosity to mindfully examine and explore your thoughts, emotions and reactions to learn from them.Do you sometimes feel like you’re not what other people think you are, that you’ve got them fooled, that they’re not seeing how limited you are? When insecurities and self-doubt trigger these thoughts, it’s a phenomenon known as imposter syndrome and many highly successful people have experienced it. The good news is overcoming imposter syndrome takes an attitude of curiosity. Really, could it be so simple? 

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It’s Good to Be YOU: How to Feel Whole in a World of Conformity

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Self-Leadership Skills, Stepping Forward.

It's Good to Be YOU: Here’s how you can feel whole in a world of conformity “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” ~ Carl Gustav Jung

“You wouldn’t like me, if you knew the real me.” I couldn’t believe it when Katie, one of my clients, said this during a session! She’s a beautiful woman inside and out. Yet, she felt ugly and unlovable. Some past experiences had caused her to develop negative thoughts and feelings about herself and her worth. She’d become a master at blending in, conforming to what other people found comfortable. It took a lot of work for her to accept my words, “It’s Good to be YOU”!

We live in a society that prides itself on being open-minded and accepting of differences. It’s the subject of headlines, talk shows, movies, books. Yet why is it so necessary to call attention to it, if it really exists? If we are truly open-minded and accepting, it would be the norm, not newsworthy.

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How Complaining Rewires Your Brain for Negativity…Promote Positivity Instead!

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

Learn how complaining rewires your brain for negativity and how you can use this process to promote positivity in yourself and others.“It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.” ~ Confucius

You know THAT person, the one who opens her mouth and out tumbles complaint after complaint. Chronic complainers are draining and irritating. But could someone be saying that about you? It’s possible we’re complaining and not even recognizing it!

Of course, we all complain to vent and blow off steam. And that’s a good thing, right? It’s not hurting anyone. Um…yes it might be. Not only could it be hurting your relationships, it might be modifying your brain. For a starter, let’s examine how complaining rewires your brain for negativity…

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Dealing with Disappointment — How to Renew Hope When Expectations Are Crushed

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

When you’re dealing with disappointment, it’s important to feel your feelings, learn from them and use them as springboards to new opportunities.“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.” ~ Eliza Tabor

We are the only living organisms on this planet who build our lives around our hopes and expectations. It’s what makes us human. Without hope or expectation, we would be existing, not living. However, with these highs come the lows of disappointment, because we don’t always realize our expectations. And that makes us sad, angry or even despondent. So how are you dealing with disappointment? Could you use some tips on how to handle it a little bit better?

Whether professionally or personally, when we’re in the realm of hope and expectation, we’re dealing with things far beyond our control. We can work hard and set ourselves up for success the best we’re able, but success isn’t guaranteed. We can’t control how others will react or how situations go awry. 

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