Relationships

Embracing the Green-Eyed Monster: How to Use Jealousy as a Diagnostic Tool

by Carrie in Breakups, Career Change and Fulfillment, Everything, Happiness, Relationships

If you are in a relationship, and jealous of that hilarious (and hot! Why does s/he have to be so hot!?) person your partner is talking to…

or if you are single, but feel jealous of those incredibly confident, gorgeous, and put-together people around you…

or if you feel like you’re going crazy with jealousy over someone your ex is dating…

or if you’re starting to think nasty thoughts about that rockstar at work who everyone just loves!…

First of all, that is totally, completely, absolutely normal.

Whether or not they show it outwardly, just about everyone feels jealous at one time or another.

But I know…it sucks.

Can’t Let Go? Try Holding On Instead.

by Carrie in Breakups, Career Change and Fulfillment, Happiness, Moving, Relationships, Transitions

When it comes to things we can’t control, people often advise us to let go.

When it comes to moving on from an ended relationship or job, we push ourselves to let go.

When it comes to, well, coming, we’re told the secret is to let go!

It seems like the right idea—after all, we want to move on or get past whatever isn’t working, and letting go seems like the only way to do that. Sometimes, though, letting go sounds good in theory, but is near to impossible to achieve in practice.

6 Toxic Breakup Thoughts to Call Bullsh*t On

by Carrie in Breakups, Everything, Happiness, Relationships, Transitions

While your heart is aching, your head is racing.

During a breakup, the same old thoughts tend to run through our heads on a spin cycle.

These thoughts are totally normal and downright predictable in the wake of a breakup, but they can become toxic if they’re allowed to spin too long, and they deliver a relentless diet of guilt, sadness, and regret.

When I work with clients at “breakup ground zero,” I hear these thoughts emerge again and again. If your thoughts are holding you back from moving on, it’s time to stare them in the face and call them what they are: total BS.

Here are some of the most common and compelling toxic breakup thoughts, along with the reasons why it’s time to kick them to the curb.

Taste What IS There: 3 Questions to Ask Yourself When All You’re Seeing Is Lack

by Carrie in Career Change and Fulfillment, Everything, Happiness, Relationships, Transitions

If you read my last post, you know that my success with my 30-day blogging challenge left me raring to go on the next one!

As I poured my morning coffee the day after completing my first challenge, an idea for my next challenge popped into my head: to drink my coffee and tea without sugar for the next 30 days.

The idea wasn’t to cut sugar out of my diet entirely.

Ohhhhh, no!

It was just that for months, I’d been thinking about wanting to cut back on this easy-to-overlook addition to my sugar intake. (This girl likes a LOT of sugar in her coffee.) When I’d tried to have less sugar before, I always wanted more—my regular amount—so I decided that a cold-turkey 30 days would be another approach that would, by removing all of the gray area, force-adjust me.

Plus, I wanted to see just how powerful a 30-day challenge could be. On the heels of my first 30-day success, I decided to go for it.

Little Steps, Big Changes: Reboot Your New Year’s Resolution with a 30-Day Challenge

by Carrie in Career Change and Fulfillment, Everything, Happiness, Procrastination & Productivity, Relationships, Transitions

Did you make big, audacious New Year’s Resolutions this year?

First, congratulations on taking the time to self-reflect and commit to a change!

Now—are you overwhelmed, disillusioned, or discouraged yet? If so, you’re in good company.

Mid-January is a time when that fresh resolve that This is the year! starts to flag for many people, as we jump back into all of the responsibilities and to-dos and habits that are still waiting right where we left them at then end of December.

Just Ten Minutes: a Powerful Trick for Tackling Tasks You Hate or Procrastinate

by Carrie in Everything, Procrastination & Productivity, Relationships

“It’s only January 7^th, and I’m already behind!”

Do you already feel “behind” in the new year? Often, we begin the new year resolving to tackle tasks we’ve historically resisted and put off.

The bigger, scarier, more time-consuming, or more overwhelming the task feels, the more likely we are to make up and believe compelling stories (read: excuses) for why this is not the right time to get started—we’ll do it later!

We are very, very good at making up these stories!

What’s more, we do this not only with tasks that we don’t enjoy, but also with activities we genuinely like to do–things that we know would bring us pleasure.

Here’s a strategy you can use the next time you think “I should,” “I need to,” or “I want to” about a task and feel the urge to procrastinate.

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How to Get over 20s (or 30s, 40s, 50s…) Regret

by Carrie in Breakups, Career Change and Fulfillment, Everything, Relationships, Transitions

When reaching a “breakthrough moment” in creating positive changes in their lives, many of my clients say things like,

“I just wish I’d figured this all out sooner.”

“If only I hadn’t wasted that time in my 20s, I’d have it all together by now.”

“Why did it take me so long to see this?”

When you’ve hit upon a discovery and/or finally taken action that makes you much happier than you’ve ever been, it’s only natural to wish that you could have made that discovery or taken that action in the first place!

Handling the Holidays When You’re in Transition: 7 Steps to Take Care of Yourself

by Carrie in Breakups, Career Change and Fulfillment, Everything, Happiness, Relationships, Transitions

No doubt about it—the winter holidays can be particularly poignant when you’re in transition.

This time of year is a common “taking-stock” time. As you go to festive parties or head home for the holidays, you can’t help but think about what your life was like this time last year, and the year before, and the year before.

If things were better last year—you had a job you loved, or you were in a great relationship, or you were happily single instead of dealing with the fresh heartbreak upon you now—the comparison can feel really sad, frustrating, or overwhelming.

On the other hand, holidays can be a time of deep awareness of what hasn’t changed.

If last year you vowed that this would be the year you finally (fill in the blank), the realization that it wasn’t can hit hard.

If you were stuck last year, and you’re still stuck now, still feeling in transition, you can get sucked into a defeatist mentality. “I’ll never figure it out.” “I haven’t made any progress.” “I guess I’m just the messed up sister.”