We are just two days away from 2024!! As we embark on the New Year, there is often a feeling of hope and excitement. New goals, new energy, and a renewed commitment to making things happen. I love that feeling and yes, I am one of the few who still gets excited about making New Year’s Resolutions.

However, before I create a new vision, I always make a point of looking at what I accomplished last year and why those goals happened. If you haven’t done that, I highly recommend setting an alarm for 10 minutes and writing down everything you accomplished that made you feel happy or proud last year. It doesn’t matter if it’s big or small, in fact, some of the small things often have the greatest impact. Then reflect, how does it feel? And what do you notice??

As I reviewed my year, there was undoubtedly a common thread around the things I was most proud of and that is RISK. Ahhhhh that big, scary thing that raises your heart rate just by saying the word! Yet, the...

When people ask, "How are you doing?" Do you find yourself answering "Great, energized, on top of the world." or is it more like a muffled "I'm fine" or "Doing ok" and inside you are really thinking, I'm tired, stressed, and just need another cup of coffee.

Well, if you are feeling a little more groggy, than bright eyed and bushy tailed, you aren't alone. I had a new client say to me last week, "I'm so tired of feeling tired. It's spring and beautiful outside, I just want to feel great."

Well the good news is there are solutions. With some small, daily changes, you can feel vibrant, healthy and "great". And better yet, you can do that naturally. 

To find out how, check out these  7 Ways to Boost your Energy Naturally. (My favorite is #2, my least favorite, even though it really works  is #6;-))

1. Monitor Your Thoughts and Feelings: We all have heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” Well, it turns out you are also a...

This is my absolute favorite time of year. I love holiday decorations, the music, parties and even the hustle and bustle of crowded stores and busy shoppers.

Yet it can also be very stressful. Studies have shown that 88% of adults feel the holidays are too stressful and according to the American Psychological Association 41% turn to food and 28% turn to alcohol to manage their angst.

I remember years ago someone asked me, “How were your holidays?” and after a long pause I responded, “I have no idea.”

I felt like I had been on a super high-speed train from Thanksgiving to Christmas and everything in between was just a blur.

And while it was still fuzzy, I did know Christmas was over, I was sick, exhausted, and suddenly sad. I had been so frantically “busy” that I missed out on the joy and fun of my favorite holiday season.

That day I decided I was never going to do that again. So, I sat down and wrote my own holiday manifesto with the intention to...

Ah, the holidays! A time of unmitigated joy, right? Festive lights and yummy food and parties with those certain people who know exactly what to say to get under our skin.

Yes, I’m talking about family.

For most people I know, the holidays can be magical – but they can also be awkward, triggering, and stressful. They mean coming into contact with relatives they we only see once a year, and often, those relatives ask questions or make comments that make us feel misunderstood, not good enough, or just plain irritated.

My friend Misha prepared for last Christmas Eve at her sister’s like she prepares for board meetings. She memorized stats on how well her business was doing, so when people asked, she could brag about her achievements. Later, she said she felt kind of scummy, like she hadn’t been totally truthful – but she hadn’t known how else to handle it.

Ron, a former client, skipped one family gathering because he knew they were going to ask about...

It’s a fact of life: sometimes, things just don’t go the way we want. 

Even when we put in gobs of hard work, when we’ve done all the right things, when we’ve tried everything – sometimes, life seems to have other plans.

A few years back, my client Claire came to see me for this exact reason. “I’m ready to give up,” she said, pacing in circles around my office. Claire was a talented businesswoman with an impressive track record. She ran a successful consulting service , and now she was trying to branch off into another of her passions, and create a wellness business – yet despite all her efforts, nothing seemed to be gelling.

“I just don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “I feel like a total failure. Like I’m banging my head against the wall. What should I do?” 

Poor Claire. She wasn’t used to not succeeding. She was used to pushing through and making things...

It’s one of the most poignant questions a person can ask: how to get over anxiety and depression? Because when someone asks that, you know there’s a lot of pain and hardship in their heart.

Fortunately, there are ways to overcome both anxiety and depression, even if you think you’ve tried everything.

Here are three ways.

1. Instead of resisting the feelings…make friends with them.

In general, there are two common ways to confront depression and anxiety – ignore it, or combat it.

If you try to ignore it, often the fear just grows, and continues to influence your actions in ways you don’t want. It stops you from taking action toward what you want.

When you combat something, you create conflict, and that negative energy can overtake your mood. It can permeate you, so that the thing you want most becomes tainted by negativity. And again, that will inform your actions.

But if you take a totally different approach – negotiating with your negative...

These are scary times. I'm not here to offer you medical advice or breaking news on the COVID-19 virus. I want to talk about the mental difficulties many of us face, and how we can handle them in the healthiest way possible. With magnified stress, social isolation, looming unknowns, and big changes to our daily lives, it's more important than ever to take care of ourselves – and I mean more than washing our hands.

Here are six ways you can take care of yourself and your loved ones in the midst of this crisis.

1. Embrace creativity. Often, when things are in flux, people grab for safety. They want something they can control. Yet this actually a good time to think out of the box – because new ideas and opportunities can come from difficult times. Plus, opening your mind to creative thoughts will help ease your stress and keep you busy.

If you don't believe me, get this: Isaac Newton had to work remotely for a full year during the plague, and he was so productive then...