Jennifer is just like you and me – a highly competent, compassionate woman with a great career, a family she adores, and a very full life. On the outside, she looks great. You should see her Facebook photos! On the inside, she’s cooked. Beyond done. A bunch of jangled...
Can Respectful Disagreement Bring Us Together?
Being a therapist has taught me that to disagree effectively is to build connection and unity. Talking in-depth for thousands of hours with dozens, if not hundreds, of people has had a profound impact on me. I am wiser, stronger, and happier than I would be otherwise,...
When You Feel Powerless
Note from Hannah: This post is being republished post-election after many people reported feeling hopeless and powerless. I hope it is of some help. Powerless. Helpless. Stuck. These are some of the very worst, most unpleasant ways to feel. Too often people...
The Overwhelm Cure: Using the Positive Power of No
I truly could not be more excited to be offering this workshop, The Overwhelm Cure: Using the Positive Power of "No". It is designed to make a profound and immediate impact on managing stress and increasing joy by knowing how, when, and why to say "no" (while still...
Love, Process, and Letting Go: What I Learned as My Daughter Made Valentines
“It will take one hundred years!” I said a bit (okay, a lot) immaturely to my 5 year-old daughter mimicking her usual phrase. She wanted to trace, cut out, decorate, and write names on 19 homemade heart-shaped valentines for her nursery school classmates. Wanting to...
Is Striving Keeping You from Thriving?
Do you hold yourself to high standards? Do you value quality work and good follow through from others? Do you expect the same of yourself? I can relate. I spent much of my life through early adulthood gripping white knuckled to these values. What were supposed to be...
Do You Need to Be Right?
The motivation is clear: it can feel so good, so powerful to be "right." But is it really worth it? What do you gain? The truth is: you can pursue being right but at the cost of being unhappy. Basically, if you approach conversations, dialogue, or arguments with the...
Mind Your Own Business, For Your Own Sake
I spend a lot of my day encouraging people to bravely and effectively speak their truths, which makes it a little weird to have this post devoted to the following message: There are lots of times when you should really shut up. I believe our words, time, emotions, and...
Attention Perfectionists: Please Stop
I hear it announced all the time. It’s slightly boasting, but safely under the guise of being an admission: I am a perfectionist. Listen up, self-professed perfectionist. I say this out of love and concern: You need to reconsider your stance. It will not go well for...