Piece by Piece

It may have taken me 31 years, but I'm finally learning!  Since as far back as I can remember, I have wanted everyone to like me and I needed to be friends with everyone.  I now realize that having these so called 'friends' can be toxic and I am not about that life.   I hear a lot of folks complain about text messaging and why can't people just pick up the phone and call.  The fact of the matter is that people are extremely busy and text messaging can be easier for a busy schedule.  Think about how many people you know with full time jobs, maybe even more than one job, children, pets, hobbies, etc.  Life is busy.  I was the type of person that, up until two weeks ago, has kept EVERY text message.  I would then scroll down and say, 'Oh, I haven't spoke to _____ in a while, let's shoot them a text'.  The conversation would either go on, or I would not get a response.  The latter would gnaw at me.  I would start thinking about w...

Addiction.  If you are not struggling with a mental illness, like addiction, of your own, you know someone who is. People are struggling all around us every day, and there is only so much help that one can provide another.  Today, I was saddened by news of a loss.  There is no need to share who, where, what or why, but the fact of the matter is we have one life to live and what we do with it is our choice.   Every day, I make a conscious choice to eat and rewire my brain that eating is okay.  Every day, she is struggling with alcohol; every day, he is sitting on his hands telling them not to type in the website he so badly needs for release; every day... One day, it may all be gone.  No more what ifs, or 'I'll only do it one more time', the list goes on and on. We are faced with making life changing decisions every day that, although they may seem minor, can truly have life altering results.  Running late in the morning, while stressful, m...

At a recent meeting for work we watched a TedTalk called, The Lollipop Moment.  I've been under a rock, and have never actually seen a TedTalk prior to this one, but I was grateful that this was my first.  The speaker, Drew Dudley, began the talk by asking how many people in the audience were comfortable calling themselves a leader?  Very few hands went up...and in my head I was trying to rack my brain for moments that I would say I was a leader.  I thought of a few instances from my youth, from previous jobs and my current career...but the keyword there is few.  I, as we all are, am my own worst critic and I often doubt myself and my strengths.  If I could consider a time I felt like I was a leader, I immediately start talking myself out of it, and how it wasn't really true leadership.   Well, Drew shared his story and truly redefined what being a leader is.  In his story he recalled of the time a girl came up to him, years after their enc...