Life Of E's

Here’s some communication from China- I love hearing from people across the world!
Meggin,
I really appreciate being able to view and plan to use some of your PowerPoint lessons. My husband and I are in Guangzhou, China teaching university students. My students are freshmen and sophomore English major students and while they have had 6-8 years of English [...]

Tags: language, native, PowerPoint, teaching

Does the word ‘no’ rarely come out of your mouth?  In particular, do you find yourself having difficulty responding ‘no’ when someone asks you to do something?  Or, maybe you are able to say ’no’ at first, but then if the person looks disappointed or asks (begs) you to reconsider, then ‘yes’ ends up being your answer?
This is VERY [...]

Tags: Aristotle, no, overwhelm, telling people no

Your brother’s eyes glaze over when you start complaining about your mother again.
You meet your friend for lunch at 1:30, but she has been waiting for you since 1:00 when she thought you were supposed to meet.
You have been rambling on and on to the customer service clerk, but you have yet to say how [...]

Beverly Delidow has given me permission to share this with all of you readers. 
Things I Have Learned
1. It is OK and fun and occasionally very productive to try things you “never do”. I did this at a clothing store while waiting for my car to be serviced, pre-road trip. I went in and tried [...]

Tags: 10 things, gratitude, learning, wisdom

Lots of people are freaked-out right now – for a variety of reasons.  Before you can start do anything about this – either for yourself or others, you need to identify and clarify what freaked-out looks and feels like for you. 
Note:  Let’s make an agreement right now that this exercise is for those individuals [...]

Tags: attitude, freaked-out, positive, self-reflection

Lots of people are freaked-out right now.  Have you noticed any of the following?

Maybe it’s places that you’re normally patient and all of a sudden you’re not patient. You might be biting people’s heads off when that’s not your normal way.  

Maybe you feel like your bucket is completely empty or your well is dry. [...]

Tags: attitude, fear, outlook, positive

When you are working on ways of staying positive in a freaked-out world, it’s helpful to think about those around you. What does freaking-out look like for some of them?  Here are some possibilities:

Are people running around saying, “The sky is falling!”?
Is there incessant negative talk?
Maybe you’re seeing anger flaring up among people [...]

Tags: freaked-out, positive

Hooray!  The Staying Positive Society is now available for charter membership!  Join us!
http://www.StayingPositiveinaFreakedOutWorld.com
Meggin

Many years ago, sending hand-written thank-you notes was considered not only proper, but “de rigueur.”  In this somewhat crazy, stressed-out, impersonal world, people are so ‘busy’ that they send computer-generated (not personal emails; mass-produced, impersonal) thank-you notes for wedding gifts, which may have cost $20 – several hundred dollars.  When did that become acceptable? 
Here’s [...]

Tags: manners, thank you, thank-you notes, thanking

Alexandria Brown (someone I have learned a great deal from, to say the least) said this lately in one of her presentations.  I’ve kept it posted near my desk for the last couple of months and decided I should post it for you, too!
The idea, of course, is that when we are trying to decide [...]

Tags: Ali Brown, decisions, goals, risk