In this episode, Angela and Patti explored criticism and how to respond without overtaking emotions. To listen to the full episode, click here or on the media player below.
When we considered this topic, we wanted to know how you handle constructive feedback in your relationships and work environment.
Some say that Millennials and Gen Z are more sensitive and don’t respond proactively to criticism, but instead get demotivated by it. So, if you’re a Millennial, Gen Z, or any generation, we would love to hear your point of view.
How do you feel about criticism?
Do you want it reframed in positive language?
Can you handle someone saying they don’t like something about what you did?
Can you distinguish between criticism about something you did or said versus about you?
Do you find that the older generation’s language comes across critically, and you don’t like it?
Please let us know your thoughts, click here➡️voice message
Patti shares her experiences on handling criticism in the workplace, and Angela shares how we react to past perceptions of ourselves when we get criticized. Patti and Angela share how to move beyond emotions when receiving criticism and tips on responding.
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My journal is what I want it to be, what I need it to be, each time I open it and put my pen to the page. This is what a journal is meant to be. ~ Plynn Gutman, Your Journal Companion 365 Writing Prompts to Heighten Awareness of Self and Others
(Patti) Plynn makes the journaling process easy with an entire year’s worth of thought-provoking writing prompts. She explains the emotional and physiological benefits of personal writing gives instruction on several powerful writing techniques and offers tips on “how, where, and when” to start the process.
(Patti) In that presentation, Plynn made journaling fun, easy, and relaxing. We did a few different journaling techniques with her, and I have been hooked on journaling ever since.
(Angela) I started journaling when I was 12 yrs old. At an age where I had very raw feelings, I discovered that I couldn’t put them anywhere; I could put them in my journal. This was in the 80s. For some reason, at school, my teacher had introduced that concept of a journal instead of a diary. And she taught us that a journal was where you could explore writing, but not writing for others, writing for yourself. And being a socially awkward kid who felt I didn’t belong, I found it the perfect place to write my feelings. I also felt my English teacher – Mrs. Casey, was permitting me to dispose of feelings that I didn’t want to share publicly.
(Angela) Later on, Mrs. Casey read our journals, which were part of our English work, and I wasn’t afraid of her reading my journal. And her encouragement to keep writing was key to me continuing the process of having a private space to dive into myself, my feelings, my creative thoughts, ideas, and the not so great stuff too, or my shadow. I always remember that time at school as a clear moment my teacher was giving me a way out of feeling uncomfortable in myself, and gently encouraged me to write out my feelings so that they had a safe space to be heard.
(Angela) After Mrs. Casey read my first journal, I kept my journals private, and they have been a constant resource for me to write my thoughts, ideas, and later in life, my realizations from my soul and my meditation practice.
(Angela) I often wonder what would have happened if I didn’t have that first year of writing encouraged by a teacher. Would I have written anyway? I don’t know.
(Angela) I do know that the habit of using a journal started very young for me and has saved my relationships by giving me a space to write my feelings, see my feelings and not project my feelings on others because my priority of journaling gave me the habit of writing my feelings in an attempt to externalize them, to try to understand them and this developed to a deeper level the most important relationship, the relationship with myself by writing my feelings and reading them, and developing an ongoing relationship with myself so that I could understand my feelings.
(Angela) To this day – I can go back and read some of the old journals, and still discover things about myself. Some things have stayed constant over time, and some things have changed so significantly, and that has helped me learn the power of recording and watching my journey in life through journaling.
(Patti) When I was probably about 9 to 10 years old, my Mom or Grandmother gave me a diary that had a lock and key. I wonder what happened to it. It would have been fun to read what I wrote in it today.
(Angela) Patti – I have a question: When you discovered the power of journaling with Plynn – How did you start using it in your life and relationships?
(Patti) Great question Angela, journaling was new to me. It opened up so many things for me. Instead of verbally sharing my feelings and emotions on someone else I started using journaling. This helped me not project my anger or judgment on others. Plynn’s book and app have daily journaling prompts, which helped me get into the habit of journaling. She made it easy to want to journal. Then I moved on to journaling on my own. When upset or needed to brain dump or brainstorm for solutions to problems, I would journal whether in a relationship or feelings that needed to be released. These are private thoughts that I was feeling at that moment. Sometimes I would burn or shred what I wrote. I also keep an idea journal, career journal, and a scattered journal. A scatter journal is a journal that I put random thoughts in. My made-up word for the scattered journal. I watched a documentary that Agatha Christie would write down ideas all over the place in journals.
(Patti) What are some of the biggest challenges in starting to journal?
Finding time?
Getting started?
Or not knowing how?
(Patti) Choose a time to journal daily. It can be when you get up in the morning, on your lunchtime, or before going to sleep. You may want to use journaling prompts or self-reflect about your day. Journaling can open up your mind to change and inspire you to pursue your dreams, aspirations, and goals. It allows you to alter your thoughts, which block you. Find someplace peaceful, quiet that you can think and write.
(Patti) When the weather’s nice, I like to journal outside on my patio. Some of my best journaling experiences are when on vacation or camping. Being outdoors is very refreshing. Schedule journaling time and be consistent. You can journal anywhere.
Some of my best journaling experiences are when on vacation or camping. Being outdoors is very refreshing. Schedule journaling time and be consistent. You can journal anywhere. ~ Patti Oskvarek, Leadership and Work-Life Balance Coach
(Patti) What do you need for journaling?
Pen and Paper or
A notebook or journal or
There are journal apps or
Journaling Prompts on Pinterest, Writing Coaches Websites, etc.
(Angela) Tip: You can choose a time of day that suits your journal’s focus and the best way to maximize your consciousness.
(Angela) The morning is good for setting your intent and energy for the day.
(Angela) The night before sleep is good for reviewing problems, patterns, and whether you achieved your goal for the day, or if you set an intention for your relationships to be calm in the morning, in the evening, you can review – How did this go?
(Angela) I sometimes set myself a journal exercise, for example at noon to review my feelings, so I set the alarm and check in with my feelings at noon and write.
(Angela) What time of day do you naturally feel like looking inward? If you don’t have a habit of looking inward, you can start by setting a time to focus on one question. Write on it – and then after one week of journaling, ask yourself, was this the best time for me to journal? If not, ask yourself what a better time to journal is. Sometimes we create obstacles to journaling because you’re trying to write at the wrong time of day that is the best time of day to connect with yourself and your intuition. I have clients who have resistance to journaling, and sometimes it’s because they are writing at the wrong time of the day or week.
(Angela) If you are not really convinced that journaling can change you in a way that brings outer world success, you can measure this success. When you journal over time, you can watch the change in your connection to your inner world, which changes the way you act or behave in your relationships.
(Angela) Journaling over a period of time with gradual and consistent practice brings deep change. It’s like water dripping on a rock over time. You get this beautiful shape formed by the water constantly moving through the rock.
(Angela) Patti has some specific questions to answer in your journal about relationships which could start to change the way you understand yourself and your relationships. And these questions you can come back to over time to build an ongoing relationship with yourself. This is how coaches use questions to write answers to develop self-knowledge and deepen your relationship with yourself.
(Patti) Here is some Journaling prompts to deepen and save your relationships: Most of these prompts can be used with any relationship type—friendship, romantic, family, or work.
Describe what you want in the relationship?
Describe what you don’t want in the relationship?
What is the relationship like at the moment?
What is working well in the relationship?
What one thing can you do to make the relationship better and more of what you want it to be?
What does love mean to you?
What does love mean to your partner?
What is meaningful about the relationship?
What are some of your expectations for the relationship?
What is meaningful about your relationship?
(Angela) Number 6 – What does love mean to you that could be a whole book for one person!
(Angela) Questions from a coach can make journaling a lot more structured for anyone unsure where to start when it comes to your relationships. We’ll have those questions in the show notes.
(Angela) And the beauty of a question like number 6 – What does love mean to you – you can keep writing on this topic for many years.
(Angela) I want to invite listeners if there is anything that persistently bugs you – like – why do people act the way they do, why are people unkind – these are great topics to start writing on. I used to write on desire because I was obsessed with understanding why do we want things? Why do we want a person, why do we want an experience in life – and this was a large part of what I wrote on – to understand what I was curious about in the human condition.
(Angela) Curiosity is something that journaling can help you discover more and feed into your relationships.
(Angela) If you have a love relationship that has gotten stale, often there is a deeper need to understand something.
(Angela) It’s very easy to complain about your partner, being ‘not this or not that.’
(Angela) But how often do you get curious about how your partner thinks, why they do the things they do – and also what inspires them.
(Angela) When you journal on questions like:
(Angela) 10 What is meaningful about your relationship?
(Angela) You can start to share deeper things with your partner.
(Angela) That question Patti reminds me about another topic we want to have as a podcast – Can you say I love you? I find people are so unaware of what is the meaning of a relationship – and don’t know how to say “I love you” because they never had the time to contemplate what is the significance of a person to them – or Why a relationship has meaning and value for them. This is why coaching is so valuable – We give clients these value-based questions to help them find meaningful information.
(Angela) And you can always use these questions to go deeper with yourself in the writing process. When you find deeper meaning in your relationship, you can value it and look at it differently instead of getting stuck on what the blocks in the relationship will be. If you don’t know what is meaningful in a relationship, you can’t save the relationship because you don’t know why you want the relationship.
If you don’t know what is meaningful in a relationship, you can’t save the relationship because you don’t know why you want the relationship. ~ Angela Ambrosia, Love and Relationship Coach
(Patti) Journal even when you are feeling disengaged, upset, disappointed, or confused about your relationship, this can be one of the best times to reflect on the relationship situation and get out every ugly thing that has been left unsaid.
(Patti) Journal about happy times in your relationships and refer back to those moments to remind you why you love that person. Create happy moments or gratitude journals.
(Patti) Why is this good for relationships?
(Patti) When you journal about your feelings, you are not taking those emotions out on others. It lets you brain dump and removes all toxic thoughts. Once those emotions and thoughts have been exhaled you can move into rational solutions.
(Angela) Some questions on feelings when you get to a block in a relationship, or your feelings are hurt or coming up.
What am I feeling?
Why am I feeling this?
Is this my feeling – or am I picking up someone else’s feelings?
(Angela) Sometimes, especially if you are an emotional or sensitive person, you get lost in a feeling thinking it is yours, but in relationships, we also are feeling and impacted by the feelings of those we are in a relationship with especially close loved ones, children, parents, lovers, and friends. And even co-workers or neighbors have a deep impact on us especially if we are around them regularly.
(Angela) Patti, Have did you use journaling to save relationships in the work environment?
(Patti) Yes, I had a work journal. I used it to problem solve, work out issues, and emotions. I also gave my staff at the time a work journal. Some used the journal, and some did not. It was their personal choice whether to use it or not. Dumping your thoughts into the work journal helped in so many ways, instead of projecting emotions on others. It gave time to self-reflect instead of a knee-jerk reaction to a solution or problem. I wish I used it more than I did. It could have changed outcomes for the better. Daily work interactions are very much learning experiences when working with others. There are different points of view and work backgrounds. Reflecting on the situation through journaling gives you a new perspective of maybe I could do it differently with a better result.
(Angela) Patti, How did you use journaling to problem solve and brainstorm at work?
(Patti) When something comes up that I need to figure out, pulling out the journal helps make lists of how to solve the problem or situation by brainstorming solutions or ideas to develop different ways to tackle issues or communicate with others. Then brainstorm with others the ideas you’ve come up with. So when I brainstorm, I freestyle the process with no editing. When you edit while you write, your critic’s brain comes out, and you use the flow of ideas. No idea is a bad idea when in the brainstorming process. Working with others in a group journaling on the whiteboard ideas is an excellent way to come with something you wouldn’t think of. Working as a team and journaling is a way to throw out ideas towards solutions. Ask a question to the team and have them journal for solutions. I’ve seen great ideas come up when doing this. Individuals have private time to think and then feel comfortable sharing ideas when they feel safe. People need to feel that they won’t be criticized or reprimanded for their ideas for people to share.
(Angela) Tip: I have recently reviewed some journals where I did a dump of some quite dark emotions. On the one hand, it was good to see that I no longer feel that way. However, I also burned some of the old journals that I felt were no longer me, and the words or feelings in the journal were not something I want to keep. I tore out a few pages, and a few whole journals went into the fire. Sometimes, the writing isn’t necessary to stay forever; sometimes, the writing is to be kept to remind you in your future of where you came from, and how different or connected that is to where you are now.
(Angela) So if you have something that is particularly dark – you can always burn it, which releases the energy.
(Angela) And if you burn something and later think – oh, I wish I hadn’t destroyed it – you can always make a quiet time, sit and think. What was the relevance of what I wrote to what I am moving through now in my life?
(Angela) The significance of what you wrote will still be inside you somewhere, even if your words are not the same. The meaning and feeling will be accessible, and you can connect to it, and journal on the significance of that past piece of journaling.
(Patti) Journaling is good for you in so many ways. If there is something you never want to be seen by others, destroy it by burning or shredding it. Those are your personal thoughts in time, and journaling is an excellent way to release them. Keep your journals in a secure, private place. There are journal apps, and you can make a secure password-protected document on your computer for journaling.
DISCLOSURE: Please be aware that Angela and Patti may be sharing affiliate links in this podcast/post. We only share products and services that we use or have used ourselves and found great value.
(Patti) The idea came from watching the movie “Sensitivity Training”. It caught my eye because it was about a life/business coach and her reluctant client.
Questions for the Listeners:
Do you want an insensitive society?
Are you happy being complacent when people are being ignored, hurt, or mistreated?
(Angela) Gentle movement has shown me that softness allows the compassionate part of us to expand, and that compassion is mostly (if not always) more often with yourself, after compassion with yourself, comes discovery, awe and other awarenesses about the gift of your body, the gift of life, the gift of breathing, the beauty of so much if you want to know more check out https://dancewithangelahealing.as.me/ and sign up for the newsletter; https://bit.ly/3fI6EpQ
(Patti)
Reflect – Does it need to be said?
Will they listen to the feedback and take it to heart or will it cause more conflict and damage to the relationship?
Do I need to end this relationship for my mental health?
Sometimes, you can’t totally end the relationship, but you can distance yourself and set boundaries. I try to remember that each person we interact with may be faced with some hard life challenges that are not discussed, and some are hurting so deeply with emotional wounds that have not been addressed and healed.
Sometimes throughout our lives and careers, we may say something offensive to someone and not even realize it. It was unintentional; however, we learn from those mistakes and continue to grow as a person, coworker, parent, child, sibling, spouse, manager, supervisor, and leader. Apologize when you should. Take time to listen, observe, and be open to other people’s points of view. Be coachable. Take personal development courses and read books. Hire a coach to help you get through any challenges you are facing. Learn from your daily interactions and reflect on how to improve next time.
Thank you for listening and supporting the podcast. Thank you for listening and sharing. 🙂 ”
You can also listen to our podcast on most major listening platforms.
Patti discusses establishing a work schedule to help you get into a flow and get things done; working from home can be challenging, especially when the family doesn’t understand your work demands, obligations, or time constraints with deadlines.
Patti: Established set work hours and communicated them to family and friends. Here are the hours and days I am working this week. Another way to communicate is to post your calendar/diary on the wall/door or give family access to your digital schedule that reflects availability. Another approach is to post a daily or weekly calendar in view (maybe in the kitchen) or text your unavailability for that day to the whole family. There are many creative ways to communicate that you are working and unavailable. Sit down as a family and ask them how they want you to let them know. This way, everyone is part of the decision-making. Do you want a daily text or a do-not-disturb sign on the door?
Angela said, I found the sign official, making it straightforward for others not to knock. In the building I used to live in, we had a lot of traffic going past my front door. People who delivered parcels would knock on the front door, which would be picked up on my calls or recordings. However, the worst thing about knocking on the front door was when I was doing meditation. Sounds and knocks during meditation can be dangerous to your body if you are in deep meditation, and give you a heart attack. That forced me to make a sign to post on my front door, “Please don’t knock. Meditation is in progress; if possible, leave parcels.” The sign also allowed some people in the building to be quiet when passing the front door too (if they read it!) I will use another sign on the door in my office at home to be clear about meditation time or when I’m recording, as people may have no idea what you are doing in the office, and the sign makes people more aware of the noise.
Angela: When working at home with family these days, looking at your physical workspace is really valuable. Do you have a space that’s appropriate for doing your work? Do your kids have a space that’s appropriate to focus on learning? And space is not just physical like a desk; it includes sound and light. I’ve seen many people being creative with working at the kitchen bench, buying a fold-away desk for the bedroom, and other bits of furniture like a screen or divider to section off spaces in the house or to create workspaces.
Sometimes, you won’t be able to have a quiet workspace, and people are more forgiving in these times if they hear kids and the kitchen in the background, but how does this affect you?
Are there changes you need to make without necessarily spending much money, but perhaps using your house differently?
What could be something that naturally gives you the flow you need to put in your schedule to help you with the changes we are now facing?
For Angela, it’s definitely movement. In the coming months, I will share some of the results of my movement classes, which I plan to share so that more people can discover their own natural rhythm.
You can stay in touch with Angela’s gentle movement classes by signing up for the newsletter.
This day is to raise awareness to balance work and home life by encouraging the overachievers to schedule time away from work and enjoy life outside of work demands.
What is the definition of a Workaholic? According to Wikipedia:
A workaholic is a person who works compulsively. The term originates from alcoholism. The person works at the cost of their sleep, meeting friends or family. While the term generally implies that the person enjoys their work, it can also alternately imply that they simply feel compelled to do it.
What are some ways to create a little balance in your everyday life?
Do Something Fun
Spend Time Loving Your Family
Journal About the Good Things in Your Life
Smile and Laugh Often
Celebrate Today! 🎉
Schedule a massage or spa day.
Take a slow pace walk with the family and your pet.
Watch a funny movie with your loved ones.
Plan an awesome vacation.
Working all the time will eventually lead to burnout. Take a few minutes out of your day today, do something you enjoy outside of work, and plan a getaway from work. Leave a comment on how you celebrated today. 🙂
Take it easy, enjoy today and, live life to the fullest. ~ Patti
In podcast Episode 20 – Making Relationships Effortless! We share examples that stop relationships from being effortless and recommend changing those habits to welcome effortless relationships, whether in the workplace or home life. To listen to the full podcast episode, click below:
Here are some highlights of the episode:
Angela—Patti, when I was dancing with a group in the early 2000s, we used to explore effortless movement. We always knew when things just flowed, and we would be amazed.
Then we found we couldn’t repeat that effortlessness because we started thinking about the movement instead of feeling it. We asked what habits as humans we have that make us drop out of going with the flow. And we discovered the habits of being and thinking that interrupt our heart or force the heart to be something it’s not because we think we should be a certain way.
Angela – What I’ve learnt about effortless relationships is from the Einstein statement:
“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
Patti – How to Break Bad Work Behaviors:
❤️ Identify the behavior or action
❤️ Decide to stop
❤️ Replace the habit with something positive
Angela—Making things effortless is enhanced by not coming from old habits of thinking. Old habits of thought make things repetitive and usually stuck or fixed. Instead, you want to approach things sideways, ask questions that take a person to a different topic or a different way of looking at a topic.
Angela, tell us a little about the podcast title, and Bending Your Knees?
We thought about this topic a while back, but I thought about it when I had trouble bending my knees after surgery. It was a shock after being flexible most of my life; I couldn’t bend my knees easily. Everything about surgery was a shock, but also in recovery, I experienced a lot of feelings, not being able to be like I used to be, and there was fear about the future and uncertainty about who I was going to become now.
Midlife is a critical time to look at your life and see what you cannot do. Not so that you pine about “being old” or look at the past as something that you’ve lost – although you may have a period of grieving.
After or during grieving, it’s important and valuable to take stock and reflect on the results of your life thus far.
How do you feel about your life?
Reflecting on your life constructively will help get you out of the cycle of thinking and feeling that you have lost something or that your life has amounted to nothing. And will help you start to see –
❤️ What is your life about?
What was the purpose of all that running around, learning, working, not working, having kids, being sick, being healthy – etc. –
❤️ What was it all for? Bending the knee reflects flexibility and humility. In my case, I had setbacks, such as getting a little better, only to get sick or weak again. That taught me to do things differently to meet my needs and energy better. Mid-life is a great time to realize, there is only so much you can do – so how can you do it better, with less energy, and less ego about how you look, how young you are – it’s also a time to measure what success for you is? Is success about how much money you have? Or is it how happy you are?
Patti tells us aboutwhat you found that stops people from embracing the possibility of change in mid-life.
I have spoken to many people who feel they are stuck in a dead-end job. When Sunday comes around, they dread thinking about going to work the next morning. On Monday mornings, they hit the snooze button multiple times and force themselves out of bed. On the way to work, they push themselves with positive affirmations or the opposite with “I hate my job” self-talk.
🦋 Do you feel like you could do your job in your sleep?
🦋 Are there no advancement opportunities where you work?
🦋 Do you feel hateful and resentful when you walk through your workplace?
🦋 Do you get any acknowledgment for a job well done?
🦋 Am I learning any new aspects of my position?
🦋 Are my job duties challenging to me?
🦋 Do I enjoy going to work every day?
🦋 Am I motivated and striving to increase my productivity level?
🦋 Do I feel I am making a difference?
🦋 Are my coworkers positive at work?
🦋 Am I positive at work?
You may feel stuck in a dead-end job if you answered no to these questions.
What are some options to improve the career situation?
Use daily affirmations to get you through the day. Patti created some work-life balance affirmation cards. These cards are good to use for any day-in and day-out work or home situations.
In this episode, Angela and Patti discuss – Just Be – Go Beyond Social Expectations that Influence Suicide. We feel this topic needs to be discussed openly and not avoided because it is uncomfortable. Lives matter. To listen to the full podcast episode, click below:
How did we get this topic title?
Angela and I were talking about how there has been an increase in suicide. Over the years, the current situation with isolation and other factors. For example, loss of a job can be a risk factor.
Alcohol and other substance use disorders Mental disorders, particularly mood disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and certain personality disorders Hopelessness, feelings of no reason to live Depression, Impulsive and/or aggressive tendencies History of trauma or abuse, Major physical illnesses Previous suicide attempt(s), Family history of suicide – Angela talks about breaking the chain of generational loss and hurt – How to do that. Job or financial loss Loss of relationship(s) Easy access to lethal means Lack of social support, isolation, and social withdrawal The stigma associated with asking for help Lack of healthcare, especially mental health and substance abuse treatment Exposure to others who have died by suicide (in real life or via the media and Internet)
The Warning Signs provided by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website; Talking about wanting to die or to kill themselves, communicating suicide intent or plan looking for a way to kill themselves, like searching online or buying a gun Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain Talking about being a burden to others Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs Acting anxious or agitated; behaving recklessly Sleeping too little or too much Withdrawing or isolating themselves Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge Extreme mood swings Making final arrangements (wills, notes, giving away personal things, etc.
Angela will speak at the online Lasting Love Summit. Click on the link to register to attend the free summit, which will be held the week of May 5, 2020.
Click on the link below to listen to the full podcast episode:
Let’s look at guilt. It is the inward process of beating yourself up through harsh thoughts. Nobody can put a guilt trip on you but you because these are your thoughts. Some thoughts could be: I won’t make them happy or do what they want. They are going to dislike me or leave me. They are going to think I’m not a good person.
How do you go your way without the guilt?
Many people live with regret because they did what their parents wanted instead of what they want to do.
1. Why do you feel guilty?
2. How has this guilt shown up in my family before? When do you first remember this guilt?
3. What would be the one thing that the inner child would love to do, love to hear, and love to express?
4. What could you say to the family member to tell them about what you want to do instead of the ‘trip’ they think you should do?
In this episode, Surviving Social Isolation, Angela and Patti will give some tips and tricks on how to deal with social distancing and survive isolation.Click on the link below to listen to the full podcast episode:
Our prayers and thoughts go out to everyone affected by this virus.
This is the perfect time to slow down and take some self-care.
How can you still be in contact with others while being isolated?
FaceTime or video chat with family and friends
Adult coloring or coloring with the children
Play board games with family and do a puzzle
Blowing bubbles outside with the children
Draw or write with chalk outside with the kids
Have a virtual meetup on Facebook, Skype, or Zoom. Example: a book club, a meeting you usually might have in person, but instead do it virtually
Start a group text on WhatsApp with people who get you and can help you get support.
Here’s a journal exercise Angela discussed to move and release those feelings.
Write down on a piece of paper.
1. What do you feel you have lost in this situation? 2. What do you feel you need? 3. Why do you need this? 4. How could you meet this need?
With the feelings: Acknowledge your feelings and tell yourself it’s OK to feel this way. Other people are feeling a lot at the moment, too (their own feelings). The more you acknowledge what you feel, the more it helps others to acknowledge theirs. With the need: Find words that meet your emotional needs, e.g., to feel safe, to get rid of anxiety, to not go crazy!
Why do you need this? – When you understand more deeply why you need what you think you need, you may begin to see that your “why” can give you more solutions from Patti’s list of me-time or we-time. It will help you vocalize your need to others and those you love. Or you may realize something about your need—that it’s actually not that important!
How could you meet this need? Is it reaching out for support or getting personally creative/nurturing?
Look at the list of tips we are sharing. Notice which of your needs are the most important? Often, one habit/action meets all of your needs. If you are an introvert, texting and telepathy are good places to start connecting to others. Telepathy is sending a thought out and putting good energy into it so that later, when you reach out to others, they feel that energy.
When you send a text, put a good feeling into it—people will feel it. It’s the most amazing thing in these times: people are willing and ready to connect and wish well for others.
