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Pumping Up Your Tires

Mornings are getting colder here in Virginia. I even noticed some frost on the grass. Just last week when I started my car, the familiar low-pressure tire symbol appeared on my dashboard. As the air gets colder, our tires need a little extra air. This was no big deal. I planned to go to my nearest gas station and add a few pounds to the tires.

At the first gas station, the air pump was out of order. No big deal, I’d visit the Wawa near my kids’ school after the morning drop-off. The air pump is free at Wawa. When I got there, there was a long line of cars waiting for free air. No big deal. My tires weren’t flat, it was just a result of the colder air. I could ride on them a little longer. I would find another gas station.

Next, I visited the gas station near my office, confident that every gas station has an air pump. I was wrong. Strike three.

At this point, frustration would be a natural reaction. I simply could not find a place to pump up my tires. However, I found it quite amusing.

Do You Deserve a Raise?

It’s that time of year! It’s time for bonuses and annual raises. There’s lots of advice flying around about how to negotiate your next raise or promotion. I’m going to share with you a slightly different take on how to approach the most wonderful time of the year.
When I was younger I followed the common advice about raises and listed all of my accomplishments and extra effort that I put in throughout the year. I kept a log of my workload and demonstrated to my boss how I was exceeding expectations. But this didn’t work. I received a pat on the back and the standard cost-of-living raise. The truth was, my employer was never intending to give me anything more than that, no matter how good I was at my job. The reason was twofold.

How Do You Know It’s a Strip Club?

An awkward conversation with my 15-year-old

I was driving my daughter to ballet one afternoon and took a different route than usual. We drove by a plain, beige building with a single black awning over the front door with block letters that read The Kat. The lack of descriptors on the building piqued my teenage daughter’s interest.

She asked innocently, “What’s The Kat?” I cringed because I knew exactly what it was.

Spiders Under Your Bed…and other things that prevent you from being braver

It was 5:50am. I listened to the yoga instructor’s soft voice coming through my iPhone as I laid my forehead onto the sweaty mat. I’m not a great yogi, but I enjoy a nice morning routine in solitude with my yoga app. I had done this routine dozens of times in my bedroom before the kids woke up. With my forehead on the mat, I looked to my right towards my bed. Then I saw it. There was a shadow that looked like a large spider under my bed. I continued to follow the instruction and rose up into the next pose. But on the flow back down to my forehead, I saw it again. This time I stopped listening to the yoga instructor. I jumped up! I hate spiders. Especially free-roaming giant spiders in my house and under my bed.

We all have creepy crawly shadows of spiders under our beds. In reality, these menacing creatures are old beliefs collecting dust…

Empowering Women to Take Ownership of Their Careers

It had been less than one month since I’d started a new position with a new company. It didn’t take long for me to realize it was a poor fit. My expectations of the position did not align with the expectations of the owner. Our leadership styles clashed. Big time. So, after less than 3 weeks, I requested a meeting with Darrell. I sat across from him at his desk both nervous and excited for a change.

Even though I was angry with Darrell and the way he’d interacted with me, I had to take ownership of my decisions.

How Flat Tires Helped Me Stop Overthinking

Our Ford F-150 had been sitting in the driveway for 3 weeks, untouched. It worked just fine, we simply didn’t have a need to drive it. And so, for 3 weeks, I didn’t pay it any mind.

A friend came to visit one day. As he walked up the driveway, he commented on the truck.

Did you know your truck has a flat tire? he inquired.

My mind spiraled within milliseconds.

3 Tips to Feel Powerful When You’re Manic

One Sunday afternoon we said goodbye to my husband and father to our 3 kids. We hugged and kissed and said many I’ll miss you’s.

And once his truck left the driveway, I took a deep breath. He would be gone for several weeks, and I was left to hold down the fort, and the lawn, and the kids, and my job, and the laundry, and…

It was time to get to work. I looked around the garage and mentally noted every tool, table, and block of wood that was out of place and covered in a layer of sawdust. I heaved the worktable from the middle of the garage floor to the back wall and started organizing and sweeping. Then I threw a load of laundry into the washer, started scrubbing the shower walls that had been neglected for too long, and I ordered the gardening tools I’d saved in my Amazon favorites last year, determined to start that garden before Spring. Time to meal-prep! But look at those browning bananas. I might as well mix up some banana muffins while I’m in the kitchen…

Have you ever felt Manic Panic?

Tactics or Beliefs?

I quit my teacher job to find my passion. I found great mentors. I asked a lot of questions. I found a great company. I took courses and obtained credentials in my field. I absorbed the experiences like a sponge.

But it’s deeper than that.

These tactics aren’t anything new. This advice is all over the web, in communities and passed on from our hard-working ancestors. I’ve given this feedback to those who are interested in pursuing the same path.

They get frustrated when it doesn’t work for them the way it worked for me. I had to dig deeper.

BLog

Pumping Up Your Tires

Do You Deserve a Raise?

How Do You Know It’s a Strip Club?

Spiders Under Your Bed…and other things that prevent you from being braver

Empowering Women to Take Ownership of Their Careers

How Flat Tires Helped Me Stop Overthinking

3 Tips to Feel Powerful When You’re Manic

Tactics or Beliefs?

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