ABBY’S ILLUMINATIONS
GUIDING NOTES FROM ABBY’S LIFE TO CHALLENGE & UPLIFT YOURS:
Are you feeling paralyzed by fear and indecision?
Not gonna lie... I dragged ASS last week. It probably started Wednesday and bled into Thursday. Friday was so packed I couldn't dwell, and I teetered all weekend. Sometimes I'm paralyzed with fear which manifests in a generalized dread. I'm likely telling myself things like:
We Really Need To Stop Falling For This
Have you noticed that we have a nation of superstar women who are burnt-out, exhausted, and, yes, nag a little too much? I believe one of the culprits is the bum information we got about how to "take care of ourselves." It’s unsurprising, what with the media-driven expectations to …
Are you setting boundaries?
So, you’ve had the aha that you need to change. You need to speak up for yourself, ask for help, be more vulnerable or stop allowing others to treat you poorly. You decide you need to set boundaries. Off you go into your relationships full of declarations and a vow to stand up for yourself. …
Will You Help Me?
I had a coach once who called me the “Best Kept Secret.” Our professional association had evolved into friendship, and after I’d inadvertently coached her one day, she insisted I put myself out into the world. So, I let the tip of my pinky toe graze a single blade of grass. Fast forward, and I’m galloping across the field of social …
Was it Little Red Riding Hood's Fault she was Eaten?
I’m just going to come right out and say it. I think Little Red Riding Hood was culpable when the Big Bad Wolf ate her. I’m well aware that the wolf was bigger and faster, with claws and very sharp teeth, so I’m not suggesting Red could have outrun him or, G-d forbid, she “shouldn’t …
What Feminism Forgot
Remember the Enjoli commercial “I can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan”? It was for an eight-hour perfume and featured a modern-day woman doing “all the things.” In the end, she’s in an evening gown singing that she’s never going to let you forget “who I am” — a kick-ass-and-take-names feminist, …
Are you asking yourself this question?
Do you wear guilt and shame as your primary colors? This is one of the questions I posed to the audience at my TEDx Talk on self-betrayal a couple of weeks ago. It’s impossible to honor yourself if guilt and shame drive your decision-making, and if you aren’t honoring yourself, you’re betraying yourself. Guilt and …
Little Life Lessons that We All Need to Remember
Last week I flew into Fort Lauderdale after having been away from home for a week. It was a trip about which I’d been ecstatic, and it didn’t disappoint. I arrived home triumphant, with one hand carrying a token TEDx trophy and the other tucked in the warm palm of the love of my life. …
A Sneak Peek into my Ted Talk
I’m just back from Denver, where I had the honor of presenting at the TEDx Cherry Creek Women event! Throughout my talk and those of my fellow speakers, the audience laughed…they cried… The day was special, to say the least. My topic? Women’s Liberation is an Inside Job: Ending Self Betrayal. For thousands of years, …
Are You Betraying Your Health?
I love the cultural traditions of bringing family and food together, but when did we start believing that eating until we can’t button our pants constitutes freedom, pleasure, and even self-care? There are those with self-control, but I was never one of them. See if you can relate to these former thoughts of mine: Crappy day? Have some ice …
We're Not Slaves to Our Emotions
My son had surgery on his foot to correct its disfigurement and slow the deforming force as he grows. Last year, he had surgery on the other foot. I don’t know how the kid does it, but he smiles more than he frowns. At 3:00 AM, being driven insane by an itch he couldn’t reach …
The Skank in my Head
Over the last many years, I’ve declared war on The Skank who barges into my brain. I’m happy to report that the scorecard is tipping in my favor. After mercifully sleeping through my meditation the other morning though, she woke up on the wrong side of the bed as I stepped out of my …
Excuse me, you want me to do what?
Leave the house? Converse with humans whose flesh I can reach out and touch? You want me to discard the protection of my computer screen, replace my pajama bottoms with jeans that no longer stretch around my waist, risk dirtying my slippers in the elements, or worse, don socks and soled shoes? Well, it just …
My New BFF
Omg, you have GOT to meet my new BFF, Grammarly! She’s A-mazing. Never once has she judged, misunderstood, or betrayed me. And I’m challenging to get along with when it comes to grammar. My spelling is so poor I rewrite entire sentences because an online dictionary can’t even figure out what I’m trying to say. …
Has this ever happened to you?
I was mid-sentence with what I’m sure was an insight of sheer brilliance, when a ding rang out from the computer Zooming on the other side of my computer. Milliseconds later, red hot die spread across Louisa’s face. “Sorry,” she said. “Gloria’s kicking the work-flow back to me again when it’s her job. It’s so passive-aggressive.” …