Category: Starting Over
Posts on the practice of beginning again — after a marriage ends, after a career closes, after grief, after illness. What it actually takes to rebuild instead of repeat.
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Soft-Spoken: No Apologies (Part 3)
Embrace your soft-spoken nature and stop apologizing for the unique strength and gentle tone that define your voice. There are certain things in life that we shouldn’t have to apologize for, things that are simply part of who we are. Being a night owl, being an introvert, and being soft-spoken are three things I refuse…
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Family Bullies: Victims of Their Own Drama
She was my tyrannical father’s beloved mother. And, under other circumstances, in other lifetimes, perhaps I would have called her Grandma. But not in this one. In this lifetime, she never felt like a grandmother to me, even though my own father pushed me into her arms on many occasions. I never felt any warmth…
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Following Your Passion in a Bad Economy
When I received this question from a reader, I knew it was time to address life purpose again, especially in the current economy. I’ve sanitized the question to protect the reader’s identity, but it may well apply to you, too. Question: I recently purchased your book, Give Your Life Direction. Chapter 2 advises to figure out…
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Two Reasons: #2. Eliminate to Release
I’m troubled about something but really have no one I can discuss it with. Or at least, no one I feel comfortable discussing it with. I tried in earnest but discovered I was talking to absolutely the wrong person. It made me realize that it was time to release some things I’d been holding onto…
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Two Reasons: #1. Eliminate to Liberate
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Passion to the Third Degree. You cannot imagine how much email I get every day. Filters do little to no good or I lose sales. Part of the problem is that one of my private email addresses has been spread all over the planet by a handful of…
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New Perspectives
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Passion to the Third Degree. I never know whether to chuckle or give the kid a hug, but Shannon has a new job for the summer. And it’s most definitely a new perspective, and not just for her. Her original plan was to take college classes this summer…
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Long Ago Lessons on Work Ethics
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Passion to the Third Degree. Once upon a time, when I was almost but not quite fresh out of college and not even 22, I learned a shocking lesson or two about work and real life. I say “almost but not quite fresh out of college” because I’d…
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The Sideways Path
A year ago today, I headed to Daytona Beach for a writers’ conference. I spent a week there, visited with some old friends, and made some life-changing decisions. Some of the effects have been seen but many have not yet become apparent. A lot of preparation has followed these decisions, and the work has gone…
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Where I Fit in Suburbia
It’s a small thing, in some ways, but one that delights me. I’ve decided to create flowering borders along the driveway. I’ve wanted to do this for years but my ex used to run over the flowerbeds and the drive’s really tough for Shannon to back out of, too. But he’s no longer here and…
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Celebrating Endings… and New Beginnings
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Third Degree Rising. Tonight, I’m celebrating the ending of old things and the beginning of new things. I believe that’s called a transition, and transitions—however hard at times—are worth celebrating, especially when you’re a little more on the side of the beginnings than the endings. The celebration is…
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Jump or Be Pushed
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Third Degree and Rising. In another of my own personal version of “Groundhog Day: The Movie,” I woke yet again to Hinder’s “Lips of an Angel.” Different time, different station, same song…every day this week, including weekends. I hated the song the first zillion times I heard it,…
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Defining the Path
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Third Degree Rising. Another milestone day! Tonight I graduate from the first phase of the certification program I’m working on for my career transition. It’s expensive but worth every penny to make some dreams come true. It may be a couple of years before I see the payoff,…
