You’ve likely heard the words “If you can dream it, you can do it” but to me those words have never felt quite right. In fact, they feel a little untrue. Can we really make all our dreams come true? Perhaps some, but likely not all, at least not the way we originally perceive them. Thank goodness for our imagination as it can take us anywhere. We can dream whatever we want. And we can also change course and dream of something else if we want to.

I have a small diary where I’ve recorded my daily activities every day over the past year. I’ve been reading through this little book over the last couple of days and am really quite amazed that so much happened last year. Without this record of my day-to-day life I wouldn’t have believed that I really did that much, but it was truly an eventful year.

During the quiet break between the busyness of Christmas and anticipation of the new year…

As I write this, it’s two weeks before Christmas and it’s the time of year when many of us are rushing around getting ready for the holidays. It’s also when we start to anticipate the day when we can slow down a little and spend time in reflection of the year that’s just finished and in anticipation (hopefully not dread!) of the year ahead.

I’ve always been resistant to making New Year’s resolutions. We often resolve to get healthier, exercise more, etc., etc.

December and the beginning of the holiday season feels like the perfect time to add some hygge to our lives.

In case you’re not familiar with the Danish word hygge (pronounced hoo-ga), I’ll try and define it as best as I can. I first heard the word about 5 years ago when the book, The Little Book of Hygge, the Danish way to live well by Meik Wiking of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen was one of the top books in all the bookstores. Did you know that Danish people are considered among the happiest in the world? A lot of credit for that is given to this concept of hygge.

Do you ever feel lonely? We’re heading into the busiest time of year for many of us, and also the time when people report feeling very lonely. For those who are alone the rest of the year, the holidays can be particularly lonely.

What can we do to alleviate those feelings of loneliness?

First, I’d like to clarify that there’s a difference between spending time alone in solitude (which many of us crave from time to time) and the feeling of loneliness.

Most of us experience some level of stress every single day and the key to successfully managing that stress lies in our ability to self-regulate.

If you have children in the school system, and particularly if you have children who have attention and/or behaviour problems, you’ve likely heard the term self-regulation. It’s considered part of our executive functioning system, that frontal lobe part of the brain that helps us behave in a socially responsible way and get things done effectively and efficiently.

Just breathe! How many times have you heard that? I know I say it often. We hear this a lot when we’re stressed - just breathe! There’s a reason for that; connecting with the breath really works. It will be more effective, though, if you practice it on a regular basis (daily!), even when in a relaxed state.

Our breath is the one constant throughout our entire life. The first thing we do when we’re born is take a breath…

I used to think that introvert simply meant “shy and quiet” and extrovert meant “outgoing and talkative” and while that’s somewhat true, it’s actually not quite accurate. What’s the difference between an introvert and an extrovert? There are lots of different personality characteristics, but it basically all comes down to where you receive your energy from. Extroverts are energized by socializing in groups and having lots of friends, while introverted people, in general, prefer smaller groups and more intimate, one-to-one interactions. There are also omniverts - those who display traits of both introversion and extroversion, depending on the situation.

Making changes of any kind is hard. It doesn’t matter what we want to do, our brains are programmed to keep us where we are because the brain wants to stay comfortable and keep things “easy”.

What that means is that we feel the same fears over and over, behave the same way day after day, and think the same thoughts even when there is no, or very little, evidence to support that the thought is true.

Anyone who knows me very well also knows that walking is a passion of mine. You will find me on a trail in the woods most Sunday afternoons (as well as any other scraps of time I can find throughout the week).

I need a walk in the woods almost as much as I need to breathe!

My walks are all different, depending on how I’m feeling. Sometimes I feel distracted because I have a lot on my mind, sometimes I’m engaged in great conversations with my walking mates, and sometimes we’re on a difficult, very rocky trail and all my concentration is on my footing.