Tag: The Huffington Post

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Inheriting Grandchildren: Removing The Step Between US

Life is abundant with experiences, good, not so good and indifferent. Some of them are the last thing you expect, like having grandchildren and you don’t even have children. Yep, the cat is out of the bag. I’m fessing up here. But you won’t find a traditional granny here, though I’d like think my heart is a big as my both my grandmothers. And certainly, I have as much fun as mine did. Great memories, there.

Anyhow, read more in my HuffPost blog. And by all means share your your non-traditional ‘grandparenting’ stories right here or on the Huffington Post.  As for me, I have lots of playing to do. I mean work. Tune in for April’s read.

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Keeping Relationships Alive

Lately, I have noticed how a few of my longstanding relationships are fizzling out, though one in particular keeps thriving.  Not to say that the ones that are fizzling  have ceased to exist altogether. On the contrary, now and again, there is an occasion to interact, to relate. But here is the thing: something is amiss.  Frankly, it is downright awkward at times, regardless of acquaintance. What’s this all about?

In my latest  Huff Post blog, I point out that while there is much advice out there for couples on how to keep love alive, there is little said to friends and family about how to keep relationships alive, particularly from a distance.  Read more  in the Huffington Post UK Keeping Relationships Alive.

And please do have your say on the matter, too, here or directly on the Huff Post.

 

 

 

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Live Life Wherever You Are

Depending on who you ask, autumn is closer than you think.  While astronomers maintain that fall begins September 22, meteorologists say its tomorrow–the first day of September. I vote for the latter for a number of reasons. From fresher days to earlier nights, there is a newness out and about. Even if one isn’t fortunate enough to see it in the colour of bright leaves falling, it is in the air–the whiff of newness that begins with new beginnings. Back to school, back to work, back to life after a long summer holiday, old ways, whether local or global, seem a bit stale. Time to look ahead.

That’s me! After taking off a month or so, I am looking ahead to next week’s official return to my desk. In the meantime, I have a thing or two the say about life as an expat. In short,  Live Life Where You Are (as written about in latest Huff Post blog)…Seems like an obvious thing to do, doesn’t it? But living life to the fullest when transitioning to a new city, a new country, for example, isn’t always the easiest thing to do.

Undeniably, so much has been left behind both physically and mentally. At least that is the way I felt when I moved to London nearly twenty years ago, but holding close to my chest some savvy advice from my brother, a Retired US Airforce Chief Master Sergeant, who had already travelled the world, I got looking ahead fairly early on instead of always looking over my shoulder.

See the thing is: looking ahead doesn’t always mean forgetting the life lived previously, but it does mean adding to it and living life in the present.  Read more in the Huff Post about making a smooth transition from one country to another.

And follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Sonjalewis.com as I continue and complete my podcast series, You Inside and Out, dare to write more perceptive commentary and transition into a the next phase of living life to the fullest, right here in jolly old England.

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The Distance Between Us Really Does Matter

And I thought I was the only one who had a thing about personal space.

According to a recent study on personal space, most of us do, particularly when it comes to distance literally between us when we are communicating and interacting.

The authors of the study, Preferred Interpersonal Distances: A Global Comparison, interviewed 8, 943 people in 42 countries and found that individual characteristics (age and gender) influence how close-up or how far-away we prefer to be from those in our space whether familiar or unfamiliar. Where people live has a bearing as well on personal space preference(s).

Ah ha! Living a stone’s throw away from the heart of bustling London at my age, it’s no wonder that I get so ruffled about invasions of my personal space these days. Read my latest Huff Post blog to find out what’s keeping me up in the air about space.

 

 

 

 

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Summer Weddings Underway: Time to Invest

While June continues to reign as the most popular month for weddings in the US, August has pipped it at the post in the UK. Perhaps it’s something to do with the weather, but that’s another blog. Watch this space.

In the meantime,  US statistics show that in 2012, some 17 per cent of the thousands of weddings that took place happened in June. In the UK in 2013, only 10 per cent of marrying couples chose the traditional month. Here, 15 per cent married in August.

In both countries, however, trends  show that weddings are on the rise. How wonderful! And that’s all the more reason that it makes sense to invest in marriage, not just the wedding.

In a recent Huffington Post blog, I spoke to an expert about the matter.

According to Sila Lee, co-founder of Holy Trinity Brompton’s (HTB) Marriage Preparation Course with her husband Nicky, investing in marriage beforehand is one of the best investments that any couple can make because every couple will inevitably faces issues owing to different backgrounds and life experiences.

But for one reason or another, this notion is not necessarily the norm. The Lee’s  want to change this.

Sounds like a good idea to me. Read  Investing in Marriage for a Change in The Huffington Post UK.

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Age-old Secret out of the Bag

Shush! Never ask a woman her age. And certainly don’t expect her to volunteer it. In my grandma’s day, this was definitely the case.

And while there are women now who still prefer not to talk about the matter, many of us are happy to let the cat out of the bag.

I have my say on the subject in my latest Huff Post blog. Not only am I happy to talk about my age, but also happy to tell why.

Check out the full blog here and do have your say or keep quiet. It is a woman’s prerogative, irrespective of age old beliefs or new ones.

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Latest Huff Post blog: Going with the crowd?

Ever went along with the crowd for the sake of keeping peace? If not, you’re in the minority. The majority, according to psychologists, follow a path that they don’t agree with at one time or another, often for fear of being socially excluded.

This concept, pluralistic ignorance, is at the centre of many historical atrocities and personal ones too. To read more about pluralistic ignorance and how to avoid it, check out my latest Huff Post blog.

Feel free to feedback and/or comment here on on the Huff Post.

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Reinventing The Way We Use Good Thoughts

The more I think about  getting rid of bad thoughts, the more I’m convinced that this process is about reinvention, particularly when it comes to fundamentals.

How many times have you reinvented yourself, whether it had to do with career, fashion, family and so on? Sounds flippant to a certain degree, but reinvention is what we do when something becomes passe or no longer useful or beneficial.

Otherwise, we are stuck.

So why not do the same with thinking? In my latest Huffington Post blog, I take a look at moving forward, Getting With the New Programme. Another way to put it is to leave limiting thinking behind.

In doing so, we don’t abandon our fundamentals, rather we understand them more thoroughly, and use them appropriately to spring forward.

Sounds like a bit of reinvention to me. Nothing wrong with that! Happy reinvention.