change : BouncebackCafe.com

Tug the Thread

August 31, 2011 - Posted by Ellie

Photo credit: abbamouse

originally published December 16, 2010

Have you ever looked back and wondered over a thread that, when tugged upon, changed your life?

Begin to weave and God will give you the thread.

— Anonymous

During these last few weeks of 2010 I find myself drifting into a nostalgia that’s tempered with curiosity about the future… a comment in The Power of Flow: Practical Ways to Transform Your Life with Meaningful Coincidence by Belitz & Lundstrom prompted my reverie: Continue reading » Tug the Thread

Seeing Things Differently

August 9, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: Sugar Pond

Madame, all stories, if continued far enough, end in death, and he is no true-story teller who would keep that from you.

— Ernest Hemingway

I love stories.

I’ve been making my way, very slowly, through Michael Yapko’s Hand-Me-Down Blues. As with most good books on a specific topic, Yapko uses stories to illustrate his points. The minute he starts telling about a person or a family, I’m hooked. The thing is that these stories are carefully crafted to Continue reading » Seeing Things Differently

Sucking on Lemons

July 12, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: frotzed2

It’s like you asked me about the depression thing: you grope towards an understanding of whatever it is you’re going through, and it’s not personal, there are forces in play around you, and you seek to understand them and that way you can go on.

— Bob Geldof

Depression – whenever you encounter it – is inconvenient, sometimes painful and can be life changing. There are many kinds of depression:

Situational: a major change, expected or unexpected, throws you for a loop and until you get your feet back under you, there’s discomfort, anxiety, uncertainty, and lots of blue days.

Chronic: like any chronic illness, this form of depression is Continue reading » Sucking on Lemons

Productive OR Counter-productive?

May 25, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: sk8geek

The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail.

— Napoleon Hill

I am constantly amazed at how bad my memory is. Not in the sense of being unable to remember names or phone numbers, but rather in the sense of quickly forgetting important lessons that I’ve learned.

One of the best examples I can give you is my inability to remember good ideas I’ve gotten from the books I’ve read or listened to. With my two hour commute – one hour in each direction – I’m spending a fair amount of time listening to good books and classes. I will be driving along listening to Continue reading » Productive OR Counter-productive?

Better and Better

May 17, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: centralasian

I must learn to love the fool in me the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries.

— Theodore Isaac Rubin

Do you believe that you are a learning and growing being? Back in the beginning of the self-esteem movement, many proponents recommended that you repeat an affirmation to help you improve your self-esteem. It went, “Everyday, in every way, I’m getting better and better.” To say that this became the basis of jokes about self-esteem is to understate how much of a Continue reading » Better and Better