The holidays are drawing ever closer, and with the holidays comes joy, cheer, delicious foods, and crazy malls! There are some ways to be strategic about it, however, and in order to avoid all the insane stress of navigating the maze of your local shopping centre, there is some advice you should heed when thinking about holiday gifts. Firstly, a list may seem obvious, but do not skip it under any circumstances. These lists can get quite lengthy and ending up with multiples for one recipient and none for another is a very bad result that can come from shopping on the fly. Keep your list organised and hand-write it if possible, as writing in your own hand, no matter how messy, is categorized as more important by your brain. Planning ahead is also an obvious one, but shop around online to avoid being extra distracted once you arrive at a particular store.  Continue reading →

Recently, a good friend’s loved one passed away and I was stuck. What do I do? How do I support her, without being smothering and ensuring I’m as helpful as possible? So many worries swim through your head in this sort of situation. Even though I wasn’t experiencing the loss, I needed a little support myself to figure out how to proceed. I found some great advice from friends and family, so I’ve decided to share it. Continue reading →

November thirteenth is World Kindness Day.  It’s a day designated to being empathetic and it’s been around since 1998! Isn’t it great that there is a day set aside to remind us all to be kind to each other? To be nice to others sometimes isn’t our first reflex, especially in traffic or other stressful situations, but with a little positivity it can start to come naturally. You’d be surprised how far a small gesture can go. Understandably, schedules can get quite packed, but don’t forget to schedule in a time slot to do something nice for your loved ones and those who are kind to you. The worst thing you can do is take someone else’s kindness for granted! It’s important as humans to reinforce kind actions as much as possible and if we don’t set aside time for it, it often ends up as a low priority or even forgotten entirely. But to thank or praise someone for something they have done or simply just to make someone feel good, a random act of kindness can be just what the doctor ordered. Continue reading →