We think we are, but most of the time, we are not listening.

At least we aren’t listening 75% of the time, according to the International Listening Association. Their studies show that we remember about 25-50% of what they said after speaking with someone.

Think of the amount of time you spend speaking to people each day. Even if you are a good listener — better than average — you are still wasting precious time every day.

The most successful people I know are good listeners; they ask questions and are always interested in what others and I have to…

Hallelujah, Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life is no longer on the New York Times bestseller list. Millions read his book, so I guess they liked his rules. My quibble was the excessive verbiage it took him to convey his advice — mainly for men — who need to be reminded to stand up straight and be good fathers. Plus, I’ve never been a fan of his conservative views.

All this to say, his stepping off the bestseller list opens up a perfect opportunity for my mom-inspired rules for life. While I am not a psychology professor at a top…

The number of teenagers and children watching porn has increased dramatically thanks to the internet. One report cites the average age of first exposure to pornography is 11 years old. Another report says it’s 13.37 years.

97% of girls and 100% of boys have viewed porn by the age of 15. The largest demographic consuming porn is kids 12–17.

This last fact shocked me. Unless your home does not have internet, here is what parents need to know.

The big picture

I share the following background information because initially, I did not know who the players were, how pervasive pornography was among children…

Humor

Hello? 7:15. Wake up. You’ve overslept.

I love starting the day with you, but now I see you expect me to pop in on you more often. You expect me to be there in the afternoon.

I get it. These pandemic afternoons can drag on, and I know you feel like you need a little boost from time to time. I love being there for you, but trust me, too much of me is not good for you.

I know what you are going to say. Yup, I have always been there for you — a quick pick-me-up or a…

I have nothing against fame and fortune, getting the big promotion or snagging a book deal for the magnum opus you’ve been writing for the past five years. At one point in our lives, many of us have probably aspired to at least one of these goals and thought they were a key to our happiness. Some still think they are.

But when pushed a little, most people will agree that what we really want is to live a long, happy and healthy life. The book deal is the icing on the cake.

So we eat healthy foods, drink moderately…

I am a sucker for freebies. So when an email popped into my inbox offering a free 40-day mindfulness meditation training program, I was interested and five minutes later I signed up.

Better still, the training was offered by Tara Brach, Ph.D and Jack Kornfield, two internationally renowned mindfulness meditation teachers and practitioners, and it was only 10 minutes a day.

I took them up on the offer, one that you can take up too at the end of this article.

You might identify with this

Let me take a step back and explain where I started. Like many, I have spent my life rushing…

Much of my life has changed or been canceled this past year. Exercise class, handshakes, the casual kiss on both cheeks that is part of every greeting where I live, in-person meetings, and my list goes on.

But unless I missed the memo, Valentine’s Day isn’t cancelled. Of course, it’s not obvious how to celebrate in the middle of a pandemic. Our usual celebration at our favourite restaurant is not possible. …

Does blog writing sometimes feel like running on a hamster wheel? Perhaps it’s time to step down, have a look around and re-evaluate. Maybe you are caught up in the extreme blogging phenomenon?

Extreme blogging — you probably never heard of it — is a term I made up. But it’s a good description of a phenomenon that exists because blogging is the fastest growing genre of writing with more than 7 million blog posts published each day.

Extreme blogging means cranking out content each day, ignoring that you really have nothing new to say. Or it means writing multiple…