Wow! I can't believe we are at the end of 2018. I like to look back at the top posts — determined by highest average number of views — on brendaknowles.com for the year. It is a nice way for me to see what I learned in the last 12 months and what you, the reader, [...]
I've discovered I like to accumulate points or create a streak when I want to instill a habit into my life. That motivates me. My meditation app on my phone, insighttimer.com, gives me a gold star for every ten days of meditation I do. I like to see the days add up. You get a [...]
I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. I dream of fun family gatherings, the magic of Christmas morning, twinkly lights, creating fond memories, feelings of love and appreciation... All of that seems entirely possible as fall winds down and Thanksgiving approaches. Feeling used Then I put a lot of effort into a full-out [...]
The other night in my writing group we wrote about the best gift or gifts we had ever received. I am fortunate. I had three different gifts come to mind. One was a Snow White miniature kitchen I found under the Christmas tree when I was five years old. I can't remember if the kitchen was [...]
Have you ever felt taken for granted by a partner? Perhaps, it seemed like they only noticed you if you did something for them, or worse, they didn't notice you at all even when you fulfilled all of your duties. I've been there and I definitely did not like the feeling of being used. It felt like [...]
As we plunge into the holiday season, I thought it would be a good time to take inventory of our go-to behaviors for relieving stress. Internal resources According to Julie M. Simon, LMFT and author of When Food Is Comfort, if we grew up with encouraging nurturing caregivers, we acquire capabilities such as personal competencies and [...]
