I like big growth and I cannot lie. I cherish it in nature: the first blooms pushing through the spring soil; new sprouts on my houseplants as they unfold into tender leaves; watching my puppy turn into a 72-pound hunk of dopey love. I celebrate it in humans: seeing friends (and clients) moving from indecision […]
Author: Elona
Slice of Sunshine: Gold Stars Aplenty
Before scratch and sniff stickers, and long before letter grades hastily scribbled in red felt tip pens, came tiny foil stars. Green, red, silver, blue, and gold. Adhered (with saliva! no self-stick back in those days!) to the top of papers, tests, worksheets. How I loved the dimensionality, the delicate embossing, the solidity of foil […]
Slice of Sunshine: Just Checking In
According to conventional wisdom, it is a “no-no” to send emails with “Just Checking In!” as the subject line. Entrepreneurs are told that every email should include a call to action (CTA), so “Just Checking In” is a wasted opportunity to build business. “Just Checking In” is also often used passive-aggressively in Businessland, a sorry-not-sorry […]
Slice of Sunshine: Resilience 201
I can’t speak for all of you, my dear Slice of Sunshine readers, but I can say that for many folks, our resilience has been tested. We’ve been through so much—individually, collectively, globally—and while there are days it seems iffy, I still believe in our inherent capacity—again, individually, collectively, globally—to rebound. But our basic tools […]
Slice of Sunshine: Tigers and SASS
You’re in the forest, minding your own business, when out of nowhere a tiger jumps onto your path. (In retrospect, maybe you shouldn’t have had your AirPods in.) What happens next? Most likely, your brain makes an instant calculation of how to increase the likelihood of survival. Do you run? Scale a tree? Throw it […]
Slice of Sunshine: No Foolin’
I like to think that I have a good sense of humor. Of course, people who do not have a good sense of humor probably say the same thing.🧐 However. I do not like practical jokes so I have always found April Fool’s Day cringe-y. Similar to the way that I have a hard time watching very […]
Slice of Sunshine: Think “Leaf” not “Tree”
Start with small changes Mr. Mallard was my 8th grade English teacher. Old school, rarely smiled, took points off if you turned in your paper with the “lace” from the notebook attached, and though he accepted late work, each day it dropped one grade (an “A” paper received two days late was automatically a “C,” […]
Slice of Sunshine: Switch or Dial?
Our brains do not like uncertainty. For safety, we are “wired” to look for predictability and when that is not available, we may find ourselves trying to create it. One way this can manifest itself is by adopting what we could call a “switch mindset”: something is either ON or it is OFF. I either […]
Slice of Sunshine —Who, me?
Getting pinged by a shadow belief I like things to run smoothly and I take a lot of pride in creating systems to ensure that we can all function with the least amount of chaos and wasted energy. Some may call this “type A,” others may call this “hyper-organized” or even “anal retentive.” Maybe even […]
Slice of Sunshine —Solving is Not Always the Solution
So many people are facing tough times. This means many of us are finding ourselves in the position of being supporters for loved ones, helping those who are in distress and in need of resources and comfort. When connecting with a dear one facing adversity, my intention is to be a supportive listener and open-hearted, […]