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In his book For One More Day, Mitch Albom writes, “I met a man once who did a lot of mountain climbing. I asked him which was harder, ascending or descending? He said without a doubt descending, because ascending you were so focused on reaching the top, you avoided mistakes. “The backside of a mountain is a fight against human nature,” he said. “You have to care as much about yourself on the way down as you did on the way up.” This is wise advice to remember – especially now. As the restrictions ease in North America, children… Read More

No matter how much you’ve worried in the past or are worrying right now, you can let go of worry. I know you can because I did! I was once a chronic worrier. I worried about my weight and my appearance. I worried about making mistakes. I worried about my job, about money, and about being alone. I worried about being loveable, being likeable, and being good enough. You name it and I worried about it. The strange thing is, I believed that my worry was helping me. Looking back now, I can see how it was “helping” me. Worrying… Read More

Laughter is good for the soul! It causes your body to release endorphins – the body’s natural pain killer – and to reduce the stress hormone, cortisol. Who in your life makes you laugh the most? For me, I’d have to say it’s my kids and my sister Dede. Here’s a recent interaction I had with my daughter, Brianna, that had me laughing so hard I was crying. “Brianna,” I say during a FaceTime call. “The agent Auntie Jan knows just sent me a casting call for a ‘mom/daughter duo’ to virtually ask questions to celebrity ‘mom/daughter duos’. Are you… Read More

Is cancelling beloved holiday gatherings with family and friends weighing on your emotions? How do we reconcile the loss in ourselves and with our children? Worry Management Expert, Denise Marek, helps parents with those difficult conversations on The Morning Show. 1. Talk With Your Kids Sometimes we think we protect our children by sheltering them from what’s happening. But, kids are smart! They pick up on your stress and when left to imagine what’s wrong, it can cause them to worry. Talk with your kids. ⇒ Start the conversation now. You might not know… Read More

Do these statistics surprise you? McMaster University researchers tracked the amount of time 4,000 stay-at-home and working Canadian parents spent caring for children before and during the pandemic. Here’s what they found: Men reported an average of 33 hours of caregiving per week before COVID-19 hit and 46 hours per week during. Women reported an average of 68 hours per week before and a whooping 95 hours per week during! Mothers have taken on an alarming number of hours caring for their children during the pandemic. It can be extremely challenging to balance work and family… Read More

When my daughters were teenagers, they would say, “You’re using your speaker voice again.” The first time they said it, I asked, “What does that mean?” My 15-year-old daughter explained, “It’s the voice you use when you’re saying something to motivate us. You like the voice; but, you don’t want to argue with it.” Can you relate? It’s been a stressful time. Sometimes how you’re feeling is reflected in your voice. The work of running a business – or raising kids, caring for loved ones, daily life – can be challenging enough. Add the pressure of living in a pandemic… Read More

Can you guess which questions I’m most frequently asked through social media and after giving keynotes, seminars, and online training? 1. How did you become a professional speaker? 2. How did you get your books published? 3. Are you always this positive? Here are the answers to those three FAQs: 1. How did you become a professional speaker? The entire story about how I became a professional speaker is interesting and funny, but it’s long, so I’ll save the full answer for a future blog post. In the meantime, here’s the short version. Read More

Give this sixty-second video a quick watch and tell me . . . Do you think this could possibly be the world’s strangest pick-up line? I’m quite certain that if someone had asked me the question my friend had been asked, I would not have assumed I was being hit on! I would have taken it personally because I was teased about my weight when I was a kid. In his book, Free to Change: Escape from the Forces that Keep You the Same, Matthew J. Taylor writes: “Young… Read More

In continuing this series of keeping calm in the pandemic, it’s important to talk about financial stress. With unemployment levels at an all-time high and businesses being shut down, millions of people are struggling to figure out how they’ll manage financially. There is hope! This particular message includes a story to inspire you and strategies to help you. First the story to inspire you . . . Last week, I was interviewed on The Morning Show to provide strategies to help parents reduce worry during the pandemic. Before the show, I asked moms and… Read More

So you’ve committed (and recommitted) to sticking to your healthy eating plan. But . . . You feel stressed (bored, overwhelmed, tired), so . . . You eat a donut (a cupcake, a cookie) or two . . . or twelve. You feel relief . . . for a while. The relief wears off and regret sets in. The regret triggers more stress and . . . you reach for those darn comfort foods again! Why did it happen? I mean . . . . . . you knew what you had planned to eat that day. . . . Read More