Michelle Obama says it helps to focus on what you can control when you feel out of control. The things she could control during the pandemic and times of racial unrest and threats to democracy were her spools of yarn and knitting needles. She labels such thinking “power of small” in her new book The […]
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The truth
by resolutewoman on November 10, 2022 in character, courage
“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off,” Gloria Steinem once said.
We must be friends
by resolutewoman on November 8, 2022 in character, courage, friends
“We are not enemies, but friends,” Abraham Lincoln said in 1861. “We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.”
Lincoln’s moral understanding
by resolutewoman on November 5, 2022 in change, character, Uncategorized
I am reading Jon Meacham’s new book about Abraham Lincoln—and Meacham stresses the story of Lincoln has messages for us today. I haven’t finished the book, but I knew I had to read it after I read an excerpt from the book in Time magazine. “Lincoln kept the American experiment in self-government alive when it […]
Patriotism
by resolutewoman on November 1, 2022 in change, character
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it,” Mark Twain once said.
Everyone else
by resolutewoman on October 25, 2022 in character, confidence, courage
In my last two posts, I shared two quotes about being yourself. This has always been my favorite quote about being yourself. It’s from Oscar Wilde. “Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” –Joy
Keep being yourself
by resolutewoman on October 22, 2022 in character, confidence, courage
In my last post, I mentioned the Emerson quote about being yourself. This is another quote that I like—a lot. “You change the world by being yourself,” Yoko Ono once said. –Joy
Be yourself!
by resolutewoman on October 20, 2022 in character, confidence
I have lots of favorite quotes, but this is one of my most favorite. And, I heard it repeated recently while I was watching a video at my Monday night class. Emerson once said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” –Joy
Listen
by resolutewoman on September 27, 2022 in character, friends, patience, secrets
Elizabeth Strout, one of my favorite authors, reports that she never took a literature course and she never took a psychology course. Instead, she listens to people. “I have listened and listened and listened my whole life,” Strout says. “If you listen carefully enough, people will tell you exactly the kind of person they are.” […]
Presence is power
by resolutewoman on September 17, 2022 in character, courage, families, friends, Uncategorized
Pay attention! I know it’s important, but often I find my mind wandering when I’m talking to a friend or with a group of people. Michelle Huneven in her book Search has a good reminder. ”The most powerful person in any room is the one most fully present. Presence is the source of power,” Huneven […]
What’s this site about?
We wrote our book and we’re writing our blog because we were frustrated. We were frustrated with experts who try to tell people how to lose weight, raise their children and improve their marriages—and be a success—in 10 easy steps. In three weeks. In one book.
Our self-help book and blog are for grownups—for women who know that there are no easy answers to life’s complex problems—that finding solutions requires some self-knowledge and self-searching and hard work.
We want to help women discover their own answers and live with them as their guide. We want to help you and other women Help Yourself!
We write about making changes and also about many other issues important to women, including families, friends, work and food.
