The bullies in middle school were, as it turns out, nothing compared to the one in my brain. It’s the voice of laceration and flagellation that gave me no credit for trying my best.

I believe that the things we can’t tolerate take on power in our lives. When I decided that my fear of making a mess might be running my life, someone suggested that I add Oscar the Grouch to my “Wall of Heroes.”

Why is it that we would rather be liked for who we’re not than risk either not being not liked OR actually loved for who we are?

It’s so tempting to believe that someone else will solve our problems for us.  Send in the white stallion with the answer!  Write Ask Amy … She’ll tell me what to do!

Here’s what I think I know: all of us sometimes wish that someone else had your answer, your decision, your solution.

Here’s what else I know: they don’t.

What’s your staying power? In a challenging conversation, my “stay” might be not unlike 4-month-old Tibby the puppy’s.  I might have made the excellent choice not to leave the room or bolt.  I might even resist glancing at my phone. Nonetheless, my physical presence is all that’s still in the conversation.

Getting clean can mean around substances, messy drawers or food. While those are all topics that are reasonably on people’s minds as a new year dawns, I’m thinking about cleaning up in a different way.

Perhaps you believe – as I did -- that leadership needs to involve a suit, CEO energy and Very Serious Stuff.

I imagine there is some positive spin we could put on what feeling ashamed feels like, but I can’t, at this moment, tell you what that might be. 

What if this IS your life? What if your butt will always look this way? Or your work demands will never relent?