Tag Archives: thinking

Pre-Writing

I’ve started throwing away what I write. Really. I’ve started writing and writing and writing and then deleting what I’ve written or just opening another blank document and starting again. I might write about the same thing or I might write about something completely new. I might write about nothing or I might be inspired by a particular quote. There are various methods of writing but I’ve settled on this one. I’ve never been one for highly structured outlines prior to writing my papers. My brain simply doesn’t think like that. I don’t think in “beginning, middle, end” linearity or … Continue reading →

Pen and Paper

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I’ve started working on writing again (in-between my long stints of reading) and I’m realizing a disturbing trend that must have started with the dry erase boards (and probably in grade school or perhaps even earlier). It is the limitation of the digital. I grant, it’s not a complete limitation but there is certainly a tendency toward predefined types of marks and predefined layouts of those marks (columns, rows, etc…). I never fully realized how limiting these predefined structures are when working towards creative ends. A couple of weeks ago I had a great conversation with one of my professors … Continue reading →

Losing Sleep to Popcorn Brain

Do you ever find your mind too active to sleep? Maybe you’re turning one problem over and over in your head… or maybe your thoughts are pinging from one topic to another, racing along merrily while the rest of you desperately wants to rest. I like to call that hopping from one thought to another “popcorn brain”. Pop! A thought goes off over here. Pop! A totally different thought goes off over there! And if you imagine your head like a popcorn popper, it can quickly fill up with thoughts, leaving you very little space in which to calm down … Continue reading →

Learning is What we Think, Know, Do and Say

As parents, most of us think of ourselves also as teachers and we are concerned with what sort of lessons our children are learning. I think it is good to remind ourselves that learning is more than just being able to recite the alphabet or writing symbols on paper and turning in our homework. Real learning involves everything—it is what we think, what we know, what we do and what we say… While we may understand that learning is a process, it is important to remember that it is often not a linear process. I know in watching my own … Continue reading →

When They Act without Thinking

It might help you to know as a parent that a child acting first and thinking later is the norm–it does not mean that there is something wrong with your child or that he is somehow doomed to a life of mishaps, mistakes and apologies. As parents, however, it does mean that we have our work cut out for us in teaching our children how to slow down, weight the options and think BEFORE they act… Have you ever heard the following from your child: “I just wasn’t thinking” or “I forgot” or “I didn’t know what would happen”? I … Continue reading →

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Debt Status: A Lesson in Needs vs. Wants

I am married to Mr. Finance who does not believe in debt. At all. Before we got married I believed a little debt was part of the American way of life. Who didn’t have a balance on their credit card? Wayne didn’t. Never has, never will. Yet, he had a credit card. “But how come you don’t have any debt? What about the things you want? You’ve got all that credit and could buy so much.” “Credit isn’t money, Courtney. If I want something I make sure I have the cash in hand first. I might use my credit card … Continue reading →

When Your Thinking Gets Skewed

Clear mind or cloudy mind? How do you know if you are seeing things clearly or if your objectivity is being influenced and tainted by other things? Are you letting past experiences skew your thinking? Or is your child creating a bit of a stir and keeping you from seeing things clearly? Do you have such emotional reactions to things that you are having a hard time figuring out what to do? Sometimes, it is important to give yourself a time out and try to get out of the midst of the fog and clouds in order to get that … Continue reading →

I Can’t Think for All of Us

I wrote yesterday while pondering just how much a single parent can cram into his or her brain without having the benefit of writing it down. The flip side of this is that the truth is—we CANNOT cram it all into our brains. I know with my children, I can remember telling them when they were younger that they were going to have to manage some of their own things because there was no way that I could “think for all four of us!” I can actually recall one day one of my daughters saying to me: “Mom, I know … Continue reading →

“What do YOU Think About That?”

I am not someone who is normally at a loss for an opinion, and I confess that my children have heard plenty about what I think should happen, or my opinion about this or that, or even what my value system is. I think they have been pretty well indoctrinated with the “theories of mom.” I have had to learn as they have gotten older, however, to let up a little on my opinion and theories and invite them to share some of their own. Okay, so I probably have permanent scarring all over my tongue from where I have … Continue reading →

Money Belief Systems Affect Our Businesses

Money is neither good nor evil, it is simply a means to an end–a commodity–here in the real world. But, our emotional feelings and belief systems around money can have a very definite influence on how we manage our home-based businesses. I have been amazed how it doesn’t seem to matter how many “business books” and articles I read, or how many lists and skills I apply to my work–my belief systems around money and work are what REALLY influence and affect how I am able to progress with my small business. Taking time out to examine (and re-examine) my … Continue reading →