Melissa Schlies – Page 17 – Melissa Schlies

A Short Pause Before the Holiday Rush

Here in the US, the fall is full of holidays. Where I live, they sneak Halloween candy onto the shelves right before kids start school in August. In fact the way our grocery stores and Target behave, you would think fall is a four month celebration. Ghosts and ghouls haunt us down shopping aisles, until they’re replaced just before Halloween with Santa and his elves. While Thanksgiving squeaks in between the two like a ninja. One day there’s a rush on free turkeys, the next Mariah Carey is singing to us through the intercom, telling us all she wants for [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-11-03T14:45:07+00:00November 4th, 2019|Categories: Health, Mental Health, Preparation, Self Care|Comments Off

When It’s Actually Ok to Compare

In our kitchen, on the shelf just above our toaster, you will find a small bronze colored tool that looks like a wrench. It came with a piece of Ikea furniture we bought years ago. And somehow, it got repurposed for pulling things out of our toaster oven. Once our food is cooked, the hot oven rack is too small to grab with a mitt, so we reach in there and hook it with this “wrench.” Then, we drag it out. Only, it doesn’t work that well. In fact sometimes, I still burn myself. Yet here we are, years later, [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-10-24T13:12:10+00:00October 31st, 2019|Categories: Acceptance, Calling, comparison, Lead, Leadership, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Comparison: It’s Not Our Job

Over the past few years, there’s a word that’s been thrown around to describe our generation: Entitled. But I don’t believe our problem is that we think we are owed everything. I think the problem is we compare ourselves to others. Then we worry about what it says about us, if we aren’t in the same place (financially, career-wise, etc.), as everyone else seems to be. I don’t believe our problem is that we think we are owed everything. I think the problem is we compare ourselves to others. Comparison is never about the person we’re focusing on. It’s always [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-10-24T12:42:10+00:00October 28th, 2019|Categories: Anxiety, comparison, Courage, Hope, Mental Health, Purpose, Rejection, Uncategorized|Comments Off

How to Focus on Your Lane & Avoid Comparison

Every now and then, I meet someone who’s never struggled with comparison or insecurity. Or at least, they’re very good at pretending. There have been times where I’ve admitted to such a person that I’ve struggled with an insecurity or wanting to be like someone else, either in my present or my past, and only received a blank look. Other times, I’ve received a confused expression like “Why would you worry about that?” My response is usually to drop it like I haven’t made any confession at all, and move on. When inside I am always thinking, “I don’t know [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-10-24T00:39:38+00:00October 24th, 2019|Categories: comparison, Declutter Your Mind, Habit Making, Health, Lead, Leadership, Learn, Life Coaching, Love, Love Learn Lead, Mental Health, Self Care, Success, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Comparison: The Thief of Joy

“Comparison is the thief of Joy” —Theodore Roosevelt Recently, I was listening to a podcast by a gifted writer who also has a good size social following. At the beginning of the episode, the host/writer shared how fun it has been to see her newest book on the shelves in bookstores. Then she went on to thank her listeners for all the downloads her show had reached. And I hate to admit it, but I began to feel jealous. Now, you may not want to write books or possibly have a podcast someday, like I do. But you do want [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-10-14T15:48:54+00:00October 21st, 2019|Categories: Calling, comparison, perseverance, Purpose, Success, Uncategorized|Comments Off

How to Choose Curiosity Over Comparison

I’m a big believer in paying attention. Not just to stop lights or people talking to me, but also to myself. In my twenties, I learned the hard way that to live a healthy life, it’s crucial to pay attention to both our bodies and our emotions. But our emotions are tricky things. Wrapped up with our thoughts, they can direct us toward beautiful and wonderful endeavors. Or, if our thoughts aren’t good, they can send us spiraling for hours or days down a destructive path. In other words, to take care of our emotions, we need to guard our [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-10-14T14:41:37+00:00October 17th, 2019|Categories: comparison, Lead, Leadership, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Mental Health, Self Care|Comments Off

On meeting Insta Puppies & Getting Over Comparison

We had just finished our first tasting at a winery in Sonoma California. The richness of Pino Noir still lingered on my tongue, as Tony and I walked around a little shop adjacent to the tasting room. And as we debated spending more than we wanted to on a bottle of merlot, two tall, blond women walked into the shop with their very well groomed dog. A minute later, two other women came in and one quickly stooped down to pet the dog. “I hope you don’t mind me asking—but is this Fluffy*?” the woman asked the woman holding the [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-10-10T14:35:37+00:00October 14th, 2019|Categories: Acceptance, comparison, FOMO, Identity, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Love Learn Lead October 10, 2019

When I was a kid, I was homeschooled until sixth grade. This meant, that while my classmates had figured out the social structure of public school all the way back in Kindergarten, I was just beginning. Seeking to survive middle school, I couldn’t help but compare myself to the “cool kids,” to those who my teacher had deemed the “smart kids,” and who socially, had been designated to their own lonely corner of the lunch table. Looking back, I don’t know that I ever fully found my place. Only, even at the age of twelve, comparison led me to judge [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-10-09T15:44:29+00:00October 10th, 2019|Categories: Balance, comparison, FOMO, Food, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, podcasts I love|Comments Off

The Stump of a Redwood

Other than the sound of gravel crunching beneath our hiking shoes, it was quiet. The kind of quiet that makes you hesitant to speak. And when you do, it makes you whisper. All around us giant redwood trees towered above our heads. Tony and I were in California. But rather than visiting Muir Woods, we settled for Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve. Longer to say, but not as overrun with tourists, as our online research had told us. And as it was early on a Sunday morning, All was still. There wasn’t even a breeze moving through the trees. The [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-10-03T16:06:11+00:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Acceptance, Beauty, Change, Failure, grief, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Love: Books That Have Changed My Life

If you are reader, chances are there have been a few books that you didn’t want to put down. Books, you didn’t want to end. And perhaps even, books that changed your life. As we’ve been talking about change this month on the blog, I couldn’t help but think of all the many things in life that change us. Relationships, jobs, trauma and surprisingly good opportunities—all have the power to alter not only our life’s path, but also who we are in our very being. The interesting thing though, is so can art. A good song can reframe an experience [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-10-02T15:43:18+00:00October 3rd, 2019|Categories: Change, Good Books, Lead, Leadership, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Uncategorized|Comments Off

About Melissa Schlies

A Short Pause Before the Holiday Rush

When It’s Actually Ok to Compare

Comparison: It’s Not Our Job

How to Focus on Your Lane & Avoid Comparison

Comparison: The Thief of Joy

How to Choose Curiosity Over Comparison

On meeting Insta Puppies & Getting Over Comparison

Love Learn Lead October 10, 2019

The Stump of a Redwood

Love: Books That Have Changed My Life

ABOUT ME

RECENT POSTS