About Melissa Schlies

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So far Melissa Schlies has created 305 blog entries.

What To Do When Finding Your Routine Feels Impossible

When I was a teenager, every September, I’d get grumpy. Not because I was upset to be back at school. In fact, if you look at my extracurriculars in High School, you’d see I practically lived there. But each fall, the beginning of a new year was especially difficult for me. (This is where I send a shout out to my mom for loving my teenage self) For almost the entire first month of school, I’d come home every afternoon in a horrible mood. I was exhausted from my day, overwhelmed by homework, and basically hated my life. But then, [...]

By |2020-10-16T14:39:15+00:00October 19th, 2020|Categories: Anxiety, Balance, Change, discipline, Habit Making, Health, Hope, Practice, Purpose, Routines, Self Care|Comments Off on What To Do When Finding Your Routine Feels Impossible

Five More Ways to Stay Sane During Election Season

Have I ever told you, fall is my favorite season? The beautiful colors the leaves on the trees turn mesmerizes me. The weather is finally cool enough to bake, which is convenient because I love almost anything baked with locally grown apples or pumpkin. And there is just something in the air that makes me want to walk downtown to the farmers market, or find a hiking trail nearby.  Fall is fantastic. Only fall is also when, every four years, our country faces its most crucial election season. Yards are marked with candidate signs. Social Media is more politically charged [...]

By |2020-10-14T23:42:06+00:00October 15th, 2020|Categories: Anxiety, Balance, Conflict, Fear, Habit Making, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Making Decisions, Relationships, Self Care|Comments Off on Five More Ways to Stay Sane During Election Season

This Election Season, Don’t Forget To Love

Last week, Tony and I traveled through the Midwest to see family. For most of our trip, the highways and turnpikes we drove down were lined with big red or white barns and beautiful cornfields. Then, when we headed off those long stretches of road, there were more farms. Only this time, their homes, front yards, and driveways were dotted or emblazoned with red, white and blue— Political signs. Big and small plastic rectangles, with the words TRUMP or BIDEN printed in all capitol letters, hung from windows or stuck out of patches of dying grass. As if reminding us [...]

By |2020-10-11T22:04:53+00:00October 12th, 2020|Categories: Hope, Rejection, Relationships, Self Care, Social Distancing|Comments Off on This Election Season, Don’t Forget To Love

Don’t Forget To Be Still

“When we feel like there isn’t enough time in the day for us to get everything done, when we wish for more time, we don’t actually need more time. We need more stillness.” —Christine Carter One of the scariest things to do, when we feel stressed, is to stop. To put down what we’re doing, and to cease our productivity. Only sometimes, what we need more than anything, seems to be the most counterintuitive: We need to take a break. Unfortunately, last week, I was reminded of this truth in one of the most inconvenient—yet effective ways: I pulled my [...]

By |2020-10-08T00:06:06+00:00October 8th, 2020|Categories: Balance, Habit Making, Health, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Mental Health, Practice, Self Care|Comments Off on Don’t Forget To Be Still

On Turning Four, and Celebrating Small Wins

Last Friday, melissaschlies.com quietly turned four. I hadn’t planned on mentioning it. After all, who celebrates four years? Typically, anniversaries are commemorated in fives. Not only that, but  I thought I’d be further along in my writing journey by now. When I hit “publish,” on my first post, I had big dreams. Mostly of writing books. But also of creating a space on the internet to help others grow, find hope, and also, pursue their purpose. And, to some extent, I do feel we’re beginning to do that last part. Only sometimes, when we have big goals, it makes it [...]

By |2020-09-30T22:32:02+00:00October 5th, 2020|Categories: Courage, Creativity, gratitude, Hope, perseverance, Success|Comments Off on On Turning Four, and Celebrating Small Wins

Five Things To Get For Your Fall Road Trip 

Happy October, friends. We’ve finally reached the season for pumpkins, apple picking, taking hikes in the woods, and going on long drives in hopes of discovering something new. Though COVID has certainly effected our vacation plans this year, it doesn’t mean we can’t still escape our day to day lives. Even, if we’re only gone for a few hours. As I shared last week, for Tony and I, taking day trips have been huge in growing our marriage. Traveling has given us a shared perspective of our world and our lives. And in this social distancing time, you can be [...]

By |2020-10-06T15:46:19+00:00October 1st, 2020|Categories: Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Social Distancing, Staycation, Travel|Comments Off on Five Things To Get For Your Fall Road Trip 

On Mountaintop Tea Parties & Remembering What’s Most Important

Friends, I have one last travel story for this month. Hope you enjoyed this series, as much as I did. And, if you have any travel stories of your own you’d like to share—please do so in the comments section! One of my favorite travel memories, didn’t happen to me. In other words, what I am about to tell you is not an experience of my own. Rather, it is one I witnessed on the top of Cadillac Mountain, in Maine, just before sunrise. Now, I realize most people on their vacations rarely ever see the sunrise. But, as it [...]

By |2020-09-27T19:54:43+00:00September 28th, 2020|Categories: Acceptance, Balance, FOMO, Food, Relationships, Social Distancing, Staycation, Travel|Comments Off on On Mountaintop Tea Parties & Remembering What’s Most Important

Why It’s Important to Make Time for “Us” —Even In the Time of Covid

This past weekend, Tony and I took a trip with our closest friends to the Finger Lakes in New York. There we had “socially distanced” wine tastings. We hiked the gorge in Watkins Glen with our masks on. And we ate almost all of our meals at the little cottage we rented. Proving that traveling in the time of COVID is challenging, but not impossible.  If someone was to ask me and Tony what makes our marriage not only work, but also thrive, we’d probably tell them two things. In seasons like these, travel can often feel like a luxury. [...]

By |2020-09-23T21:05:08+00:00September 24th, 2020|Categories: Adulting, Balance, Habit Making, Health, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Marriage, Mental Health, Relationships, Travel|Comments Off on Why It’s Important to Make Time for “Us” —Even In the Time of Covid

Say Yes To Hard Things

Our canoe made a soft scraping sound against the sand as we arrived on the shore of our next portage. Quickly, we jumped out and lifted the canoe slightly, to drag it onto the small beach. We attached our paddles to the inside, and then began to unload. Tony helped me lift my first pack onto my back. His brother, Mike, and our sister-in-law, Wendy, had arrived a few minutes before. Wendy was already loaded up, and heading down the trail. I grabbed a bucket and a folding table, then followed her.  I walked as fast as I could, swatting [...]

By |2020-09-17T14:02:29+00:00September 21st, 2020|Categories: Beauty, Courage, perseverance, Travel|Comments Off on Say Yes To Hard Things

Three Things To Do If You Didn’t Get the Vacation You Needed

Earlier this week, I woke up feeling cold. It’s finally been cool enough to open our windows in Pennsylvania. Only one morning our windows were still open, and it was forty-eight degrees outside. It felt like I went to bed and it was summer time, then I woke up and  Now it is fall. Where did this year go? In some ways, many of us can take solace in the fact that 2020 isn’t dragging its heels. As, let’s be honest—none of us will be sad to see it go. But probably like me, you too are feeling that in [...]

By |2020-09-16T20:53:52+00:00September 17th, 2020|Categories: Balance, Health, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Practice, Saying No, Self Care, Staycation|Comments Off on Three Things To Do If You Didn’t Get the Vacation You Needed

ABOUT ME

I’m a life coach and writer who loves coffee, adventure, and the ocean. I want to live a truly good story, and I want to help you do the same. 

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