Change – Page 8 – Melissa Schlies

Back to Basics (Before the Fall)

Two weeks ago, I ran into Target to pick up a few things. I worked my way through the personal care and grocery sections. Then, as I came around a corner, there it was: the back to school section. It was only the middle of July, and Target was telling me to get ready for fall. Now, I could go on and on about how stores are always trying to push us into the next season. Putting Christmas candy out the day after Halloween, putting Easter Candy out the day after Valentine’s Day, etc. But when they put up these [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-07-29T19:52:23+00:00August 5th, 2019|Categories: Adulting, Change, Habit Making, Health, Making Decisions, Preparation, Purpose, Routines, Uncategorized|Comments Off

What if I Make the Wrong Choice?

This wasn’t supposed to be my story. These words found their way into my thoughts as I pulled towels out of the dryer and began folding them. A year and half into being married, at thirty years of age, I was home without a job. Each day, my most pressing responsibilities were doing laundry and making dinner. I was a stay at home wife. I never thought I’d be a stay at home wife. Even if we decided to have kids, I always pictured myself as the working mom. But now, I was what I had judged other women so [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-07-15T19:43:02+00:00July 15th, 2019|Categories: Change, Courage, Failure, Fear, grief, Hope, Making Decisions, Success, Uncategorized|Comments Off

What If

They are the questions we share with our closest people, and sometimes, only utter to ourselves. They are the ones that wake us up at night, and keep us stalled at the intersections of our lives. And they begin with these two little words: “What if…” What if I apply for this job, and I don’t get it? What if I do get the job and I hate it? What if they think my idea is stupid? What if I move, but I can’t find a job? What if no one likes me? What if my friends or family disowns [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-06-28T19:59:56+00:00July 1st, 2019|Categories: Change, Courage, Fear, Making Decisions|Comments Off

It’s June

It’s June, can you believe it? In three weeks, summer officially begins. But if you live in a similar climate as I do, here in Pennsylvania, you know the best weather of the year is happening right now. The humidity hasn’t set in yet, the mornings are cool, and the temperature hits a pleasant seventy degrees somewhere in the middle of the day. There is something life giving about coming through the cold of winter and the rains of spring, and stepping into the warm, bright days of summer. The days are longer, meaning it is easier to get up [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-05-29T20:06:36+00:00June 3rd, 2019|Categories: Balance, Change, Freedom, Hope, Making Decisions, Success, Uncategorized|Comments Off

What Holds Us Back: The Fear of Criticism

"What will people think?” Sometimes, what is holding us back is as simple as these four little words. Seconded only by “What will people say?” The power that these two small questions have is incalculable. Because, no matter where we were born, what our family was like, or where we went to school, we all know the sting of criticism. And it is our natural response to try to avoid the pain. Only what happens when the thing you know you’re meant to do, the thing you should do, or the thing you can’t stop dreaming about—could put you in [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-04-18T14:50:53+00:00April 22nd, 2019|Categories: Anxiety, Calling, Change, Courage, Failure, Fear, Freedom, Hope, Making Decisions, perseverance, Rejection, Success, Uncategorized|4 Comments

Love Learn Lead April 4, 2019

If January is the time for new resolutions, April is the month to pick them up again, and take action. Spring is here. The weather is better. The darkness of winter is over. And though there may be April showers, there is no time like the present to work toward those goals that won’t leave you alone. You know, those goals that slip into your thoughts when you’re driving in your car. The ones that give you a tinge of shame when something in a conversation reminds you of how far you have to go to accomplish them. Or the [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-03-25T20:16:17+00:00April 4th, 2019|Categories: Change, Courage, Fear, Hope, Lead, Leadership, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, perseverance, Success, Uncategorized|Comments Off

What is Holding You Back?

A little over a month ago, I got the Winter Blues. I was tired of the grey skies, cold weather, and being inside. Only, it felt like it was more than that. Just as the winter seemed never ending, so too did a few circumstances in my life. Being inside day after day, only seemed to accentuate my situation, and I just wanted an escape. So, I turned to beach reads. You know, those books you’re supposed to read while you’re actually sitting in the sand, on the beach, in the sun? The ones that take place in dreamy summer [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-03-25T20:03:05+00:00April 1st, 2019|Categories: Change, Courage, Freedom, perseverance, Uncategorized|Comments Off

My Brain Is Wired For Coffee

If you’ve learned anything about me by now, there’s a good chance, it’s that I like coffee. Ok, truthfully? It’s that I LOVE coffee. Drinking a good cup filled with that steaming black liquid, is one of my favorite parts of almost every day. Only, around November, I started drinking more than just coffee. Before you get any bad ideas, let me tell you I started making mocha’s at home. Into the bottom of my mug, I’d toss a tablespoon of cocoa powder. Then, I’d add a little more than a tablespoon of maple syrup (the real stuff). I’d stir [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-01-31T00:58:57+00:00January 28th, 2019|Categories: Balance, Change, discipline, Habit Making, perseverance, Routines|Comments Off

Lead: Making Space for Change

“The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.” —Seth Godin So many of us seem to react to life more than we prepare for it. We do what we’re told. We wait for permission. We color in the lines. And we put off the dreams, goals, or lifestyle changes we know will rock the boat. Even when they’re the things we think about or long for the most. Why do we do this? Deep down we all know—it’s because it’s scary. It’s risky to put [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-01-24T12:57:04+00:00January 24th, 2019|Categories: Calling, Change, Courage, Faith, Health, Lead, Leadership, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Marriage, perseverance, Relationships|Comments Off

Spring Cleaning In January

In early December, Tony and I did all the things most people do around Christmas. We picked out our tree then spent an evening decorating it, with Christmas carols playing in the background. We laid our nativity out on the top of our bookshelf. We gift shopped—mostly online. We made our travel plans to Wisconsin to see Tony’s family. And then, we started gutting our apartment. No, we didn’t move. Nor did the time of year make any sense, but as I like to call it, “The Urge to Purge,” crept up on us until we could no longer ignore [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2019-01-10T20:26:06+00:00January 21st, 2019|Categories: Change, Courage, Faith, Hope, Marriage, perseverance, Preparation|1 Comment

Back to Basics (Before the Fall)

What if I Make the Wrong Choice?

What If

It’s June

What Holds Us Back: The Fear of Criticism

Love Learn Lead April 4, 2019

What is Holding You Back?

My Brain Is Wired For Coffee

Lead: Making Space for Change

Spring Cleaning In January

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