Her mamma told her again to get in bed. Though her voice sounded stern, in her chest beat a soft heart. In fact, the large brown eyes of her daughter asking for a hug caused all her determination to melt into a gooey mess that puddled in her brain swamping the logic. Mamma picked up the toddler with firm hands and wrapped her in loving arms while lecturing about the consequences if she came down those stairs again.

The nightly ritual repeated like reruns of a Tom and Jerry cartoon. There existed a conflict, a threat, and a little rebellion…

While attending a Love and Logic conference advertised to provide positive parenting solutions, I discovered a powerful strategy to manage adult confrontations in the workplace. Once I discovered the effectiveness of the process, my job became easier.

When children misbehave, it is easy to redirect, discipline, and lecture. However, none of these responses teach children how to change their behavior or repair damaged relationships. Adults make similar mistakes; often unaware they have insulted a peer or created a contentious work environment. When employees identify and improve interactions, the energy of a supervisor can address more productive proceedings.

Though, sometimes, peer…

As a writer and reader, I constantly learn through experimentation. Each time I am informed, with kindness, that my writing is not a good fit and provided comments, I record the comments. When the next article is denied entrance into the elite club of publication, I again record the comments. We cannot change what we do not acknowledge.

My lofty goals for writing used to be to make money, get famous, garnish a book deal. Isn’t everybody’s? When that didn’t happen the first month, I revised my aspirations to become the best I can be by responding to the feedback.

…

After a writer bleeds creativity onto paper, raw emotions lay exposed waiting to hear if a submission is accepted or rejected. A positive response generates joyous celebration while a negative one leaves a writer feeling inadequate. However, we must remember the cliché, if at first you don’t succeed, try again. The reasons clichés stand the test of time is because they are true.

During February, I focused on writing about writing. After producing nine articles on a similar theme, I examined the data and discovered differing results. The most surprising observation offered hope.

Four articles were rejected by large publications…

When children misbehave, it is easy to redirect, discipline, or lecture. However, none of these responses teach children how to change their behavior or repair damaged relationships. Parents who discuss concerns, develop plans, and allow the child a role in fixing the problem, teach them lifelong strategies, producing mature behaviors and decreasing negative behaviors.

The five step plan outlined below provides a simple actionable strategy. Within each step is provided an example. This process empowers the child in the conversation to control their own destiny by providing them the opportunity to make decisions while developing skills for future interactions.

Identify the inappropriate behavior

Simple…

Many writers begin with a negative predisposition. It may never be known the cause of their distaste because experiences differ: one may have encountered writer’s block at an earlier time; one may have had their ideas or abilities laughed at by peers; one may have had their paper bled upon by an overzealous teacher with a red pen, and yet another may have been stabbed by the pain associated with the struggle of writing.

The question to ponder is how to create a casual, professional environment when writing is required and ideas need to be expressed. Most people, at all…

Disneyland makes me happy — most of the time. Standing in lines bore me. Clamoring through crowds causes frustration. Rollercoasters inflict bodily pain. It is noisy, expensive, hot, and exhausting. However, I love visiting the future in Tomorrowland, experiencing the wildlife on the Jungle Cruise, and exploring the oceans on Nemo’s Submarine Voyage. Each land offers a new and thrilling opportunity. Reading others’ text prompts similar emotions.

Compare reading to riding

My conscious mind enjoys the trip to new worlds and unique experiences while my brain sometimes finishes reading feeling assaulted. Sometimes, the content offers insight and enjoyment while my subconscious critiques the voice…

In drama, an actor sometimes forgets a line so from offstage comes a cue. In writing, cues work in the same manner. Writers sometimes cannot remember what they know. Cues act as prompts to uncover buried information. This helps develop a topic with description and creates a bank of ideas for writing.

After writers select a topic, cueing strategies prompt them to expand beyond the obvious, explore sensory details and memories related to the topic. There are numerous techniques a writer can experiment with to add specifics to a narrative. Practicing these writing skills strengthens mind muscles and builds word…