My First Piano Concert

In January, I announced about my New Year resolution to fight the “too late” mentality by learning to play the piano.

The most wonderful thing that came out of it was that I have discovered many adults like me who are learning to play a musical instrument at a later stage in life. I was very happy to know I was not alone. It did not make it easier to learn and practice, but it helped me cope with my struggles.

Last time, after just two lessons, I knew it was going to be a challenge and it was, but every time I played, I felt very proud of myself.

I decided I would have my own concert at home, in front of the camera, so my family on the other side of the world, and you, would be able to watch me play.

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Watch What You Say to Your Kids

This typically happens to parents with their children as they grow up. When babies are born, they can sleep for hours, make a mess, not answer your questions, look away when you talk, pee on you and cry loudly, no matter what you are trying to do at the time. And that is OK. In fact, whatever they do is great.

But if a toddler cries in the middle of the supermarket, the pressure is on. “I want you to stop crying right now! You’re embarrassing me in front of all these people. Just sit in the trolley and be quiet”.

About 10 years later, it becomes “Why won’t you talk to me? Why won’t you tell me what’s on your mind?”

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May "I Can’t" Rest in Peace

This week, I got phone calls from two teachers who had been through my life coaching and professional development programs, where I told them a story about another teacher. Each of them told me, “Ronit, I did it! The whole funeral, it was fantastic!”

After the first call, I was very happy, but since I am not a strong believer in coincidence, I said to myself that the universe was trying to tell me something after the second call. Translating from “universe” language to “Ronit” language, this meant I needed to write about that funeral – one of the most wonderful funerals everyone should take part in.

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What If

All too often, we ourselves having a bright idea, only to shoot it down a few seconds later with, “Yes, but what if ?” Since the idea was still fresh in our mind, even the smallest hesitation can sometimes bury it, never to be seen again.

Worries, stress and negative self doubt all your creativity and pretty much guarantee that even if there was a way to turn your idea into reality, you will not be able to see it if it bumped you on the nose.

And that is a pity. It really is.

So how do you overcome obstacles and turn your ideas into reality? You use your imagination.

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Nagging Your Kids

Last year, I wrote a post about the 8 worst ways to treat your kids. I get comments on my posts – some of them support my views, while some of them disagree or challenge the ideas I write about – and this post was no different. You probably know that bloggers love comments, but it may be surprising to you that bloggers absolutely love the challenging ones, because they create even more opportunities to write their opinions.

Recently, I received a comment from Sandie, a mother who thought my top 8 tips were “out of line”.

I started writing back, but then I realized it probably needed a bit more attention, so here is Sandie’s comment and my reply. Enjoy!

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Birthday Fairies

It was 5am and our 8-year-old daughter Noff came into our room. It was so dark I thought I was dreaming it.

It was early and dark and I sooooo wanted to go back to sleep, but when Gal came back from his search, I realized I had done it to myself.

“Do you know where Tsoof is?” she asked.

Tsoof is our 14-year-old son and shares a room with Noff. He never comes to our room so early in the morning.

I jumped out of bed with my heart pumping. Where on Earth could he be?

For a second, I imagined scenes from movies.

“Maybe he’s downstairs”, Gal said after searching every room upstairs and went down with Noff to solve the case of missing child.

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Like a Dog

Dogs are really simple creatures. Whatever they do, they give it EVERYTHING.

If you have ever seen a dog happy, you know they are happy with their whole body – they wag their tail like crazy, they jump around, the breath excitedly, lick every part of you they can reach and even yelp with joy. If you have a dog, just take its leash and stand by the door and you will see what I mean.

People, on the other hand, think too much. Particularly, people care about what others will think of them. So instead of being true to what goes on inside them and expressing it to the best of their ability, they aim for a response out of the people around them and behave in a way that will get them this response.

But that is being manipulative, really.

It is also far less likely to succeed than being honest.

Kids start out like dogs – they get all excited when Mommy pulls a breast out of her bra. They wag their little arms and legs, their face lights up with excited anticipation and they cling and suck with everything they have. When Mommy goes out of their room, on the other hand, they start crying bitterly, twitching their arms and legs in a futile attempt to chase her.

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Force of Habit

What we do on a regular basis, even with little things, becomes our future.

Yes, this is a bold statement, but it is true. The main challenge is that sometimes, we may not realize that what we have just done or said came out of habit. It is easy to see that we eat the same cereal for breakfast every day. That is a simple one to spot, as is driving the same way to work, choosing a certain style of clothes and the likes.

What is much harder to detect is a particular kind of thinking. Today, I want to talk about focused, persistent, determined thinking, as opposed to scattered, carried away, wishy-washy thinking.

We have many defining moments in life, but we do not always know that they are defining, because they simply add a little, or chip away gently, to the definition of who we are. Over time, however, these tiny changes in our self-definition become a whole different person than the one we could be otherwise.

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Never Too Late

For some people, the beginning of a new year (and their birthday), is a sad day. When everyone around talks about goals, motivation and New Year resolutions, it is hard to avoid measuring our achievements from the previous year and those we have not achieved stand out like a sore thumb. “There you have it – another proof you have not achieved your goals and time is ticking. If you don’t get your act together, it’s going to be too late”.

Is it?

The ticking of time as it runs out is an illusion we adopt as soon as we learn to tell the time. Together with the sense of the achievement (that we can tell the time), the loss of freedom and hope starts creeping in as time starts to control us. This is the birth of the notion that something can be “late”, which sits in our mind together with frustration, helplessness and giving up. From there, the road to “too late” is short.

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Take a Chance

This morning, the phone rang at 7:25am. During business hours, I normally say, “Be Happy in LIFE, this is Gal”, but it was only 7:25am during Summer Break (we live in Australia) and I was still in bed, so I said, “Hello”.

The voice of a teenage girl or fragile young woman on the other end said, “I think I got the wrong number”.

Realizing this may have been due to the way I answered the phone, I said, “Maybe not. Who were you looking for?”

She said, “I was looking for someone to talk to. I thought this was the number for a company that helps people”.

“It is”, I said, trying to encourage her, “You got the right number. It’s just a bit early, that’s all”.

And before I could say anything else, she mumbled, “Oh, sorry”, and hung up.

That left me feeling helpless and frustrated.

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