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Articles by Patricia Clapp

Browse published articles attributed to Patricia Clapp, with full-archive search.

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By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

"Searching for Dimes" Tip for the Day "Find a Reason to Believe"

The Boss sings about it. Self help gurus write about it. Setting goals is the ideal way to live your best life and most of my clients get that. However, how do you get to the point where you get that gusto to want to be a goal setting machine? The bottom line is, exactly how do you find reasons to believe when most of what is going on in your life causes nothing short of disbelief? I have to confess, over the last few months or so, I have become very superstitious.

Primary topic: Divorce

5,906 views4.1/5 (11)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

“Shifting Gears” – Transition Tip #5 Believing that You Can Change Your Life is the First Step to Changing It.

As I was driving in my car yesterday, I was thinking about “themes” and life lessons that keep reoccurring in my every day life. It seems that each week, there is some kind of thread of commonality that manifests and keeps trying to be recognized – with my clients, my colleagues, my kids, my life. The theme/word/life lesson that has been coming up over and over again is “shift”. We shift gears, we shift in our seats when we are nervous, we look shifty when we lie; at one time or another, we are all “shifters” (no pun intended).

Primary topic: Divorce

5,052 views3.5/5 (4)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

Forgive Me, Forgive Me Not. Tip for the Day - Practice the Art of Self Forgiveness.

I took a poll the other day when I was teaching my class at a local community college. I asked the students what they thought in regards to the “act of forgiveness.” Since we are reading the book Tuesdays with Morrie, one of the main themes in this life lesson memoir is “forgive everybody everything.” As you can surmise, there were a mix of opinions as to whether they believe the old adage “forgive and forget.” However, they all seemed to universally agree that they did see Morrie’s point. Sure, forgiving others is an important part of moving on with your life.

Primary topic: Divorce

1,860 views3.6/5 (20)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

"Living Your Authentic Life" Who's Life Are You Living? Transition Tip # 2 - Be The You That You Were Meant To Be

We all hear this phrase. Live your authentic life. Whether it ’s on the latest self help blog or you happened to be tuned in to Dr. Phil, this seems to be the phrase that can stop us personal development junkies in our tracks. What, exactly, does this mean? If you aren’t living your “authentic life” right now, who is? Last night I had a great discussion with my good friend about this very subject. I said my goal for 2009 was to do just this – live authentically.

Primary topic: Divorce

2,980 views3.5/5 (6)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

Getting Off Track? Five Tips on How to Lead a Stress-Free Life

I read an interesting blog today by the author of Little Things Matter. Each day, a post is written about the daily rituals we do to help or hinder our personal development. Funny thing is, so many thing that Todd Smith writes about seems so obvious, yet we neglect to do this little things day in and day out. He emphasizes the need to listen, eat right, sleep well, set goals, find time for fun, etc, all issues that I have ranted about in Blogland a time or two.

Primary topic: Divorce

2,600 views5/5 (2)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

Having a Hard Time Setting Goals? Start with the "Attitude of Gratitude." Tip for the Day: Be Thankful.

Goal setting can be tricky. There are times in our lives when we think about setting goals and it can be so overwhelming. How can we even think about setting more goals when we have a hard time checking off our daily to do lists? It's so easy to put all the other tasks first - whether work related, kid related, house related, volunteer related, since these are the issues we face day in and day out. We almost get addicted for doing others and begin to define ourselves by what we are supposed to do rather than what we want to do.

Primary topic: Divorce

3,041 views3.8/5 (4)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

Success Tip for the Day -" Notice What You Are Doing Right Today and Be Present."

So much of our day is spent thinking about what we want to do, be or have. When was the last time you actually thought about what was going right and how well you were doing something? Maybe it's time you start.. Today I woke up exhausted. I have been going, going, going, with work for months now. The good part is, I love my job. The bad part is, I need to give myself permission to stop. Funny thing happens when you work a lot, you have a hard time not working. So today, I am officially proclaiming as of 12 p.m. eastern standard time, I am off the clock.

Primary topic: Divorce

1,624 views3.6/5 (11)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

A Reason To Believe

A Reason To Believe Amidst the chaos of our lives, we must be steadfast on our quest to find reasons to believe. Even in the gloomiest of times when there does not seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel, you have to look for that glimmer of hope. Because, at times, that is all we have. It wasn’t too long ago that I sat on my kitchen floor crying, typical Lifetime movie style of crying – late at night, one night light on, while I sobbed out of fears for tomorrow. I had no idea what I was going to do about my life at that moment, never mind the future.

Primary topic: Divorce

1,720 views3.6/5 (9)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

Conflicted about a Conflict? - Tip for the Day: How to Bridge the Gap and Not Jump Off the Bridge

One of my email buddies wrote about something very interesting this morning that gave me yet, another morning coffee AHA moment that I would love to share with you. Just as I had referred to that annoying voice inside our heads in my last blog, how do we stifle the real life of the whiners or negative naysayers in our lives? What's a person to do when they start to master the art of positivity but cannot escape the wrath of conflict bullies and emotional bloodsuckers? How do we get rid of them?

Primary topic: Divorce

1,724 views3.6/5 (8)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

“My Drill Sergeant Wears Skate Shoes” Transition Tip for the Day – Listen To Your Kids; You Could Learn a Thing or Two

I have to admit, being a mom to a teenage son has its challenges. I cannot for the life of me figure out how he can function in his room that is filled with technology and dirty socks. With the buzzes of texts, the bam bam of the XBox games, and the other random noises I hear from time to time, it’s like an alien has landed here on 24 Maple. Much of my time is spent, I have to admit, when I am home, is pondering how to bridge the gap between the foreign land of “teenagerdome” and the mind of a 41 year old (I would like to think but am reminded I am not) cool mom.

Primary topic: Divorce

2,439 views3.4/5 (5)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

Goal Setting Tip for the Day - Create Your Own Personal Culture

A funny thing happened when I was instructing my English 121 class today, the teacher (me!) became the student. In the blink of an eye, I was in awe of how much my "kids" as I affectionately call them, know about themselves, writing and life in general. I have to admit, it isn't always easy teaching at a college level. In high school and under, the students know each other so there is a sense of camraderie and friendship (most of the time) in a classroom setting. However, at a college level, especially at a community college, there are all different ages, cultural and economic backgrounds.

Primary topic: Divorce

1,918 views3.8/5 (4)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

“A Time for Tradition” – Transition Tip # 3 - Remember Old Traditions and Create New Ones

November 23, 2009 Just when you think you have heard it all, you realize you haven’t. In this day and age, when kids (especially teenagers) are being categorized as egocentric beings totally sidetracked with electronic devices along with their own social foibles, we may tend to forget when they do do something right or say something that touches us. This happened with my 12 year old daughter, Maddie, a few days ago. As always, she ran down the street at 3 o’clock on the dot after a long day at school to meet me at my car.

Primary topic: Divorce

2,038 views3.5/5 (4)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

Ebenezer - A Life Coach? What We Can All Learn from Scrooge

As the holidays come and go, one of the most popular remakes we see on network television is the holiday classic called A Christmas Carol. Kelsey Grammar sings about days past in the musical, Vanessa Williams reconnects with her long lost friends while Susan Lucci discovers what a Grinch she really is as modern day Scrooge. As I see it, we can learn a lot from this grouchy, ghost-fearing guy. Exactly what life lessons can we learn from Ebenezer, anyway? Those apparitions got it right it my book. After all, I never realized how on target they were!

Primary topic: Divorce

2,172 views3.7/5 (3)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

Remembering Ginnie: Life Lessons from A Lady

Today was a bittersweet day for me. I attended the funeral of my 99 year-old former grandmother in law. It was a day of reflection, sadness, soul searching but most of all remembrance. The strange thing about funerals, is that there is no code of conduct to follow. Coming from a divorce, I wanted to be politically correct (whatever that means) yet I wanted to be true to my heart as well. Unfortunately, some of the time the two of those actions can collide. All I knew was that I adored this women and for over 15 years of my life, she was like a grandmother to me.

Primary topic: Divorce

1,674 views3.6/5 (5)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

“Stop and Smell the Pickles.” Transition Tip # 4 Never Underestimate the Power of the Family Table

The other night we all went to one of my favorite stomping grounds in the area, Barnacle Bills. With all of us craving the best burger around, my fiance, Steve and I took our girls out for a night on the town. While my son was at football, we decided to take the night off from grilling and have a little family time over a burger and fries. When we sat down for dinner, I noticed the other people/families sitting around us.

Primary topic: Divorce

1,788 views4/5 (3)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

Transition Tip # 1 - Making Peace with Your Past

Tips and Tools on Transition. Tip # 1 – Making Peace with your Past August 16, 2009 by divorcesolutionsforyou | Edit Many people often ask me how I got to where I am today (as a transition coach) being that I have had many twists and turns to my own life over the past decade. I by no means feel like “Rocky” but I have to tell you that I have made it my mission to study personal development during times of transition. And, in a sense, I was my own “guinea pig.” (Not a pleasant thought but true).

Primary topic: Divorce

1,917 views3.3/5 (4)

By Patricia ClappRecently published1 topic

‘Tis The Season For Believin’ – A Skeptic’s Story of Hope

“Believe” is such a powerful word, especially during this time I year. We see signs propped up in windows, “This house believes in Santa” or simply the word “BELIEVE” masked as a Christmas ornament sitting high on a tree. I just love it. And, to me, seeing is believing, and I will tell you why. I have always believed in the power of vision; literally. I think people could move mountains if they just took the time to actually picture their goals in their minds or actually envision all things wonderful in their lives. However, I must confess, I was a skeptic once upon a time.

Primary topic: Divorce

1,681 views1.7/5 (6)

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