Better Life Archives - Page 9 of 14 - Miranda van den Heuvel

Midlife Crisis: How to Grow Through It and Become Happy Again

Miranda2022-05-02T14:39:58+02:00April 23rd, 2021|

In an earlier post, I wrote about Getting Real and what midlife crisis is.A woman experiencing a midlife crisis may feel like her life is spiraling out of control. It can be scary when you start to get real and make the choice to travel a more authentic path in life. That choice is not without consequence. While midlife crisis is an introspective journey, it’s important to know that you are not alone. By reaching out for support, a midlife crisis can become a woman’s second chance to create a li [...]

Getting REAL: Women and Midlife Crisis

Miranda2021-04-16T09:46:07+02:00April 16th, 2021|

40 is a big number for many women I meet. It means they have just hit about the middle of their life. It means the biological clock is about to stop ticking for good. It means that either her kids just entered primary school or just left school and home for good. It means being together with the same man for a long time and wondering where the spark is. Or it means just being left by a man, living alone with the kids and worrying about, well just about everything... Or it means not having a man [...]

57 Reasons to go on a retreat

Miranda2021-04-09T09:45:07+02:00April 9th, 2021|

Away days are important. We need to stop for a while to look around us and ask ourselves what we are doing and why. We cannot do that slap bang in the middle of our lives with screaming kids, a full time job and a million things on our to do lists. We need to take ourselves out of our routine, go somewhere quiet, where we can hear ourselves think. I have been organizing away days, retreats and mini-retreats for 10 years now and am still amazed at what such away time can do to people. So if you [...]

Everything happens FOR you, not TO you

Miranda2021-04-02T09:45:52+02:00April 2nd, 2021|

Sometimes life throws you curve balls. One day you are full of energy, enthusiasm and creativity to set up a new project, a business, a new piece of art and the next day you are thrown back by something like: creative block: you can't seem to 'find' the next chapter of your book lack of inspiration: you want to paint but have no idea what negative criticism: people judge your work badly which makes you angry and want to stop a change of plan: what you had in mind is not possible for some reason [...]

Adult crafting during lockdown

Miranda2021-03-26T09:45:47+02:00March 26th, 2021|

Since we're all spending so much time at home and you might be running out of puzzles to make, I thought I'd share a list of other (doable) crafty things you can do. If you have any to share with us, post them in the comments below. Rope bowl You have probably seen these bowls in a shop and thought they would look nice on your mantelpiece. Well, looks like they're pretty easy to make yourself. And wouldn't it be nice to be able to say to your neighbour next time he comes around: 'oh that t [...]

8 ways to get anything done

Miranda2021-03-19T09:45:37+02:00March 19th, 2021|

We all lead busy lives. Even if the pandemic seemed to slow things down for a while, our agendas are chock-full with appointments again. Our to do lists hardly leave us time to breathe. We have become multi-taskers, juggling work and life but struggling to find the right balance. Usually we manage pretty well. But sometimes, things spin out of control and OVERWHELM takes over. What are the signs of overwhelm? you don’t know what the next thing is you need to be doing you break down and cry beca [...]

Friendships that count

Miranda2021-03-12T09:45:31+02:00March 12th, 2021|

Whether you are in your twenties, forties, sixties or even eighties, a good friendship makes life so much more beautiful. There are friends and friends however. The key element in any relationship (and a friendship is a relationship), is TIME. According to the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, it takes about 50 hours before you can call an acquaintance a casual friend, 90 hours to move from casual to friend at least 200 hours before you can call someone a real, good friend. Renowned [...]

Why you need a DONE list

Miranda2021-03-05T09:45:58+02:00March 5th, 2021|

If you're anything like me, you have a TO DO list. Or two...or three... To Do Lists are great for us busy and creative people. Because we tend to (HAVE to) be all over the place. And we would be lost without those lists. Those lists make sure our kids go to school with the right gear for the day make sure we show up at the right friends' house for dinner on Saturday night. make us dash in and out of the supermarket during the hour that the kids are at the gym. And when the list is completed, we [...]

Miranda’s favorite things – Spring 2021

Miranda2022-06-02T16:49:33+02:00February 26th, 2021|

It's almost spring! The weather is definitely gorgeous. So it's time for another post on my recently discovered favourite things. I thought I'd keep them all to the online category considering that most of the world is currently in lockdown. Also, if you have any tips that may fall into this category, I'd be happy if you could share them with me via email or in the comments below! Let's share our favorites! More Love Letters WRITE Write letters to people in need. Each month this website po [...]

What is it that makes you worthy to be loved?

Miranda2022-05-31T13:47:20+02:00February 19th, 2021|

When I ask people "What do you love about yourself?" or "What is it that makes you worthy to be loved?" I usually get either of two reactions: stunned silence, followed by by a look that says 'what do you mean?', followed by an uttered 'uh', followed by hesitation, followed by all sorts of emotions (sometimes accompanied by tears) people tell me about something they DO or have achieved or accomplished. They tell me about some 'thing' they are 'good at' or 'proud of'. Of course these are valid an [...]