Life Archives - Page 12 of 12 - Miranda van den Heuvel

A comfortable margin

Miranda2022-06-01T11:25:49+02:00March 13th, 2020|

My friends say that I am well organised. That I like to plan ahead - way ahead! They also call me punctual. I call that 'having a comfortable margin'. I don't like stress (who does?). So I plan. I ask myself: what do I need to do or put in place so I don't get stressed? Leave 10 minutes earlier for example. Sometimes that gets me to my appointment 10 minutes earlier (which allows me to have a coffee or revise the topic of my meeting), sometimes traffic is bad or something else happens and I'm j [...]

The positive side of negative emotions

Miranda2022-06-02T17:23:40+02:00March 6th, 2020|

Two years ago almost to the day (don't you love the universal mystery of time?), I wrote this post. And man was it an eye opener. So many things started shifting after that. Have I gotten rid of all my anger? No, but I got rid of the parts that were standing in my way. Emotions are there for a reason. They usually alert us that something is wrong, dangerous, out of balance, that we need to protect ourselves. They happen when we step out of our comfort zones we enter new situations we meet new [...]

Attention – why it makes all the difference

Miranda2022-06-02T17:25:14+02:00February 28th, 2020|

I recently talked about Attitude being everything. The very next day someone I will call Melissa told me I was completely WRONG! That got me thinking. Was I wrong? Is attitude really working EVERY time? Melissa said that she was under stress and pressure at work and wished she had stayed at home that day. I told her that changing her attitude could make a difference in how she felt. That’s when her big WRONG was fired back. So what do I do when I’m under stress and pressure? I sure am no Wonder [...]

Are you in control of your life or is your attitude?

Miranda2022-06-02T17:39:13+02:00February 21st, 2020|

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou Your company is restructuring. Some people are laid off. Some are promoted. People are tense, out of their comfort zones and motivation is sneaking out the back door. And you are in the middle of all this. What do you do? jump on projects, work constructively and pro-actively, take change as an opportunity, share your enthusiasm, go out of your way to make it happen. quietly work according [...]

A mess is a message

Miranda2022-06-02T17:08:56+02:00February 14th, 2020|

The other day I wrote a post about the power of slowing down, because when we're at full speed, we don't hear life's messages anymore that we are supposed to hear. Let's dive a little deeper into those messages. What do messages look like: You yell at your kids more often than you should. You do not sleep well. Your back hurts a lot. You get a lot of headaches. You get up in the morning feeling less than excited about going to work. All you want to do is sit on your couch and watch television. [...]

This is it!

Miranda2020-01-17T09:45:27+02:00January 17th, 2020|

This is it! - Flip This quote is from Flip, who used to be my massage therapist. It's a quote that's bigger than life. It's one of those A-ha moments. In 2011, we were sitting in my living room discussing my very first retreat for which I had 'hired' him to provide massages to the participating women and he asked me what my vision for the retreat was. I was a bit baffled. Of course I had a vision for the retreat. It was just the first time that anyone had asked me that. So I went on to explain a [...]

16 happiness systems that have a positive effect on other people

Miranda2020-01-10T09:45:40+02:00January 10th, 2020|

Have you ever had an a-ha moment? You know, a moment when suddenly little bits and pieces of life fall together and make you realize something? I had one some years ago. I was at work, in a good mood, smiling. I felt like I was in a bubble; a positive, happy bubble that allowed me to work easily and get things done. I noticed that my mood, attitude and intention seemed to change the way things were happening and people were reacting around me. One colleague seemed particularly stressed and in a [...]

How to stop complaining: free tools and worksheets

Miranda2024-06-24T09:16:18+02:00May 17th, 2019|

Hang up our No Complaining Poster in your office at work, at the coffee machine or wherever you are surrounded by negativity and gossiping. Make requests, rather than complain! Complaint: You never help me clean up at home! Request: (made during a quiet, peaceful time, not while you're upset and emotionally charged!) I'd like to make a request. Do you have a minute? (pause) Could you clean up your own things when you are done with them? This will help me take care of the kid's things and would [...]

Why motivation is not the problem

Miranda2020-01-03T09:45:03+02:00January 3rd, 2020|

As a life coach, I often hear people say they lack motivation. They have the best goals: they want to live healthier, get organized at home or at work, start a new business or project. These goals are things they WANT. And you would say that if you want something really bad, it should be easy to get motivated right? Wrong. So why are we not motivated or driven enough to meet our goals? Are we not determined enough? Strong enough? The way I see it, motivation is like the sap of a tree: it keeps [...]