The Skinny by Amy Brunell
The Skinny – Amy Brunell
Waiting for the Inspiration to Come... What is Motivation? The urge to move forward. Why do we lose it? We’re tired. How do we get it back? We move anyway. This week I’ve been exploring how we get motivated, how we lose motivation and how to get it back. Frank Tibolt says, “We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates [...]
The Skinny – Amy Brunell
Stop Bringing Us Food! It’s the topic Oprah never did and...it’s got to stop! I’m imploring you to rise from your couches, scream out your windows, “It’s enough and I won’t take it anymore!” What am I speaking about? The insane problem that Americans have when they are hit with every imaginable junk food available. Where is this place you ask? AT WORK!!! Each day millions of [...]
The Skinny – Amy Brunell
Sharing Something About Special Needs Kids -- I have some special needs in regard to special needs kids. I need people to understand that that are not like everyone else. They are, in fact, special. This last week I had two unrelated experiences regarding special needs kids. First, I saw a fantastic one-man play, A Child Left Behind at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, written and staring Alan [...]
The Skinny – Amy Brunell
How to Communicate to People, Not Their Behavior -- This week I’m attending a national camp convention. Camp staff from everywhere come together for three days of workshops and networking. I attended one workshop and was reminded how we don’t often communicate with children and adults very effectively. Not only do we tend to talk down to children, we also talk down to adults. We are [...]
The Skinny – Amy Brunell
You Want How Much on That Street? I have a hard time shopping in certain places in the city. Montana Avenue is close to my home and yet I hardly ever go there. I feel like I’m Julia Roberts in that scene from Pretty Woman where she goes shopping in Beverly Hills and no one will help her and stares at her clothing. The thing is I don’t have Richard Gere handing me $100 bills to go shopping [...]
The Skinny – Amy Brunell
Self-Compassion Part 2 To be human is to endure suffering. We all suffer. It is in the design. However, we misunderstand the nature of suffering. You can look at the rocks in your path as stumbling blocks or stepping stones. But you cannot ignore them and hope your path stays smooth; this goes against your purpose. To wish for an easy path is a guarantee for frustration and [...]
The Skinny – Amy Brunell
How do we listen ? I realize that I’m not listening well lately. Usually I’m a pretty good listener. I work hard at listening. Listening is different than hearing. Hearing is often misunderstood communication. Hearing has the potential human problem of playing the Telephone Game even when we think we’re really listening. What’s the Telephone Game? Remember the childhood game of saying [...]
The Skinny – Amy Brunell
How Much for that Rock? Okay-so I don’t get the whole LACMA rock frenzy. I admit it. Okay, it’s not that I don’t get it. Hey this is L.A. and we are home to Hollywood, and we’ve sent all kinds of weird items into the public view-take for example sending the Terminator to be Governor. We’re quirky that way. So what is it about a rock? Last week in my groups, I suggested that the LACMA [...]
The Skinny – Amy Brunell
Self-Compassion-The Road Less Traveled? This last week I researched the affect of self-criticism-our brains are changed by the way we think and speak to ourselves. I asked my groups this week, “Do you believe that we are motivated by being critical of ourselves?” So far everyone nods “no.” But if this is true, then why do we continue to be critical of ourselves? Why do we misunderstand [...]
The Skinny – Amy Brunell
Why Should I Worry, Why Should I Care ? I don’t like worriers. You know the type. They worry constantly and tell everyone their worry. My mother-in-law is a worrier. She says she can’t help it. My mother was a worrier. We would be driving on the freeway and she would think she saw something happening on the road (often it wasn’t anything particular) and she would make this noise like [...]
