by AnnSheybani | Jan 17, 2015 | adventure, all or nothing, assertiveness, Authenticity, change, confrontation, connection, dieting, expectations, goals, Honesty, husband, Ireland, Life, marriage, Motivation, passive aggressive, self-sabotage, tension, Walt Hampton
Walt and I have been conducting our 6-week Master Class, Make 2015 Your Best Year Yet. It’s all about getting clear on and committed to your goals, setting defined limits, establishing proven practices, taking consistent action, and continually reviewing what works,...
by AnnSheybani | Sep 21, 2014 | anxiety, expectations, growing up, identity, Ireland, Life, parenting, personality disorder, running, self-sabotage, tension
I watch my mother get ready for work while I’m visiting her in Medora, North Dakota. At 76, she spends the summer months selling expensive trinkets in some tourist trap at Teddy Roosevelt National Park. Always an early bird, she’s out of the sack by 6 a.m. She...
by AnnSheybani | Oct 21, 2013 | Authenticity, Betrayal, confrontation, connection, Courage, Cultural Issues, death, divorce, guilt, Honesty, husband, identity, Intimacy, Iran, Life, marriage, mixed marriages, risk, Self love, tension, voice
The summer I came back to the States, the fall I chose never to go back to Iran, I told myself that if I could just get away from my husband’s family, just gain a little control, then all my troubles would magically disappear. I understood that if I refused to go...
by AnnSheybani | Sep 16, 2013 | Alcoholic rules, Alcoholism, Confidence, confrontation, Courage, Honesty, Intimacy, Life, marriage, nice girl complex, passive aggressive, people pleasing, rage, risk, Self-Esteem, tension, voice, Walt Hampton
Want to know the secret to personal power? I’m talking Wonder Woman red-cape-wearing power. The ability to stay steady when other people—people that you love and/or need—become angry, sad, or disappointed. Particularly when you’ve (supposedly) done or said something...
by AnnSheybani | Aug 5, 2013 | Alcoholism, Boundaries, Courage, growing up, parenting, recovery, risk, Saying no, tension
I came across the perfect statement this morning in an old journal: Stop trying to control everybody and everything. I have spent my life trying to control my surroundings and the people in it. Like a lot of other unhealthy compulsions, I chalk this one up to my...
by AnnSheybani | Jun 30, 2013 | Boundaries, Dan Brown, nice girl complex, parenting, people pleasing, plot, Saying no, tension, Writing, writing lessons
What if uncertainty and tension and confrontation were good things? How might your life improve if you used them as tools? If you stopped running away from them and recognized them as a fantabulous forces for change? I was giving a creative writing lecture last...
