Colin Cowie, event and lifestyle expert, weighed in on a tricky etiquette question when we met on Mondays With Marlo. And if you'd like to see more...
If there's a room full of people who don't want or need to make friends, there is invariably one in the room who wants and needs to make a friend. That person will, without fail, find me.
Your first responsibility is to yourself. If your friend isn't willing to make any concessions and meet you halfway, literally and figuratively, you may have to back away from the friendship.
We all smooth over the truth and bend in our standards from time to time in order to reduce conflict and make relationships work. But when pleasing others becomes a habit you may find yourself resentful, which ultimately damages your relationships.
As many of my generation of caretaking, overextended, multi-tasking women can attest to, saying yes is easy; saying no can be tough.
I didn't know what I enjoyed, what activities I did for fun, or even what mattered to me. I was too focused on everyone else -- that was my job.
If the worst were to happen and she was left alone, I know she'd come to me first, and I can't support her. I can't afford it. I
Do you feel an excessive need to be liked in all of your relationships, including friendships?
Many people are challenged in their ability to be honest when it comes to saying what they really think to others. They are conflicted between what they really think, and their desire to not risk disapproval.
I just blew my shot at "Mom of the Year." Again. Like a storm that I didn't even know was brewing inside of me escalated to flood stage when my daughter said casually, "Mama, I don't care for the blueberry pudding."
I was recently at a motivational event for women. The speaker asked people in the audience to share something special they'd done. One woman said she ...
QUESTION Hi Irene, I have a certain friend with whom I've grown very close over a relatively short period of time (a little over a year). She is an ...
Saying NO can unravel a friendship but sometimes there's no way around it. Many of us have a hard time saying NO to a friend. When someone's a tru...
QUESTION Dear Irene, I'm 18 years old and my best friend and I have been friends for seven years. We went to middle school and high school together...
For "yes" to mean yes, "no" has to mean no. To me, what's "nice" isn't a question of "yes" or "no." Nice is what's honest, skillful and said with integrity.
Until recently, "no" was a dirty word to me. As a stage-four people-pleaser, my vocabulary was rich with affirmatives: "sure," "okay," "absolutely," "no problem." But my mouth couldn't seem to form the word "no."
There is a fine line between moments when we say "yes" to open up to new life possibilities, and, when we say "no" to honor ourselves and maintain a healthy boundary.
The Hollywood No is a key element of a code that, once deconstructed, at least allows the petitioner to take things less personally.
Part 14 of a serial, "Sex Love Enlightenment." Previously: I tell Billy not to contact me again. I feel relieved, elated, but then comes the crash. Later I would learn this is a sign of love addiction.
