Tag: Dr. Al Siebert

Chronic complaining: don’t be such a “Greiner Zanner”

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 22 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥  @HeartSisters

I called my favorite flower shop last week to complain.  Earlier that morning, I had picked up a bouquet of mini-gerbera flowers for our condo lobby, as I like to do each week.  The gerberas (pictured above) were advertised as seven stems for $5.99. But when I got home and unwrapped the bouquet, I counted only five. My first thought: (a) maybe miscounted by a busy florist?  My second thought: (b) maybe ALL of the displayed bouquets had only five stems, too – despite the “seven stems” advertised in this week’s flyer?  The nice lady on the phone offered me two free gerbera stems if I wanted to come back to the shop to pick them up.

“These aren’t ‘FREE’ “,  I snapped at her. “I’ve already paid you for SEVEN!”  And I did not go back.  Instead, I stewed over that interaction.     .     Continue reading “Chronic complaining: don’t be such a “Greiner Zanner”” →

How life’s worst tragedies turn into great speech material

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 5 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas ♥  @HeartSisters

I discovered Toastmasters back in 1987 (insert eternal thanks here to my dear friend Peter Forster for dragging me as his guest to my first meeting).  Since that day, I spent decades practicing my public speaking/ listening/thinking skills during our weekly club meetings every Thursday morning at 7 a.m. – which tells you that Toastmasters is tons o’ fun.

Or, that I’m a slow learner.

A really useful Toastmasters tip that I learned over lo these many years has been how to decide on a compelling speech topic, including this odd lesson:  “Life’s worst moments often make the best speech material”.

And that has never been more true than after I survived a heart attack.  Continue reading “How life’s worst tragedies turn into great speech material” →

Why we keep telling – and re-telling – our heart attack stories

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 10 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥   @HeartSisters

A woman in the grocery store calls out from the neighbouring checkout line: “Hey! You’re the heart lady, right?” She continues, in what seems a much-too-loud voice, that she had been in the audience at one of my annual Cardiac Café presentations at the university. But “heart lady?” Is this really how I want to be known and recognized for the rest of my natural life?   Continue reading “Why we keep telling – and re-telling – our heart attack stories” →