I have failed many, many times. One of my failures was on stage in front of 250 people. It was the first day of my speaking career. A seminar company had hired me to present their workshop, Dealing with Difficult People, at conferences all across Canada. I landed this job after submitting a resume and a five-minute demonstration video. After watching the video, the woman in charge of hiring the trainers flew me to Colorado for an interview and hired me. I thanked her for the opportunity and asked, “Why did you hire me out of the hundreds of applicants?”… Read More

Join us on October 3, 7 to 9 PM, for a seminar hosted by Worry Management Expert and Award-Winning Speaker Denise Marek! In this seminar, you’ll: Discover the three cures to end “what if?” thinking. Learn a four-step process to eliminate toxic worry, develop self-confidence, and experience the incredible peace and happiness that comes from leaving worry behind you. Transform fear into action! You’ll leave the seminar with your personalized action plan to control those things within your control. There are also incredible door prizes, including a $100 Longo’s gift card and more! Come alone or bring a friend! Just… Read More

The number of young Canadians suffering from stress, anxiety, and depression is on the rise. “In one survey, about 14% of Canadian youth felt stressed on most days” (CMHA, 2014, para. 13). In addition, the Canadian Mental Health Association estimates that the total number of youth, ages 12 to 19, at risk of depression is 3.2 million (CMHA, 2023, para. 1). What are kids stressed most about? Children worry most about situations that require them to change or adapt. According to Medline Plus (2023), some of the top stressors for kids include: Negative thoughts about themselves Stress about grades or… Read More

Decisions, decisions. Did you know that one of the reasons people come to counselling or therapy is to get help making decisions? That fact is one of the many things I learned in my studies last year. (Cue the marching band! I am one step closer to earning my credentials to provide Addictions and Mental Health Counselling. Being a full-time student was more time intensive than I had anticipated; however, it was a great year of learning!) In my counselling course, I learned a system for making decisions that you will find helpful. A traditional pros and cons list can… Read More

Perfect parents may look incredibly happy, posting carefully curated pictures of their flawless children, immaculate homes, and model holidays on social media. However, when it comes to parenting perfectionism, looks are deceiving. Perfectionism is characterized by worries about making mistakes, concerns about what others think, and a sense of incongruence between the perfect version of oneself and one’s actual self (Lin & Szcygiel, 2021). Perfectionism in parenting erodes the bond between parent and child, sets children up for psychological disorders, and robs families of happiness for generations. While striving to be a perfect mother or father may seem harmless, it… Read More

“An oncology floor is a pretty stressful place, but I’d slide (the colouring sheet) onto the table, and within minutes, the parents would be colouring,” Darby said, “I remember one mother – her child was undergoing brain surgery in the next room – and she couldn’t believe how much (colouring) relaxed her” (Johnson, 2015). Colleen Darby became the “artist in residence” at the Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo oncology ward after discovering first-hand the calming effects of colouring. Darby had been diagnosed with cancer while pregnant, and one day her young daughter gave her a small break from all… Read More

SANGER, Calif., November, 2022– Motherhood is stressful, but international award-winning speaker and worry management expert Denise Marek is here to tell you that you can stress less by learning to worry wisely! With her proven CALM method, a four-step process that has helped many individuals and organizations around the world connect with their inner peace, overcome their fears, and take the risks that are essential for success, mothers can tackle the stress of parenting. In this book, readers learn how to move from worry-filled to worry-free so their parenting experience will feel happier, more present, and less stressed. Whether they… Read More

What do these five things have in common: earthquakes, tornadoes, mudslides, volcanic eruptions, and in-laws? They’re all things over which we have no control. Some of the things we worry about—like natural disasters and other people—are beyond our control. Though they’re beyond our control, they’re not always beyond our influence. That which is beyond your control is not always beyond your influence. If you’re faced with an “uncontrollable” in your life right now, don’t give up. Instead, read the following three ways to influence the uncontrollable and come up with some creative actions you could take. Influence the… Read More

Have you ever taken part in an auction? It can be quite exhilarating, especially if you really want the auction item. Imagine you are at an auction and have just have discovered the item up for grabs is a live sea turtle. Participants are bidding on the chance to destroy its beautiful, massive shell. Would you be excited to participate? I wasn’t. It was our first night on Turtle Island – a beautiful island in the South Pacific. My husband and I had joined 11 other vacationing couples for dinner on the beach. Right before dinner, we were told some… Read More

Times are not easy. How do we develop greater resilience to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events? In a recent interview with Authority Magazine, I shared “Five Things You Can Do To Become More Resilient.” Here they are: #1: Choose the Right Attitude Daily Have you ever noticed the happiest and most successful people in life tend to have great attitudes? Each of us must make the decision to choose the right attitude daily. It’s not our circumstances that make us unhappy. It’s our attitude in our circumstances that makes us unhappy. Even in the middle… Read More