Patterns and Possibilities - Thriving in Uncertainty with Miss Handie

Friendships have been on my mind a lot lately. I had an alarming discovery recently that made me ask myself an important question about someone who I’ve called a friend for more than 25 years. The answer revealed a truth that I’m still figuring out how to handle. I wonder if you can relate.

What makes someone a friend in your opinion? Is it based on common interests, upbringing, or careers? Do you only form friendships with people who think the same way that you think? How do you know when your interaction shifts from a loose connection into the friend zone? Are the qualities that you look for in a friend deep enough or do you need to reevaluate and redefine what a real friendship lo...

Have you ever heard a question that stopped you in your tracks? I have. It happened to me a few hours before I recorded this episode and inspired me to make it the main character. Connecting through a friend’s story and impact today felt like I was looking in the rear view mirror. What I saw, heard, and felt was so familiar that I could have told the story myself. I wonder how the question I heard...

I discovered a magical prescription that helps me to thrive and it boils down to a well-known word in the English language. Some are more comfortable using it than others and I’ve found it useful in my vocabulary but more useful in my everyday life for the last 25 years. It’s become such a staple in my life that we’re now BFF’s. Press play to hear how the F Word and I began our close relationship...

We heard a lot about pivoting during Covid. Many companies were forced to change their product lines from what they’ve always done well to PPE in order to remain afloat. Pivoting has always been described as an action taken when things aren’t going as planned, and a change in direction or focus is needed. There is another useful way to pivot when things are going well. This alternative version of...

Patterns and possibilities is back and I am explaining where I’ve been and why you haven’t had an episode since the end of 2025. It’s not an excuse but I believe it’s a a reason worth hearing. I’m also talking about style and a recent revelation I had that let me know it has nothing to do with being fashionable. If you’ve ever admired someone for their style, listen in. You may discover what you t...

Can you believe it’s almost 2026? It’s seems like the past 12 months came and went like 12 days. A lot happened, a lot came and went and now we get to do it over again in a new way with new patterns. I’m curious how you navigated 2025? What were your highs and lows? What are you leaving behind from 2025 and what are you bringing with you for a safe, healthy and prosperous 2026? I’m answering those...

Sex. That three-letter word may have automatically captured your attention because it’s woven into so much of who we are and what we invest in our time in. Sex is everywhere…in our relationships, conversations, and the tv shows and movies that we call our favorites. That is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve chosen to move Sex to the back of the closet and focus on other important things. This deci...

We’ve all heard the phrase, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.” It’s believed by some and has become a life philosophy of many. In the traditional sense, those seven words convey that ignorance of a problem or a misdeed can prevent you from being unhappy or harmed by worrying about it. I became curious about what else it could mean and explored how what I didn’t know was actually hurting me. Hur...

Some of the most impactful insights come during those quick, one-on-one conversations with close friends and family members. I recently had one of those lightbulb moments after listening to a friend’s sour story about the patterns that are keeping her stuck in a cycle she doesn’t want to be in. Sometimes we only want to indulge in deep, long, and uplifting exchanges, but we have to make space for...

Romantic LOVE can be complex! Sometimes it expands, sometimes it shrinks, and sometimes it disappears altogether as if it never existed. Romantic love doesn’t have to struggle through complexity. It can navigate through the high and lows, if we human beings, give it a strong foundation to stand upon, and we remain committed to keeping that foundation strong TOGETHER as a couple. Listen to the reve...

Note: This episode is being published about 13 hours later than normal due to some unexpected glitches in the app used to record the podcast. The episode was recorded on location and the inspiration for it came from a conference I attended this week. What is the quality of your connections? Could they use some attention, nurturing, and energy? If forming healthy connections is a challenge, you’re...

I celebrated my birthday three days ago and came to Chicago a couple days later to celebrate all that I’ve poured into myself and others over the past year. Coming to Chicago on or around my birthday has been my pattern for several years, but honoring the investments I’ve made in my growth and the growth of people around me is still somewhat new. I decided to take a look back at the past year of m...

Have you thought or said these two words to anyone lately…”I’m bored?” If you have, then this episode was recorded with you in mind. There’s nothing wrong with being bored. It can happen from time to time, but when it becomes a pattern, it’s time to do some soul searching. I recently listened to a podcast focused on ways that we can avoid boredom, predictability and stagnation. I’m sharing some of...

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a world of human beings that only exhibit healthy patterns? Unfortunately, that’s not our current reality. Even when we decide to transform patterns that don’t serve us and others well, we may still encounter human beings who choose to live and operate in unhealthy pattern prisons. Sometimes these individuals consciously and unconsciously invite us to spar and d...

It seems as though segments of the world are obsessed with working out for the purpose of fitting into their favorite pair of jeans or just to look good at an upcoming big event. There’s nothing wrong with any of that, but I wonder what other great excuses could we find for working out? Do we really need an excuse? What if you and I worked out regularly just because? What do you think would happen...

Familiarity is good. It helps us to feel comfortable and safe and in some ways may strengthen our confidence and self-esteem when the things we see, understand and influence become patterns that we know inside and out. In this episode, we’re taking a look at familiarity’s opposition - unfamiliarity. We’re talking about it in a Human Systems Dynamics kind of way, and I hope it helps you to feel bet...

Of the many things that human beings tend to avoid, I imagine that pain has to live at or close to the top of the list. Pain, if left unexamined, untouched, unaddressed and/or unprocessed produces unhealthy patterns that can restrict our ability to enjoy life and celebrate well. I’ve found Human Systems Dynamics to be extremely useful for seeing the pain in my life for what it really is….a pathway...

With all of the extreme heat happening around the country, I can only imagine how much ice cream we’re consuming to help cool ourselves off…even temporarily. Sometimes these uncomfortable weather conditions cause us to get still and when we get still and get comfortable, the possibilities are endless. In this episode, I am exploring some other ice cream consumption possibilities for us to consider...

Have you ever heard this question being asked? Which came first - the chicken or the egg? I have and that powerful question came to mind after I recorded this episode about COMMUNITY. It’s a word that we hear now more than ever and I believe social media along with the pandemic helped to make this concept of COMMUNITY something that we all learned to lean on in order to thrive. COMMUNITY is much m...

Human Systems Dynamics and its Adaptive Action is a proven method for transforming any wicked issue. Even though many people, around the world, can provide evidence of its impact, there are some human beings who will resist learning about it and using it for their own, personal reasons. It’s reasonable to want to share the richness of HSD with the people around us… . people who may be stuck and su...

I am inspired to keep my life simple now. I’m exploring simpler ways to do everything, including celebrating life. At this moment, I’m typing these notes from the bed in my hotel room in Chicago, Illinois. Staring at me is the view of the city reminding me of the beauty and joy of simplicity and how it led me here on this solo vacation. Press play to find out how keeping it simple is making my lif...

Are you facing life from a posture of fear or fearlessness? What haven’t you done yet simply because the thought of it scares you? How big is the fear you cling to and are the excuses that accompany it bigger than your goals and aspirations? If fear is a big pattern in your life, what is the simplest way to weaken its power? Let’s explore the pattern of fear and it’s impacts together.

While around 34.5% of the global population is thought to be single, around 41% of people go through at least one divorce, if not more. People, of all ages, are entering the dating world for the first time after being married or in a committed relationship for many years. Many of these newly single adults are finding out, the hard way, that getting to know someone is more complicated than it was b...

Are dress codes in the workplace losing steam or do we still need them as a means of controlling our employees? What if dress codes were never implemented? Could we trust most employees to make good wardrobe choices? Would you rather work for a company that does or doesn’t have a dress code? What impact would fashion freedom or boundaries have on your performance? How do you decide what to wear to...