Karen and Mary are back after a year's hiatus with the message that it's ok to take a break.

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#communicatekindly

Karen and Mary talk about being liked. And not being liked. And whether or not it really matters.

1. Not everybody’s going to like you. And that’s ok.
2. If you think that someone doesn’t like you, try to detach from it and move on.
3. Be kind. Even to people that you think don’t like you.
4. In relationships that really matter, have a conversation if you feel like someone doesn’t like you. You may come to a better understanding of each other.
5. Never waste a cheese ball.

Stay in touch. Karen's on Instagram @mommccormick and Mary's @mary.feldman. And be sure to rate, review, and share this episode with a friend so others can find the podcast.

Karen and Mary discuss strategies to ensure that conversations end with a mutual understanding of what has been communicated.

Here are the takeaways:

1. Test for understanding. Recap your conversations so you know that everyone is on the same page.
2. Put things in writing. Send recaps. They don’t have to be lengthy. It can be a quick text or email.
3. Ask if the other person agrees with the recap.
4. Slow down. Multi-tasking isn’t a virtue. We can really only focus on one thing at a time.
5. Ask questions if you don’t understand what someone is trying to explain.

Stay in touch. Karen's on Instagram @mommccormick and Mary's @mary.feldman. And be sure to rate, review, and share this episode with a friend so others can find the podcast.

Karen’s searching for a new car so she and Mary discuss how the process is going as she makes the difficult decision between getting her dream car and the more practical car.

Here are the takeaways:

1. Drive the car that makes you happy and pay no attention to people that think you look silly.
2. Sometimes you need to treat yourself and sometimes you need to be practical.
3. Don’t deny yourself something because you think that you don’t deserve it.
4. Don’t make a big purchase because just because the sales person is nice. Be sure it’s what you really want.
5. Find a good friend to work through difficult decisions and be grateful for what you have.

We'd love to connect! We're on Instagram @mary.feldman and @mommccormick.

Karen and Mary sat down with Mary's friend, Steve Mulloy, to have a conversation about a new year’s resolution that he made a few years back to communicate kindly to friends from years gone by.

Here are the takeaways:

1. It’s the new year! Why not take time to reconnect with good friends from years gone by?
2. Social media doesn’t give you the depth of connection that an actual conversation does. Quality matters more than quantity.
3. A great time to catch up with friends is when you’re driving. It’s easy to have an uninterrupted conversation on a long drive.
4. Season. Reason. Be judicious about who you reach out to. If a relationship ended for good reason, don’t reignite it.
5. Nurture the relationships that you have that are drama free, pretense free and good for your soul.

Mary and Karen discuss the differences between being nice and being kind.

Here are the takeaways:

1. Sometimes our attempts to be nice are not necessarily kind.
2. Being nice is about being socially appropriate and polite, while being kind is more about being thoughtful and considerate from a place of authenticity and truthfulness
3. Not hurting feelings can hurt feelings more in the long run.
4. Being nice instead of being kind can breed resentment.
5. Ask yourself why you’re being nice. Is it based in truth? Is it possible that you’re actually being selfish?

Connect with us! We'd love to hear from you. Send us an email at mary@communicatekindly.com or connect with us on Instagram @mommccormick or @mary.feldman. Communicate kindly...and transform the world one conversation at a time.