Mary Lou McDonald TD ‘Investing in Yourself Today for a Better Future’

Mary Lou McDonald is a TD Teachta Dála  (Member of the Irish Parliament) for the Dublin Central Constituency. She was elected leader of Sinn Féin by the political party membership in 2018 and is the first woman to lead the opposition in the Dáil (Irish Parliament).

Following her election to the Dáil in 2011 Mary Lou was Sinn Féin’s Spokesperson for Public Expenditure and Reform and on her re-election in 2016 Sinn Féin’s All-Ireland Spokesperson for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. She was a member of the Public Accounts Committee between 2011 and 2017.

She was an MEP for Dublin from 2004 to 2009 and during her time in the European Parliament, Mary Lou was a prominent member of the Employment and Social Affairs committee and Civil Liberties committee.

Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, the University of Limerick, and Dublin City University she studied English Literature, European Integration Studies, and Human Resource Management.

Today, Mary Lou joins me to discuss managing stress and the importance of self-care in a dynamic political life. We talk about the importance of movement, mindful practice, and meditation. We discuss how changing the world starts with changing yourself on the inside, and we note the importance of investing in yourself today for a better long-term future, thus enabling yourself to live with more vitality.

“You cannot be thrown from the highs to the lows in accordance with what people think about you.”
– Mary Lou McDonald

“[A new day is] not a dress rehearsal. Live it. Go for it. Grasp it. Enjoy it.”
– Mary Lou McDonald

This week on In the Doctor’s Chair

  • The power and possibility of the future
  • The need for self-care
  • The importance of perspective
  • The benefits of meditation
  • Mary Lou’s take on women in leadership
  • Why you don’t have to be perfect
  • Mary Lou’s three keys to resilience

In the Doctor’s Chair

Thanks for listening to In the Doctor’s Chair, the show where you’ll hear conversations that share life lessons, health habits, and leadership practices that focus on positive psychology, lifestyle medicine, and ways for you to live with more vitality.

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For more resources to help you to live with more vitality, please visit my website.

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