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How to Overcome Unhealthy Cravings When You’re Feeling Down

By in Blog, healthy habits, letting go

“Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.” ~Buddha

As a kid, I was taught that the Devil tempted us to do evil deeds. When I had the urge to do something naughty, I imagined a pitchfork-totin’ demon whispering into my ear. He’d encourage me to steal that Hershey’s bar from the 7-11, or to lie to my mom when she asked if I’d finished my homework.

Today, I don’t believe in the existence of the Devil, but I do believe my doubts and fears can appear to be downright devilish—if I give in to …

3 Things You Need to Stop Telling Yourself If You Want to Lose Weight

By in Blog, healthy habits

“Stop hating yourself for everything you aren’t. Start loving yourself for everything that you are.” ~Unknown

Picture it: You’re out with friends having dinner, then one of them says, “I shouldn’t be eating this. I skipped the gym today.”

Another one replies, “I’m so bad. I’ve been eating out of control all week. I just can’t stop.”

And another one says, “I’m going to have to eat salad for the next couple days to make up for this.”

Does this type of conversation sound familiar to you?

It’s all too familiar to me. I used to be the leader in …

Let Yourself Receive: You Don’t Have to Put Yourself Last

By in Blog, healthy habits, love & relationships

“Once you get used to people giving to you as much as you give to them and receive all of the benefits of a less stressful life, you will not consider putting yourself last.” ~Amanda Owen

Recently a good friend of mine helped me with a workshop project. She formulated spreadsheets, answered multiple emails and questions, provided feedback to my group, and then participated in the actual event by doing a demonstration.

“I’m not going to cash your check,” she told me the following week, after receiving my offering for the work she did. “I just want to give this …

9 Ways to Help Yourself When You’re Going Through a Hard Time

By in Blog, change & challenges

“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.” ~Eckhart Tolle

After my father had a stroke, it became too difficult to manage our family’s convenience store, so we decided to sell it. We spoke to several buyers, but a couple was most interested—the same couple who had originally sold us the store years earlier.

In December 2012, in the middle of the transaction, my father was manipulated and our store and retirement savings were snatched away.

They convinced my parents to transfer the …

The Beauty of Being Different

By in Blog, love & relationships

“We must never be afraid to be a sign of contradiction for the world.” ~Mother Teresa

I’ve felt like I was different ever since I was in elementary school, when my personality started to settle and I came to realize I didn’t look, think, feel, learn, or act like my peers.

Back in the eighties and early nineties it seemed that there weren’t many labels to catalog people by, but still I knew I was different, and teachers and classmates made sure I knew it. “Freak” or “weirdo” were two of their favorite names.

In current times there would be …

Stop Trying to Blend In: The Simple Secret to Being Yourself

By in Blog, love & relationships

“Be yourself—not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.” ~Henry David Thoreau

How many times have people told you to just be yourself? A million times perhaps.

How many times have you felt able to do this?

Until a few months ago, I thought this was frighteningly hollow advice, like “Don’t worry.” And I had no clue how to be myself. What does it even mean?

The Simple Secret to Being Yourself

My friend continuously tells me that being yourself means doing things you want to do and not caring about what others …

You Don’t Have to Believe You’re Not Good Enough

By in Blog, mindfulness & peace

“I don’t know a perfect person. I only know flawed people who are still worth loving.” ~John Green

“I’m not good enough.”

I cannot possibly count the number of times this thought has passed through my head over the years. It’s been applicable to nearly every aspect of my life from childhood to my current status as an adult, parent, and business owner.

Still, both the frequency with which this thought enters my head and the length of time I spend believing it have dropped considerably, so I think my story and the lessons I’ve learned are worth sharing—especially since …

Don’t Wait Until the End to Wake Up to Your Life

By in Blog, happiness & fun, mindfulness & peace

“Don’t be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don’t have to live forever; you just have to live.” ~Natalie Babbitt

My friend died recently.

I saw him just a few hours before he died too. He stopped by my office as he had done numerous times before to say hello. I’d seen him go through various challenges and come out better. His life was great, and the future looked bright. And I was happy for him because he had worked so hard to get to this place.

My friend died that night …

Why We Might Feel Lonely and What to Do About It

By in Blog, love & relationships

“We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.” ~Dorothy Day

Throughout my life it’s been really hard to admit when I’ve felt lonely.

I’ve been through intense periods where I have been without others.

I’ve been surrounded by people yet have felt no real connections.

The people I have loved have been physically or emotionally absent.

I’ve simply been alone over weekends, over weeks, over months, over years, and it has been grueling and horrible.

I found I had to monitor how much I shared …

4 Secrets to Falling in Love Every Day

By in Blog

“It is astonishing how little one feels alone when one loves.” ~John Bulwer

I am very fortunate to have come from a loving family. My family members have a wide range of personalities, and even though they’re all very opinionated, they are not judgmental in the least.

Growing up around these amazing people allowed me to recognize that superficial differences don’t matter much when people share a profound love.

Regardless of whether you’ve experienced this type of bond, you’re probably familiar with the benefits of love.

Love acts as a buffer against stress and helps you avoid being overcome by …

Improve Your Communication: How to Address Big Issues in Your Relationship

By in Blog, Uncategorized

“Communication works for those who work at it.” ~John Powell

I’ve been with my boyfriend for three years now. He’s a great guy. We get along well, we complement each other, and we have a lot of fun when we’re together.

Still, despite our mutual desire for a great relationship, we occasionally run into roadblocks, otherwise known as growth points.

Recently we’ve been going through a bit of a rough patch while revisiting unresolved dramas. What enables us to handle these dramas well is our willingness to show up and communicate.

Through our three years together, I’ve learned a few …

How to Smile More Every Day (Even if Life Isn’t Perfect)

By in Blog, happiness & fun

 “A smile is happiness you’ll find right under your nose.” ~Tom Wilson

I smile a lot.

In fact, yesterday I smiled eighty-seven times (I counted).

These aren’t fake smiles. They’re big, toothy, open-mouthed grins. And they’ve become a regular feature of my everyday life because I’ve been overcome with an immense happiness.

Everything I see, touch, breathe, and taste brings me delight.

It’s totally spontaneous and outrageously fun, and I want to share with you how it’s done.

What I Smile At

It could be the subtle texture of construction grating.

It could be the way a flower pops out …

3 Ways to Slow Down and Take Better Care of Yourself

By in Blog, healthy habits

“Your body is precious. It is your vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” ~Buddha

It’s interesting how easily we forget to appreciate the simple day-to-day luxuries that we are granted with our body.

We assume that as we exhale, there will always be an inhalation to follow.

We assume that when we lay our head down on our pillow at night, our heart will beat, our blood will flow, and we will open our eyes in the morning.

We go on day after day, running around with a mile-long to-do list without taking a moment to check in with …

9 Tips To Tame Your Temper: Anger Management Made Easy

By in Blog, mindfulness & peace

“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” ~Mark Twain

I am in serious danger, and I think you might be too.

I am in danger of becoming a grumpy old person. I get angry easily. I operate on a short fuse, ready to snap or explode at the littlest thing.

I could blame it on a combination of genetics and environment. My father seems to have only two moods, and one of them is angry.

He is like a volcano and can …

That Person Who Irritates You Could Be Your Greatest Teacher

By in Blog, love & relationships

“The teacher you need is the person you’re living with.” ~Byron Katie 

On the bus home from Disney World, my best friend sputtered, “Angela, you are such a huge control freak!”

First, I went into an angry rage. I accused her, “How dare you call me a control freak! I planned this whole trip.”

Next, I resorted to pouting and pointing my finger at her, listing every possible way she was the control freak.

I was in complete victim mode. Classic, right? Little did I know that this incident would be an important self-growth tool for me.

She returned …

A Life-Changing Guide for Emotionally Sensitive People (and a Giveaway!)

By in Blog, letting go, mindfulness & peace


Update: The winners for this giveaway have been chosen:

You’re too sensitive. You’re making a big deal out of nothing. Why are you letting that bother you? Why can’t you just let it go? Really, you’re crying? What’s wrong with you? 

If you’re an emotionally sensitive person, like me, you may have heard some of these phrases throughout your life. And, like me, you may have concluded that your emotions made you tragically flawed.

For the longest time, I felt a deep sense of shame about my sensitivity. And I found it difficult to deal with …

6 Ways to Deal with Critical, Judgmental People

By in Blog, love & relationships

“When we judge or criticize another person, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.” ~Unknown

We all have people in our lives who unintentionally hurt us. Their words may sound harsh. We may feel judged. And they may question our choices so much that we feel emotionally unsafe around them.

People can make comments about our career choice, living situation, life partner (or lack of), child-rearing decisions, and hobbies—and often when we didn’t ask for their opinion or advice.

Oftentimes, the healthiest choice is to stay away from these …

You Are Broken, Let Me Fix You

By in Blog, love & relationships, mindfulness & peace

“To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are.” ~Sven Goran Erikkson

Let me fix you.

You really should try not to be so sensitive, Leah. The world is sometimes a difficult and upsetting place, but you shouldn’t let it affect you so much.

Let me fix you.

You know, you really ought to spend more time with people, Leah. It’s not good for you to be alone so much.

Let me fix you.

You know, you really shouldn’t make such quick, spur-of-the-moment decisions, Leah. It’s not good to do that in life and you’ll end …

Reclaim the Forgotten State of Wonder to Live an Extraordinary Life

By in Blog, happiness & fun, mindfulness & peace

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle.” ~Albert Einstein

For years, I walked as if I were asleep.

Autopilot steered me along the familiar paths between home and work and shopping centers and the gym. Paths I traveled so many times with my mind somewhere in the future or somewhere in the past, that everything around me passed like ghosts: present, unseen.

Sometimes, in a moment between waking and sleeping, I glimpsed marshmallow clouds, a burnt sunset, the bruised hills, the …

If You Want to Be Happy, Do This First

By in Blog, healthy habits, mindfulness & peace

“When I had nothing to lose, I had everything. When I stopped being who I am, I found myself.” ~Paulo Coelho

Someone once asked me if I was happy.

The question confused me because it didn’t really seem like something I had a choice in.

I had two parents and wonderful siblings who loved me deeply. I was smart, a good friend, and had opportunities many people throughout the world didn’t have. I never worried about being hungry or safe. What else was there?

Unfortunately, growing up semi-privileged doesn’t prevent us from developing fears and insecurities.

Though there was laughter …