
40 Reasons You’re Amazing and Worth Appreciating
I’m willing to bet that most of us spend far more time focusing on what we aren’t than appreciating who we are. We home in everything we think we lack and then feel bad about ourselves, when there’s actually a lot to celebrate if we take the time recognize it.
It’s partly a byproduct of our time: We’re constantly inundated with pics and stories narrating everyone else’s lives, when really, they’re just highlight reels. They’re the filtered, photoshopped version of lives as messy and imperfect as ours.
And regardless of where they pose, what they wear, or what they’re …

Free Recreate Your Life Story eCourse ($97 value) with Tiny Buddha’s Mindfulness Kit
**Today, Monday the 30th, is the last day to get the Recreate Your Life Story eCourse as a free bonus with Tiny Buddha’s Mindfulness kit!
Another surreal holiday in the books, for those of us in the US that is.
I hope you all had a love-filled Thanksgiving, even if that love was sent from afar.
I was 3,000 miles away from my family, though fortunate to be with my boyfriend’s parents.
After I ate way too much tofurkey and pie I spent a little time reading all the comments on this week’s giveaway post, and I felt both sad …

If You Think There’s Something Wrong with You…
The root cause of suffering for many of us is believing that there’s something’s wrong with us. Psychiatrists’ and therapists’ offices are filled with people who are carrying this false belief, most often stemming from traumatic or painful childhood experiences, or even people telling us this directly.
Sometimes we inferred this idea because we were treated badly as children and/or we didn’t get our physical or emotional needs met. Perhaps we were called selfish or bad because we “asked for too much,” or we were told we couldn’t have what we wanted because we didn’t “earn or deserve it.”
Maybe …

How to Get Out of Your Head and Show Up for Your Life
“If you think there’s something missing from your life, it’s probably you.” ~Robert Holden
Most people would agree that thinking too much can cost you your peace, your happiness perhaps—but your life? Surely that’s a bit of an exaggeration.
I’ll explain with a story.
I remember taking my daughter to the park one day when she was around three years old. Like all kids of that age, she was thrilled and mesmerised by her surroundings—the insect crawling up the blade of grass, the ducks squawking in the pond, the dog chasing the frisbee nearby.
She was fully engaged with the …

7 Morning Mindfulness Practices to Help You Have an Awesome Day
How often do you feel energized, grounded, and excited for the day when you finish your morning routine?
And what is your morning routine?
Are you one of those people who sleep as late as possible, pound some coffee and a processed breakfast, and then rush to get into work on time? (No judgment—I’ve been there! Gas station java and pop tarts for the win!)
Or do you leave yourself a cushion of time so you can ease into your day feeling centered and invigorated, through some combination of self-care activities?
In recent years I’ve leaned toward the latter because …

Giveaway: Win Tiny Buddha’s Mindfulness Kit for You and a Loved One!
UPDATE: The winner for this giveaway, chosen at random, is: Beth Gallager
Please contact me at email@tinybuddha.com with your address so I can send you your kits! I wish I could send a kit to everyone who commented, but since I can’t, I’m extending this offer here.
There’s no denying it’s a strange holiday season this year. Annual traditions are on hold for many. Loved ones are far away. And I imagine most of us are getting antsy for a return to some semblance of normal.
While a lot feels different this year, there’s one thing that remains the …

How to Create Peace and Calm Through Mindful Photography
“Don’t shoot what it looks like, shoot what it feels like.” ~David Alan Harvey
Due to the current state of the world, I think it could benefit of us all to be more in the here and now, in the present, where it’s easier to find peace and calm. Or even to just be more mindful, so to speak, in what we say, do, and think, since it’s tempting to lash out at others and focus on the negative during hard times. How we act, interact, and even plan forward are more vital to our mental and physical health …

3 Ways Decluttering Can Help You Accept Yourself
“I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.” ~Brené Brown
I had just squeezed all my possessions into a jumbo-sized moving van and relocated to a teeny tiny apartment. I had landed a new job in a new city, and everything seemed peachy keen… at least, on the surface.
It was a fresh spring evening in 2015, and I’d spent the entire day trying to fit all my clutter into my new home. Picture this: my 350-square-foot attic had sloped ceilings, the world’s smallest kitchen, and …

How to Tame Your ‘Tornado’ Mind and Stop Overthinking Everything
“You don’t suffer because you have thoughts. You suffer because you judge them, resist them, believe them, wallow in them, or identify with them.” ~Unknown
At one point in my life, I wondered, “Will things always be this way?”
So rushed, with barely a moment to call my own. Current events swirling around, reflecting the worst side of humanity. Lost under the weight of my to-do lists, financial worries, and deadlines.
I barely knew where my thoughts stopped and I started. Would I always be this anxious, irritated, distracted, and isolated from those around me? Even from loved ones?…

Beating the Odds: Why I Survived and My Brother Did Not
My brother, Marc-Emile, sparkled brilliantly. At sixteen years old, he could expound on physics or Plato, calculus, or car mechanics, Stravinsky or Steppenwolf. At seventeen, he began reading the Great Books series, starting with Homer and Aeschylus and moving forward through the Greeks. I don’t know how many of those Great Books he read. He didn’t have that long.
My brother had everything going for him. He was kind, ethical, and handsome. He graduated high school a year early, at the top of his class, with virtually perfect SATs. He started at MIT as a physics major. He ended at …

When You’re Confused About What to Do: How to Find Clarity
“Nothing in the world can bother you as much as your own mind, I tell you. In fact, others seem to be bothering you, but it is not others, it is your own mind.” ~Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Do you ever feel confused about what to do and unsure about how to find clarity?
Maybe an unforeseen event, like a layoff or breakup, knocked you into a mental spin. Or perhaps you’re muddling along, with no clue where you’re going.
Confusion can leave you helpless, indecisive, and afraid. And not knowing what to do only adds to your …