It’s Not My Job to Be Likable
When You Dance with Discomfort, Surprising Things Can Happen
“I wish for a world where everyone understands that discomfort is the price of legendary. And fear is just growth coming to get you.” ~Robin S. Sharma
For years, I felt like the most incredible dancer. Whenever I heard music, no matter where I was, I would start moving, at first slowly and then, as the music started to infuse my soul, with increasing abandon. In that moment, I was filled with passion, and I completely let go. It was me and the music—no-one and nothing else. I was in another world.
When I danced in front of …
Sorry If I “Trigger” You, But I Will Never Move On
“It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.” ~John Steinbeck
When you lose someone close to you, there are a plethora of duties you must first complete.
When my boyfriend passed away from cancer at the age of twenty-nine, I was just twenty-three. We lived together in a claustrophobic, studio apartment in lower Manhattan. I recall many people telling me to physically move from the apartment, as that’s where he passed away, but moving in Manhattan is never an ideal situation to be in, especially when you are traumatized.…
Why We Feel Like a Fraud (and How to Stop)
“I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody and they’re going to find me out.’” ~ Maya Angelou
Any minute now they would find out.
I scanned the large conference room. The twenty-six project team members around the table discussed data analysis. Their voices were muffled by the thick fog of my anxiety.
My own throat tried to choke me, and my chest refused to expand. Sweat trickled down my side.
Breathe, just breathe. It’s going to be okay.
My eyes met my …
When Self-Help Hurts: How My Obsession Kept Me Stuck
“Quiet the voice telling you to do more and be more, and trust that in this moment, who you are, where you are at, and what you are doing is enough. You will get to where you need to be in your own time. Until then, breathe. Breathe and be patient with yourself and your process. You are doing the best you can to cope and survive amid your struggles, and that’s all you can ask of yourself. It’s enough. You are enough.” ~Daniell Koepke
I feel a bit like Frodo Baggins. I’m on this tireless, seemingly never-ending journey just …
How to Get Through Hard Times Without Hurting People We Love
“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” ~Buddha
Just the other day, I had one of those moments with my husband, and not the kind of moment they write about in romance novels.
The world has been so different these last several months, and so many are feeling the effects of months of struggle, uncertainty, frustration, and limitations.
I consider myself to be someone who works to see the positive, finds the silver living in situations, and believes in the best of people, and that things can and will always get better. But lately, that has …
Perfectly Imperfect: How to Embrace Your Insecurities
“Cut yourself some slack. You’re doing better than you think.” ~Unknown
Your stomach is tied up in knots.
Another crisis has arrived, and everyone is looking to you to have the answers, to be the leader. You can’t blame them either because you think you should have all the answers. But you just don’t.
Though you look calm on the outside, inside you’re a tangle of nerves and anxiety, terrified someone will expose you as the fraud you feel you are.
In the past, you’ve been able to pull a rabbit out of a hat to save the day, …
What We Need to Grow and How It Can Happen in Just One Day
“People grow when they are loved well. If you want to help others heal, love them without an agenda.” ~Mike McHargue
I learned some of my biggest life lessons in grade 5.
I was an average student leaning to below average in my early elementary years. I came home with a steady flow of B’s, C’s and the occasional E’s in second language subjects. I was told that I wasn’t applying myself and, as every report card I ever brought home clearly stated, I talked too much.
At least that was the narrative as I came to understand it.
I …
How to Tell If Your Relationship is Codependent (and What to Do About It)
“Love rests on two pillars: surrender and autonomy. Our need for togetherness exists alongside our need for separateness.” ~ Esther Perel
Healthy relationships require a delicate balance of intimacy and autonomy, giving and receiving, self and other.
As we struggle to walk this delicate tightrope, we might feel less like graceful acrobats and more like pendulums swaying recklessly from side to side. As I reflect on my own romantic journey, I notice a trend: I got very close to past partners, losing myself in them entirely, and then emerged from the codependent haze terrified and self-abandoned.
“Never again!” I …
Master Peace Box: Meditation-Infused Art Classes, Delivered Monthly
Do you ever read about other people’s creative hobbies and think, “Man, that sounds like a lot of fun”? Do you ever look through creative Pinterest pages and think, “You know, I bet I could do that”?
There’s something about art that instantly evokes a feeling of joy and relaxation—or at least it does for me. Maybe it’s memories of carefree childhood afternoons spent creating Lego houses and playdough sculptures. Or maybe it’s the fantasy of being an artsy kind of person—eccentric, free-spirited, and driven by passion and awe.
Whatever your personal draw, there’s one thing we have in common, …
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