
Growth Isn’t Always Linear: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
“If you are going through a time of discouragement, there is a time of great personal growth ahead.” ~Oswald Chambers
If I were to look back at my life thus far, as I often do, I’d notice a pattern of events and feelings resembling the activity on an EKG monitor.
For every peak, there’s been a valley. For every leap forward, there’s been a stumble backward—sometimes just an inch, and other times, what seemed like miles.
Recognizing and embracing this has brought me a tremendous amount of peace, because I once believed that progress required a steady, consistent ascent …

How Holding On to Unrequited Love Keeps You Alone and Stuck
“Let no one who loves be unhappy, even love unreturned has its rainbow.” ~James M. Barrie
My first experience with unrequited love took place when I was a little kid at swimming lessons.
I developed a huge crush on one of the instructors. I don’t remember his name, but I remember the excruciating feeling of absolutely adoring someone who didn’t even know I existed. I wish I could say that this was a one-time experience, but it wasn’t.
Sadly, this pattern continued for many years. I seemed to have a radar device installed in my heart that would automatically fixate …

Why This Will Be the Year I Stop Running from Pain
“One has to accept pain as a condition of existence.” ~Morris West
This may seem sounds counter-intuitive, but this year I want to let go of trying to avoid suffering.
It doesn’t mean that I am a masochist and plan to spend the next year being miserable. It’s more a question of learning to accept life as it is—uncertain, full of surprises, and with its full quota of difficult circumstances.
Our Wish for Happiness
The thing is that we all want to be happy. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if we fear not being happy, then we …

12 Habits to Adopt to Make This Your Best Year Yet
Many of us head into the New Year with big goals and ambitions. We think about everything that seems to be lacking in our lives and imagine ourselves far happier and more fulfilled on the other side of massive change.
There’s no denying that certain accomplishments can amp up our life satisfaction, but I’ve found that our daily habits are the biggest contributor to our happiness.
You can have a job that excites you, the best body of your life, and the perfect partner for you, but none of it will fully satisfy you if you don’t also prioritize the …

Why You Have to Share What You Really Feel and Want in Relationships
“Any relationship that could be ‘ruined’ by having a conversation about feelings, standards, or expectations wasn’t really firm enough anyway, so there isn’t much to ruin.” ~Unknown
So many of us believe that not expressing ourselves is a noble thing to do. We get to feel stoic and in control. Others get emotional and overwhelmed while we can keep it together. The idea that we are strong because we don’t express our feelings is also socially reinforced, so we keep doing it because it’s the right thing to do, right?
Not quite.
In my previous blog post “The Negative …

4 Sensitive Superpowers That Can Change Your Life (and the World)
“You were born to be among the advisors and thinkers, the spiritual and moral leaders for your society. There is every reason for pride.” ~Elaine N. Aron
Stop being so sensitive. Lighten up. You’re oversensitive. Stop overthinking. You’re weird.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve had those words slung at you like rocks from a slingshot for as long as you can remember. The underlying message is clear: You’re too much. There’s something wrong with you.
Your heart strings have always been like finely tuned antennae, picking up on even the most subtle signals of other people’s heartache and …